Round the Year in the Garden 



are mixed. If the reader lives in a cold district, he 

 should plant in spring and lift the roots in autumn, 

 in the same way as those of Gladiolus. 



Flowers for Odd Corners. What is it that mars 

 the charm of gardens so frequently ? It is, I think, those 

 bare, odd corners which are a kind of " no flower's land." 

 They are dismissed with a shrug of the shoulders and the 

 exclamation that " Nothing will grow there." But there 

 are things that will grow there. Take for example the 

 Arums or Dragon Flowers. One cannot pretend that 

 they are pretty ; some might regard them as unpre- 

 possessing ; even then they must in justice ask " Are 

 they less attractive than the soil and weeds they are 

 destined to replace ? " If planted in a moist and shady 

 spot, they will give of their best, and one ought to be 

 correspondingly grateful. Probably the best of all is 

 Arum Dracunculus, 2 feet or rather more high, which 

 bears a greenish spathe in July. Then there is the 

 common Cuckoo Pint or Wake Robin of the hedgerows, 

 (Arum maculatum), of which the spotted leaves are not 

 unpleasing, though its chief glory is in autumn when 

 the orange - coloured fruits glow brilliantly enough to 

 bring a splash of colour to the darkest corner. If neither 

 of these appeals I have still one more to bring to the 

 gardener's notice, namely, Arum italicum, which has a 

 pale, yellowish spathe in spring, and a second period 

 of beauty in autumn, when the bright red fruits are 

 held aloft on naked stem. There are even others, but 

 our tour of the garden, if it is to be fairly comprehen- 

 sive, must not be too detailed. It may be as well to 

 explain the significance of a spathe. It is easily made 

 clear by reference to the Arum Lily, which everyone 

 knows; the white part of the Arum Lily is the spathe 

 and the yellow central portion is the spadix. The flowers 

 cluster upon the spadix and are insignificant. 



Mariposa Lilies* In strong contrast to the Arums 

 are the Mariposa Lilies. If one confesses the Arums 



6 



