i 4 4 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS 



varieties and throw the bulbs away after blooming, or 

 adopt Plan No. 2 of arranging in groups among other 

 plants. Some of the finest Daffodils, such as Sir Wat- 

 kins, Empress, Barrii conspicuus, Golden Spur, and 

 Pallidus Praecox, are almost ridiculously cheap, and 

 could be discarded after flowering without any sense 

 of wastefulness. 



Inexperienced amateurs may consider that the plan 

 of making two separate complete plantings of beds or 

 borders in a year involves considerable time and labour. 

 This is hardly so. A couple of hours will suffice to 

 prepare and plant a bed, unless it is a very large one. 

 The work is easy when once the ground has been 

 broken up thoroughly and the soil brought into a 

 friable state ; and the amateur must not measure the two 

 annual diggings by the standard of the first one. When 

 ground is first broken up for gardening it is generally 

 stiff, and the work is rather laborious ; but if it is once 

 well done and rendered friable by digging in road scrap- 

 ings, ashes, and manure, it is ever afterwards easy to 

 manage. The spade sinks in readily, and the whole task 

 is enjoyable and healthful. 



Daffodils enjoy a good root run, and the ground 

 cannot be broken too deeply for them. Eighteen inches 

 should be the minimum. Light land should have a 

 dressing of decayed yard manure if this is procurable. 

 In heavy land bone-flour will suffice. They love mois- 

 ture, and do not object to a shady place. 



Now for the second plan that of treating Daffodils as 

 permanent plants in beds and borders. There is no reason 

 why they should not be used with good effect among 

 perennials, provided that stations are allocated to them 

 and clearly defined. There might be a fairly broad belt 

 towards the front of every large border of herbaceous 



