GARDENING BY M YSELF. j ^^ 



Then there are the parrot tulips — gay, 

 rich, almost flaunting — yet not quite ; with 

 cups too large to be held up ; and last of all, 

 the Show Tulips, as the florists call them ; 

 late, tall, and of more regular beauty than 

 most of the early kinds. No one who buys 

 Cicero, or the Duchess of Brunswick, will 

 think his money ill spent. 



Next in order of blooming, are my favour- 

 ite hardy gladioluses (I follow " Agricultur- 

 ist " authority in my plural) — by no means 

 to be compared with the late-flowering 

 French hybrids, and yet giving wonderfully 

 pretty bloom, and plenty of it, long before 

 their French cousins begin their toilet. 

 Plant them in the autumn, and take the 

 benefit of their cheapness. You can get 

 them for eight or ten cents apiece. 



Lilies come next, and they too should be 

 planted in the fall. 



But here I bethink me of my promise not 

 to mention everything : remembering too 

 that there are still left some things which I 

 ought not to pass by. 



