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Gardening for Amateurs 



deep and 4 inches apart. The best protection 

 in winter is to place a cold frame over the 

 bed, principally with the view of throwing 

 off heavy rains. Failing this cover the 

 border with light litter or ashes. Lift the 

 bulbs and replant the bed about every 

 fourth or fifth year. The Calochortus is 

 also satisfactory when planted in a warm 

 nook in the rock garden. By growing a 

 varied selection of kinds the flowering season 

 may be extended from May to August. A 



Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa Luciliae). 



dozen of the best are C. clavatus, golden- 

 yellow, 2 feet ; C. nitidus, white shaded lilac, 

 dark blotch, 1^ feet ; C. splendens, lilac, 

 2 feet ; varieties of C. venustus : citrinus, 

 lemon yellow, blotched ; roseus, white flushed 

 rosy red, 1 feet ; vesta, a pleasing mixture 

 of creamy-white, rose-purple and crimson ; C. 

 Benthamii, yellow, dark blotches, one of 

 first to flower, 6 inches ; C. lilacinus, pale 

 lilac, 9 inches ; C. Purdyi, white tinted 

 mauve and green, 12 inches ; C. macro- 

 carpus, pale lavender, 15 inches ; C. Plum- 



merae, lavender, 15 inches ; and albus (Fairy 

 Lantern), pendent white blossoms, 12 inches. 



Gamassia (Quamash). This useful 

 hardy bulbous plant belongs to the Lily 

 family, and has long, rather narrow leaves 

 and tall, slender flower spikes. The bulbs 

 thrive in ordinary garden soil that is well 

 drained. Choose a sunny position, and plant 

 the bulbs about 4 inches deep in autumn. 

 Lifting and replanting may be done with ad- 

 vantage about once in four or five years. 

 An increased stock is obtainable by detach- 

 ing the offsets when lifting the bulbs in Sep- 

 tember or October, and by seeds which are 

 sown as soon as ripe or in spring in a box 

 in a cold frame. The most popular sort is 

 C. esculenta, spikes of blue flowers, May and 

 June, 1J feet ; may be naturalised in grass. 

 The variety alba has white blossoms shaded 

 with lavender. Other sorts are C. Cusickii, 

 tall spikes of pale lavender-blue flowers, 

 3 feet or more in height ; C. Fraseri, pale 

 blue flowers, 1 foot ; C. Leichtlinii, creamy- 

 white, 2 feet ; var. atrocoerulea, dark blue, 

 3 feet ; all flower in summer. 



Ghionodoxa (Glory of the Snow). 

 This is one of the daintiest of all our early 

 spring flowers. Growing 6 inches or so in 

 height, it forms a perfect blue carpet a few 

 seasons after planting. This is due to the 

 fact that the plants not only increase by 

 offsets, but they seed freely and self-sown 

 seedlings come up in quantity if the ground 

 is not hoed. The bulbs may be put in 

 thickly if used in spring bedding, but the 

 best effects arc obtained when the bulbs are 

 planted permanently, and come up year 

 after year in increasing vigour. As a ground- 

 work to beds of deciduous shrubs, among 

 hardy ferns, under leaf -losing trees where the 

 grass does not grow too thickly, and in the 

 rock garden, the Chionodoxas make a charm- 

 ing picture during March and early April. 

 The bulbs thrive in most soils in sun or 

 partial shade. Cover them with 2 inches of 

 soil. The most popular is C. Luciliae, 

 which has blue blossoms with white centre ; 

 there is a white variety, alba ; sardensis is 

 deep gentian-blue, and gigantea (grandiflora), 

 has larger blue flowers. 



Golchicum (Autumn Crocus or 

 Meadow Saffron). Few plants are more 

 striking in the garden than the Meadow 



