IN THE FRONT YARD. 115 



FIKST^ TULIPS. 



You plant these in October about four incbes deep 

 in well prepared soil. When the ground freezes 

 put on some well rotted manure. Plant a lot of them ; 

 get the double rose and double white, and some mixed. 

 You ought to have $5 worth which would get two or 

 three hundred. They fight their way up through slush 

 and frosts and are the glorious harbingers of spring. 

 You can take them up after they bloom or let them 

 stay. Mr. Terry of Iowa 30 years ago planted tulips 

 on a hill and had not touched them and they were 

 blooming last year. It is perhaps as well to take them 

 up and replant once in a while. 



I^ext come the columbines, which begin before the 

 tulips are through. 



The pansy is the last to bloom in the fall, and be- 

 gins with the tulips or before. They are easily grown. 

 In a mild winter I have seen them bloom in the open 

 ground in Massachusetts in January. 



Before the columbines are through you have the orien- 

 tal poppies and paeonies. Then the gaillardias begin, 

 and keep at it all summer. In the meantime the irises 

 begin their work along with tlie lilies. Then come the 

 glorious phloxes and tlieir time of blooming can be 

 regulated from June till October or N'ovember even. 



Running parallel with your perennials your hardy 

 flowering shrubs are in continuous bloom. 



The Delphiniums and the foxgloves come on with 

 their magnificent display. 



