CHAPTER XXI 



Hardy Cyclamen 



FLOWERING in the summer, autumn, winter, and 

 early spring, the Hardy Cyclamen are welcome 

 and useful plants (natural order Primulaceae). They 

 require perfect drainage and shelter from winds in 

 March and April. In fern borders they are quite at 

 home, whilst in the corners between the stones in the 

 rock garden they make large corms and produce their 

 handsome flowers very freely. The foot of an old 

 wall, where they get some shade, is an ideal place for 

 them, while C. Coum may be naturalised on shady banks 

 among short grass. Before planting Cyclamen corms 

 some old mortar rubbish or lime should be mixed with 

 the soil. 



C. europaeum. This species flowers from June to 

 September, having the longest period of any. The 

 rounded leaves, which are dark green, and marbled 

 with white above, are persistent nearly all the year round. 

 The purplish-red flowers are strongly fragrant, and in 

 the fernery amongst old roots or stones this plant may 

 be naturalised, where it will flower freely during the 

 summer and autumn. It is found wild in Europe, etc. 



C. neapolitanum. This kind, which flowers in the 



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