CHAPTER VIII 



BULBS AND TUBERS. I. HARDY SPECIES 



THE question of greenery apart, the cold house gardener would 

 not fare badly if he were restricted to bulbs alone. For sim- 

 plicity of management, for exceeding charm of flower, and for 

 the comparatively small space required for stowage when 

 they are at rest, there is no class of plant that will give, year 

 in year out, a better return for good cultivation. With 

 tuberous-rooted plants added to the list, he may do well 

 indeed. For the earlier winter flowers in the unheated green- 

 house, hardy bulbs must, in fact, be our mainstay. Nothing 

 else will take their place, but to have them in perfection we 

 must take time by the forelock. Herein, be it well under- 

 stood, lies the main secret of success, for time, under these 

 conditions, must take the place of boiler and pipes. The right 

 moment past, we cannot hope to make it up by rushing our 

 bulbs in a forcing-house. Midsummer-day might, with 

 advantage, be taken as a signal that it is time to begin to lay 

 our plans for our winter campaign. Instead of this, as a rule, 

 the catalogues, which the bulb merchants never fail to send us, 

 are laid by until, perhaps, some chill November day wakes us, 

 all too late, to the fact that our greenhouse begins to look 

 ragged and forlorn. 



To a certain extent, both the experienced gardener and the 

 novice must depend on Dutch bulbs for a bright display of 

 early spring flowers, and it is better to reckon upon an annual 

 outlay for such things as Hyacinths, Tulips, and Florist's 



