^ HARDY GARDEN PLANTS. 25 



Narcissuses are planted in rows sixteen inches apart, and tlie 

 annuals, such as Stocks, Asters, Mignonette, and like subjects, 

 are set out between each row, and these are gay in late summer 

 and autumn. When these annuals are cleared off after frost, a 

 top-dressing is given all over the beds, and this is all the fertil- 

 izer they seem to require. The Narcissus will not thrive indefi- 

 nitely in the same spot wath the same vigor as when lifted 

 every three years and sorted in sizes, replanting them after the 

 soil has been enriched to a good depth. The best time to lift is 

 at the dying off of the foliage ; the roots are then found to have 

 died off too, except in the Poeticus section, which seem never to 

 be wholly inactive. It is, of course, quite in keeping with a 

 herbaceous border to have clumps of Narcissus mixed in here 

 and there along the margin, and where but few are grown, this 

 is, perhaps, the most desirable way, but where there is a collec- 

 tion of many varieties, it is preferable to have them where labels 

 will not be disturbed and where each kind is near the other for 

 comparison. 



I am anxious to say a word or two in favor of the various 

 Tulips other than those generally used for anassing for color 

 effects. There are a number of genuine species of Tulips that are 

 most beautiful in the mixed border, and they have also greater 

 vigor and taller habit, and grow on for any number of years 

 without deterioration. Tulipa Gesneriana may be taken as the 

 type of these late-flowering kinds, and there are few bulbs that 

 give such rich coloring as this ; it is rich without being gaudy. 

 Then there is the Horned Tulip, T. cormita, Avith petals that 

 narrow^ out to a point ; T. Greigi, with its rich colors and prettily 

 spotted leaves ; T. vitellina, a pure yellow; and so we may go on 

 to the number of fifty or more species that are not often seen 

 cultivated, but some of Avhich are real gems for the rock garden, 

 being of dwarf habit and liable to be spattered by rain if planted 

 on the level ground. You have no doubt heard of the so-called 

 Darwin Tulips. This is only a new name for the old-time Breeder 

 Tulips of the Flemish and English raisers ; they were so called 

 because from these were selected the kinds that were considered 

 good enough for naming. The Tulip craze has mostly died out, 

 but the lovely colors of this section give them a charm that is 

 peculiar, and rarely tires ; rich dark velvety colors predominate, 

 yellows being absent ; no two are alike if bought in mixture ; 



