BULBS 267 



plate 89.) The cheapest, longest-lived, and best species for natur- 

 alizing is Colchicum autumnale. The objection to it in gardens is 

 that in spring it has big, coarse leaves suggesting skunk cabbage. 

 Possibly the meadow is the best place to naturalize autumn crocuses. 



But the most important meadow flowers of England are the 

 narcissi. I judge that the English are generally careful to choose 

 the sun-loving varieties for this purpose as they do the shade- 

 lovers for the woods. The richest colours are preserved only in 

 the shade of deciduous trees, and in selecting varieties for the 

 meadow we must be careful to find out which ones will not bleach 

 in the sun. There is an English catalogue that lists all the va- 

 rieties which are strong enough to battle s with grass and tells which 

 of them will stand the sun and which must have partial shade. 

 There is no longer any excuse for us to plead ignorance because 

 Kirby's book on daffodils tells the limitations of the varieties in 

 America so far as they are known. 



Hundreds of Americans bought last year a mixture of narcissi 

 for the wild garden which was said to contain four varieties that 

 would extend the period of bloom to six weeks. The varieties 

 were guaranteed not to overlap seriously. This is a great im- 

 provement over indiscriminate mixtures, as the poetic quality 

 vanishes when more than one variety is in bloom at once. But 

 there is an even more artistic idea. Buy the same four varieties 

 separately and plant them separately in the same field, leaving an 

 irregular strip of grass of considerable size between any two col- 

 onies. Then there is no bewildering scatterment, but a series of 

 bold irregular colonies such as you see on plate 87. Trumpets 

 and starry narcissi will not harmonize in the same group, and when 

 several kinds bloom at once, some will look "washed out" by 

 contrast. 



