198 STUDIES IN GARDENING 



croceum) with Erigeron speciosus; Lilium elegans 

 with Linum perenne or Nepeta mussini (Catmint); 

 Tiger Lilies with Eryngiums; Galtonias with the pink 

 Lavatera trimestris, and so on. But in all such com- 

 bination care must be taken not to place bulbs too 

 close to some herbaceous plant that will make a strong 

 growth before they do, and so smother them before 

 they have a chance of asserting themselves. 



The later and larger growing bulbs are much easier 

 to deal with in the border than the many little bulbs 

 that flower early in the spring and then die down 

 and remain dormant until autumn. It is possible, 

 of course, to lift bulbs like Crocuses, Scilla sibirica, 

 Scilla bifolia, the Chionodoxas, the Puschkinias, and 

 the Muscaris as soon as they are dormant, and to 

 plant them again in the autumn. But it is a trouble- 

 some business; and many of them do better if left 

 undisturbed. Yet, though they make the border 

 beautiful in early spring, they leave blank spaces 

 just when it is expected to be fullest. If they are to 

 be grown in the border they can be covered with 

 Sedum album, which will not interfere with their 

 growth, and which is green all the winter and very 

 pretty when in flower. In this case they must be 

 planted well in the front of the border as the Sedum, 

 if it is to do well and flower, must not be overshadowed 

 by other plants. But, indeed, these smaller bulbs 

 always do best in the front of the border, as they are 

 apt to be forgotten and dug up if they are among 

 large herbaceous plants, and also they do not get 

 the summer sun which most of them need to ripen 



