THIRD WEEK IN NOVEMBER 



This plant needs a greenhouse ; but P. illyricum and 

 P. luteum (a yellow flower) are both hardy enough for the 

 garden, if kept dry in winter by means of a bell-glass over 

 their roots. The hymenocallises (which are nearly allied to 

 the pancratiums) are more delicate, most of them needing 

 considerable warmth. The best of them all is H. macroste- 

 phana, which produces umbels of from six to ten blooms 

 of singular but elegant shape, each flower having a funnel- 

 shaped corona 2 inches long and of the same width, with 

 a spreading fringed perianth 3 inches long. The Guiana 

 variety (H. guianensis) is somewhat similar, with twisted 

 segments, and both are rare and valuable plants for a 

 hothouse. 



The Watsonias, irids from South Africa, blossom so 

 late in the season that they suffer from the storms of autumn, 

 and these bulbs (nearly allied to the gladioli) are therefore 

 more suitable for the conservatory in pots than for the 

 garden. Each bulb should be grown in a separate pot, 

 starting them in the early spring under glass, but the plants 

 can stand in the open air during the summer, being brought 

 in again during September. There are many varieties of 

 Watsonias, one of the best being W. iridiflora Arderni, 

 in pink and white. 



The zephyrantes, too, blossom late in the year. Z. ata- 

 masco (in pure white) at this time. It is a delicate, crocus- 

 like flower, needing to be kept under glass, except in the 

 summer, when its growths should be ripened in the full 

 sunshine out-of-doors. It is said to be hardy enough for a 

 sheltered situation in the garden ; but we have not found 

 it so, the bulbs disappearing in the winter when planted 

 out on the terrace border. 



Sternbergia Lutea, another crocus-like bulb, needs the 

 same treatment, and is not perfectly hardy. The flowers are 

 in brilliant yellow, appearing after the foliage has ripened 

 away. The newer Sternbergia Fischarianum is very similar 

 in appearance, but flowers in the spring. 



In the wild garden, colchicums (meadow saffrons) make a 

 rich display of colour in the autumn when grown in broad 



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