PERENNIALS AND BULBS. 369 



desirable, to be viewed from a distance. As a background 

 for borders it is also an acquisition. It spreads some by 

 suckering. But if the superfluous suckers are taken out 

 each spring there is no extension until towards autumn. 

 It is hardy, but its fleshy roots are killed in nearly snow- 

 less winters at the West if not protected by leaf or other 

 mulching. 



372. Lily-of-the- Valley. This beautiful little flowering 

 plant will ever be popular and pleasing. In all parts of 

 our country, with its bright summer sun, it loves the 

 shade. A bed of it where it only gets the morning and 

 evening sun will soon extend its borders. It needs occa- 

 sional thinning and a dressing of fine manure each fall. 



373. Care of the Perennial Beds. It pays to cover all 

 perennial beds with forest leaves or coarse manure in 

 autumn, after clearing off the tops and litter. Even if 

 some plants are hardy enough to winter safely without 

 cover, they do better with it. The writer's experience 

 favors the use of forest-tree leaves. They are nature's 

 covering, and it is not well to rake them all off in spring. 

 If a part of them are worked into the soil each spring, it 

 will prove a benefit to the plants by adding humus to the 

 soil. In addition, the application on the surface of a good 

 coating of barnyard manure, well rotted, at least once in 

 two years, will prove beneficial. 



374. The Tulip Bed. The grand modern tulips may also 

 be classed with the hardy outdoor plants, as with slight 

 leafy protection the bulbs live over winter in our most try- 

 ing climates. In starting a bed order all early or all late 

 flowering varieties. In no case mix the early and late sorts 

 in the same bed. Plant at the North in October, about 

 three inches deep and eight inches apart in all directions, 

 but not in rows. Prior to severe freezing cover the bed 

 with four inches of leaves, to be raked off in early spring. 



