278 THE CULTURE OF FLOWERING BULBS 



Their hardiness, too, is an immense advantage, and permits of their 

 being grown and successfully flowered without the least aid from 

 artificial heat. Small beds and borders may be made brilliant with 

 these flowers, and the number of bulbs that can be planted in a very 

 limited space is somewhat astonishing to a novice. Unlike many 

 other subjects, bulbs may be rather crowded without injury to in- 

 dividual specimens. 



For the decoration of windows no other flowers can compare 

 with Dutch Bulbs in variety and brilliancy of colour. Some of them 

 are not particularly long-lived, and this need occasion no regret, for 

 it affords opportunity of making constant changes in the character 

 and colour of the miniature exhibition, which may easily be extended 

 over many weeks. And a really beautiful display is within reach of 

 those who have not a scrap of garden in which to bring an ordinary 

 plant to perfection. Unused attics and lead flats can, with a little 

 skill and attention in the case of bulbs, be made to answer the 

 purpose which pits and greenhouses serve for most of our showy 

 plants. Many of the latter cannot be grown in large centres of 

 population, but bulbs will produce handsome blossoms even in 

 smoky towns. 



We do not recommend the attempt to grow bulbs in the actual 

 window boxes. It is seldom entirely satisfactory. They should be 

 treated in the manner ^advised under the several varieties in the 

 following pages, and just as the colours are becoming visible, a 

 selection can be made from pots or boxes for crowding closely in the 

 ornamental arrangements for the window. When the first occupants 

 show signs of fading others can be brought forward to fill their places, 

 and this process may be repeated so long as there are materials to 

 draw from. Winter Aconites, Snowdrops, Squills, and Glory of the 

 Snow will furnish the earliest display ; these to be followed by 

 Crocuses, Tulips, Hyacinths, and the many forms of the great 

 Narciss family, until spring is far advanced. 



The secret of their accommodating nature lies in the fact that to 

 a considerable extent the work has been accomplished. Within the 

 Hyacinth or Tulip every petal of the coming flower is already stored. 

 During the five or six years of its life in Holland all the capacities of 

 the bulb have been steadily conserved, and we have but to unfold its 

 beauty, aiming at short stout growth and intensity of colour. Of 

 course there is an immense difference in the quality of imported 

 bulbs, and they necessarily vary according to the character of the 

 season. The most successful Dutch growers cannot insure uniformity 



