Gardening for Amateurs 



639 



thrive in most soils, and are suitable for 

 sunny and shady positions. Once planted 

 they should not be disturbed for some years. 

 Plant the bulbs 4 inches deep during August 

 and September. Erythronium may be used 

 as an edging to borders under deciduous 

 trees, or as a carpet for beds of deciduous 

 shrubs, among hardy ferns, and in the rock 

 garden. Those who have a tiled 

 edging to their borders should 

 plant the Dog's Tooth Violet 

 close up where the roots can re- 

 main undisturbed, though the 

 border be dug over every year. 

 The plants have richly marbled 

 green leaves, and bear dainty 

 flower spikes 4 to 6 inches high. 

 E. Dens-canis is the Common 

 Dog's Tooth Violet ; there are 

 sorts with purple, rose, and white 

 flowers. In mixture the bulbs 

 can be purchased for half-a-crown 

 per hundred. The following 

 American Dog's Tooth Violets 

 have rather larger flowers and are 

 a little taller : E. americanum, 

 yellow, spotted brown ; E. cali- 

 fornicum (giganteum), a beautiful 

 pale yellow w r ith orange markings, 

 D inches high, four to nine flowers 

 on a spike ; E. grandiflorum robus- 

 tum, golden-yellow, free flowering ; 

 E. Hartwegii, light yellow, an 

 early-flowering sort ; E. Hender- 

 soni, pale lilac, darker centre, 

 yellow ring ; E. Johnston!, rose, 

 yellow zone ; E. revolutuni. pink 

 to rosy - purple ; E. Watsoni, 

 creamy-white, central ring golden HH 

 yellow. 



Fritillaria (Fritillary). A 

 large family of bulbous plants, though 

 with the exception of two kinds, the 

 Snake's Head Fritillary and the Crown 

 Imperial, they are comparatively little 

 grown. Such, however, ought not to be 

 the case, for many of them are very 

 charming during April, May and June. 

 Fritillaria imperialis, the Crown Imperial, 

 is a splendid April-flowering border plant 

 which one usually sees best in the old- 

 fashioned country garden, where the bulbs 

 are not disturbed for years. September is 



the best month to plant ; put the bulbs 

 4 to 5 inches deep. They thrive in most 

 garden soils ; give a mulching of old 

 manure to established clumps annually in 

 spring. The average height of the plants 

 is about 3 feet. The stout leafy stems 

 terminate in a cluster of drooping bell- 

 shaped flowers prettily set among the foliage. 



Snowdrops grown in a flower pot. 



If one plants a bed of them on the lawn it 

 must be in association with some other 

 plant which will flower in late summer and 

 autumn, the Gladiolus, for instance, as the 

 foliage of the Crown Imperial dies down in 

 early summer. There are several shades of 

 colour, ranging from yellow to orange and 

 reddish-buff, the bulbs usually being sold 

 under colours, red, yellow, orange brilliant, 

 aurora, light orange, and foliis-variegatis, 

 gold-striped foliage. 



The Snake's Head or Turk's Cap Fritillary 



