BULBS IN THE ROGK GARDEN 61 



even taller. Both bloom in May. E. Bungei, about 

 three or four feet high, is of less robust type, and has 

 lovely yellow flowers in June. 



Erythronium (Dog's Tooth Violet). Several of the 

 Erythroniums are indispensable rock-garden flowers, 

 blooming in spring and early summer. They like a 

 moist, peaty, or leafy soil, and do well in the bog garden. 

 The commonest kind is Erythronium Dens-canis (so 

 named from the shape of its roots), with drooping lilac- 

 rose flowers, on stems four or five inches high, in March. 



E. giganteum, white, with yellowish shading ; E. cali- 

 fornicum, almost white ; and E. americanum, pale yellow, 

 are other beautiful kinds. Some of these plants are 

 additionally attractive from the fact that the leaves 

 are prettily marked with a second colour. The roots are 

 planted in early autumn, September and October. 



Fritillaria. The Fritillaries, with their showy, droop- 

 ing, more or less bell-shaped blooms, are very attractive, 

 and less often grown than they deserve. The commonest 

 and easiest of all is the Snake's Head Fritillary (Fritillaria 

 Meleagris) , with pale blossoms, spotted with purple crim- 

 son. The Crown Imperial (Fritillaria imperialis) is a well- 

 known cottage garden favourite, having clusters of droop- 

 ing yellow or orange- coloured flowers, on stems some two 

 feet high. Room might well be found for it, as it gives 

 rich colour in April. Fritillaria armena, yellowish, and 



F. pyrenaica, purple and yellow shades, are others that 

 are satisfactory out of doors in well-drained sandy soil. 

 The bulbs should be planted in September and October. 



