128 How to Make a Flower Garden 



Stella, Poeticus ornatus, Biflorus, Van Sion, Orange Phoenix, Alba plena 

 odorata, and all the jonquils. 



Scillas have already been mentioned as being preeminently fitted for 

 planting on the lawn. Like all the bulbs, they prefer a light rich soil. The 

 Amoena or Sibirica praecox is the most useful and beautiful of the species. 

 These, by the way, are commonly known as squills. The flowers are pro- 

 duced in wonderful profusion, a beautiful rich blue, and appear almost 

 before the snow has vanished. It is a gem among bulbous flowering 

 plants, so beautiful that no garden is complete without some. Planted 

 among the rocks or in an artificially made rock garden, it is a strikingly 

 beautiful object. Scilla canipanulata is also a charming variety, and can 

 be had in blue, white, and rose. This is commonly known as the wood 

 hyacinth. A colony may remain undisturbed in the ground for a number 

 of years, as the natural crowding does not seem to injure them. 



Another very useful bulbous plant is the snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis. 

 It should be planted in masses and closely together, about an inch apart. 

 Combined in beds with scillas or chionodoxas the effect is charming. It is 

 best to plant where they can be allowed to remain from year to year; 

 along the edges of hardy borders is a fitting place for it. There are new and 

 improved sorts, such as Elwes's Giant and King of the Snowdrops, which 

 are superior to the original type. 



Chionodoxa, commonly known as "glory of the snow," is an exquisite 

 plant, blooming early in the spring and bearing ten to fifteen scilla-like 

 flowers, a beautiful intense blue with a white center. As an edging for a 

 shrubbery, or bed of hardy perennial plants in connection with scillas and 

 snowdrops, or for planting on the lawn, or in out-of-the-way places as 

 "naturalised " plants, they are unequalled. Cultivate the same as scillas. 



Trillium grandiflorum, the ' great American wood-lily, as it is called^ 

 is another very useful bulbous plant. This should be planted early in the 

 fall in soil which has plenty of sand or leaf -mould. The flowers are pure 

 white, changing to soft rose. 



Bulbocodium, or spring colchicum, is one of the favourites for the bulb 

 garden. B. vernum is the best known and is a charming early spring-blooming 

 plant. It bears rosy purple flowers, and is one of the first to make its 

 appearance in spring. It succeeds well in any garden soil, and should 

 be planted about three inches deep in clumps or masses. Its chief interest 

 is that it generally blooms a week before the crocus. 



