NARCISSUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



NARCISSUS. 



673 



santhemums are to autumn, and what 

 Hellebores and Aconite are to winter. 

 No good garden should be without the 

 best of the lovely varieties now known. 

 Narcissi vary so much in form, size, 

 colour, and in time of flowering, that a 

 most attractive spring garden could be 

 made with them alone ; provided one 

 had suitable soil, and a background of 

 fresh turf, shrubs, and trees. The best 

 of the commoner kinds should be planted 

 by the thousand, and, indeed, in many 

 cases this has been done with the best 

 results. On grassy banks, on turfy 

 bosses near the roots of lawn-trees, or in 

 meadows near the house, their effect is 

 delightful. All the best Narcissi, and 

 practically all the forms of the yellow and 

 the bicolor Daffodils, may be planted in 

 June, July, or August, in three ways in 

 the lawn or meadow, in the beds and 

 borders of the garden, or in 6 or 8 in. 

 pots. Five bulbs should be planted in a 

 pot, and covered over with coal-ashes or 

 sand until January, when they may be 

 placed in a sunny frame, pit, or green- 

 house, or even in a sunshiny window, and 

 a crop of flowers can be secured earlier 

 than on the open ground. The main 

 points in beginning the culture of Narcissi 

 are to get sound and healthy bulbs as early 

 as possible after June, and to plant or pot 

 them at once in good fibrous, sandy, or 

 gravelly loam, or in any virgin soil. 

 They like fresh deep-tilled loam, and 

 the strongest of the bicolor and star 

 Narcissi do not object to soils rich in 

 manure ; but it is as well to remember 

 that no manure should be used in its 

 raw or crude state, and that wild species 

 and wild-collected varieties suffer and 

 often fail if planted at once in heavily 

 manured soils. 



In naturalising the Daffodil on the Grass, 

 the Poet's Narcissus, or the Star Narcissus 

 (N. incomparabilis in all its forms), do 

 not begin as late as November or 

 December by planting the sweepings out 

 of the bulb-stores, since such bulbs are 

 weak and flabby, and are liable to rot in 

 the frozen ground. The time to begin 

 planting is June and July, and it is a 

 good rule to refuse to plant in quantity 

 after August or September. 



In grouping border Narcissi it will 

 usually be found advisable to lift and 

 replant the clumps every three or four 

 years, but if any delicate varieties do not 

 flower well, or if they show signs of weak- 

 ness or of disease, they should be lifted 

 not later than July, and, after being cleaned, 

 at once replanted, in fresh and good soil, 

 and, if possible, in sandy or gravelly loam 



free from fresh manures. It is better to 

 dig and replant Daffodils too soon than 

 too late. The best time is when the 

 leaves turn yellow in June or July. On 

 well-drained loams resting on gravel, the 

 bulbs lose both leaves and roots in June 

 or July, and may be taken up and re- 

 moved with advantage ; and, indeed, 

 where good round presentable sale bulbs 

 are grown, the rule is to dig them every 

 summer as soon as the leaves wither. 

 Whenever an amateur's stock of bulbs 

 is divided, it is wise to replant some in 

 fresh ground, and any surplus may be 



Narcissus Horsfieldi. 



naturalised in grass. The rate of in- 

 crease on good soils is surprising, such 

 splendid sorts as N. John Horsfield, N. 

 Empress, N. Grandee, N. Emperor, and 

 N. Sir Watkin actually trebling them- 

 selves the second year after planting. 

 The depth at which the bulbs should be 

 planted varies according to the texture 

 and the drainage of the soil. In strong 

 or wet and retentive soils, shallow plant- 

 ing, say 3 to 5 in. beneath the surface, 

 is ample, but on light, sandy, and well- 

 drained soils, or on what are known as 

 warm soils, the depth may vary from 6 

 to 12 in. in a word, the bulbs should 

 be as far as possible below the drought 

 and frost line. The best grown private 

 collections of these flowers I have seen are 

 those at Great Warley, Essex, and at 

 Totley Hall, near Sheffield, where the best 

 kinds are grouped boldly by the thousand. 

 i If cut flowers are desired, then bold 



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