82 SATURDAY IN MY GARDEN 



acuminatum (rose), which flowers in July. All should be planted 

 from three to four inches deep in sandy loam. They will thrive 

 best in a sunny position. 



The bloomerias produce yellow flowers on stems about a foot 

 high. B. aurea is an especially good variety, which blooms in 

 June. The flowers are borne in the shape of umbels. 



Brodiseas, known as the " vegetable fire crackers of Australia," 

 should be planted in an elevated position on the rockery, and they 

 grow best in fibrous peaty soil. There are fifteen or sixteen 

 varieties, ranging in colour from white, blue and violet to yellow, 

 lilac and heliotrope. Their height varies from six inches to two 

 feet, the best dwarfs being B. grandiflora (blue), B. ixioides 

 splendens (yellow), and B. Murrayana (violet). Brodiaeas, again, 

 revel in the sunlight. 



Calochorti may be planted in the rockery as late as the end of 

 November. Once more there is a wide range of colour to choose 

 from. The best dwarf rockery varieties are C. lilacinus, which, 

 as its name indicates, is lilac in colour. Its height is nine inches. 

 Rather taller calochorti are C. luteus (yellow), C. venustus (white), 

 and C. venustus oculatus (various). The soil they like best is a 

 mixture of peat, loam and sand, and the flowering period extends 

 from June to August. 



Among the early spring blooming bulbs are the^chionodoxas. 

 These are quite dwarf, ranging only from six to nine inches in 

 height. The best pure white is C. luciliae alba ; C. sardensis is 

 blue, C. Tmolussi is purple, and C. luciliae roseus is lilac. Again 

 sandy loam is the best compost in which to plant them, and this 

 should be done to a depth of three inches. 



The two varieties of snowdrop (galanthus) best suited for 

 rockery culture are G. Elwesii (the giant single snowdrop), which 

 is eight inches high and flowers in January, and G. Fosterii, which 

 grows six inches high and flowers in February. 



Hymenocallis is somewhat tender, and is suitable for culture 

 only in the south of England and in Ireland. Its flowers are 

 white, and there is one variety, H. calathina, whose colours are 

 green and white. Sandy leaf mould should be provided for the 



