GARDEN FLOWERS. 



199 



AUTUMN CROCUS. 



bloom, with the expectation of lifting them when the 

 flowers have gone. 



Colchicum autumnale, common meadow-saffron, is 

 known as the autumn crocus, and is one of the latest 

 flowers to appear in our beds and borders 

 out-of-doors. The flowers appear alone 

 without leaves, and consist of six lance- 

 shaped somewhat spreading petals, rosy 

 purple in color, and supported only an inch 

 or two above ground. The leaves begin to 

 grow after the flowers cease, and reach (COLCHICUM AUTUMNALE - ) 

 their fullest development the following spring and early 

 summer. They are lance-shaped, dark olive-green, and 

 about nine to twelve inches long. 



The dahlias constitute 

 a well-known class of late 

 flowering-plants, and pre- 

 sent a rich variety of color 

 at a season when flowers 

 are scarce. Their forms, 

 however, are stiff and ar- 

 tificial looking, and the 

 more they are "perfected" 

 by cultivation the stiffer 

 they seem to become. 



These objections, how- 

 ever, do not apply to 

 the single dahlias, that 

 have been deservedly increasing in reputation of late. Their 

 colors are quite varied and their single petals graceful. 



SINGLE DAHLIAS. 



