132 



THE WILD GARDEN. 



Cheirantlnts will be fmmd to grow on ruins quite as well, but at 

 present we are not quite sure of these. The clear yellow Erysimum 

 ochroleucum is very like a wallflower in type, and thrives well in dry 

 sandy places. With these might be associated Yesicaria utriculata. 



Meadow Saffron, Cokhicum. — In addition to the meadow 

 saffron, plentifully dotted over the moist fields in A'arious parts of 

 England, there are seA^eral other species which could be readily 

 naturalised in almost any soil and position. They would be particularly 



desirable where 

 subjects that flower 

 in autumn would 

 be sought ; and 

 they are charming, 

 seen in tufts or 

 colonies on the 

 lawn or in the 

 pleasure-gr(.)und. 



Crocus.— One 

 or two Crocuses are 

 naturalised in Eng- 

 land already, and 

 there is scarcely one 

 of them that willnot 

 succeed thus if pro- 

 perly placed. They should not be placed where coarse vegetation would 

 choke them iip or prevent the sun getting to their flowers and leaves. 

 Some of the delicately-tinted varieties of vernus are w^ell worth dotting 

 about in grassy places and on sunny slopes, if only to accompany the snow- 

 drop. C Imperati is a valuable early-flowering kind, and the autumnal 

 flowering ones are particularly desirable ; but we must not particularise 

 where all are good. " In the plantations here," writes a correspondent, 

 " on each side of a long avenue, we have the common Crocus in every 

 shade of purple (there are scarcely any yellow ones) growing literally 

 in hundreds of thousands. We have no record of when the roots were 

 originally planted (and the oldest people about the estate say they have 

 always been the same as far as their recollection goes) ; but they grow 

 so thickly that it is quite impossible to step where they are without 

 treading on two or three flowers. The effect produced by them in spring 

 is magnificent, but unfortunately, their beauty is but short-lived. I 

 have transplanted a good many roots to the wild garden, to the great 



The foliage of the Meadow Saffron in Spring 



