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Encyclopaedia of Gardening 39 



hings like Arabis, Aubrietia, and Forget-me-not at the same time 

 that the bulbs are put in. The beds should be well dug when the 

 summer plants are cleared away, and the soil crumbled with the fork. 

 Before finishing, the soil should be thrown well up from the grass 

 verges, and these neatly trimmed with the shears. Separate groups 

 of bulbs look better than concentric lines. The number per clump 

 may vary from 3 to 12. The bulbs composing each clump may 

 stand 9 ins. from each other, and there should be a clear space of 

 a foot between the various groups. It is a good plan to sprinkle 

 some sand in the holes. A light dressing of decayed manure, supple- 

 mented with basic slag at the rate of half a pound per square 

 yard, will suffice for enriching the soil. Crocuses may be covered 

 with an inch of soil; Hyacinths, Tulips, and the small-bulbed 

 Narcissi with 2 ins.; large Daffodils with 3 ins. It should be 

 remembered in grouping that the large Narcissi are somewhat 

 taller than the Hyacinths and early Tulips, but that most of the 

 May-blooming Tulips are not only later in flowering than any 

 of the preceding, but are also taller. The order of blooming is: 

 (i) Crocuses; (2) Hyacinths; (3) Dutch Tulips; (4) May Tulips. 

 There is not much difference between (2) and (3). The drawback 

 to planting bulbs in borders (see Flower Garden Herbaceous 

 borders) is that the plants are out of sight for the greater part of 

 the year, and careless workmen plant other things over them in 

 autumn, or injure them in digging. The remedies are: (i) labels, 

 which must be renewed now and then; (2) careful digging. When 

 bulbs are unearthed in autumn it is found that they are rooting 

 freely and have commenced top growth; when replanted at once 

 they sustain no injury. 



Bulbs in grass. It is common to plant bulbs in turf nowadays. 

 Daffodils are particularly suitable, and Crocuses and Snowdrops are 

 also good. Hyacinths and Tulips should be kept for open soil. 

 The bulbs may be planted in autumn, either by taking up pieces of 

 turf here and there, stirring the soil, adding a little sand and basic 

 slag, and replacing the turf; or by using a special bulb-planter, an 

 implement which obviates lifting the turf. All the Narcissi look 

 nice in grass, and the Poet's must not be forgotten for late bloom- 

 ing. It is not advisable to plant in tennis lawns, or in grass close 

 to the house, as cutting has to be deferred, for the sake of the bulbs, 

 till the middle or end of June; and by that time the grass has grown 

 long and tangled. Bulbs may be planted freely in the woodland 

 and wild garden. 



Bulbs in pots. Every greenhouse-owner learns the value of 

 bulbs in winter and spring. They give him charming material for 

 his stages. Despite a little stiffness, Hyacinths are pre-eminent; 

 but Tulips and Daffodils are beautiful too. All love a gritty, 

 loamy soil; and a splendid compost is 3 parts loam, i part leaf 

 mould, and ^ part sand, all well mixed and used in a moist but 

 not sodden state. The best sizes of flower-pot are 5 -in. and 

 6-in., the former for i Hyacinth or Polyanthus Narcissus, the 

 latter for 3 Tulips or Daffodils. The potting may be done in 

 October, and the soil should be pressed firmly, though not quite 

 hard, round the bulbs, the tips of which may be left protruding. 



