i yo THE NEW GARDENING 



whether of the Cottage or Darwin section, is one of its 

 great assets. And when once it begins to bloom it im- 

 proves day by day. The flowers increase in size. Fresh 

 blooms follow each other in steady succession. The thick 

 texture of the petals ensures durability, even under hot 

 sunshine. When, however, the flowers at last begin to 

 fall there should be no hesitation about removing the 

 stems, and they should be snapped off low down near 

 the leaves, so that there may be as little unsightliness as 

 possible. Observe, the plant itself should not be broken 

 off, and while that is easily avoided it is also easily done 

 by a careless action. The lowest leaf on the plant is 

 particularly important, because it is the principal bulb- 

 feeder. Probably if all the foliage except this basal leaf 

 were removed the plants would still do well, but to be 

 on the safe side the grower should preserve all the foliage 

 until it turns yellow. At that stage the sooner it is re- 

 moved the better, for it is of no more value to the bulbs, 

 and is unsightly. Where there are many large clumps of 

 Tulips in a border it behoves the gardener to be on the 

 alert about this matter. It is not good gardening to 

 leave decaying masses of foliage long after their work is 

 finished. 



The non-lifting system has disadvantages, and one is 

 that the grower is largely dependent on his labels for a 

 considerable part of the year. There are Tulip-lovers so 

 enthusiastic, and blessed with so good a memory, that 

 they know, not only the exact position of every clump 

 when the plants are dormant, but also of every variety. 

 But others are not so fortunate, and it behoves them 

 to keep a jealous eye on the labels, never letting them 

 become displaced or illegible. Particular care is neces- 

 sary in a dry summer, when the labels are apt to be 

 broken, and not only that, but hard to replace in baked 



