644 



Gardening for Amateurs 



lifted and stored in an airy shed or cellar 

 until planting time in September or October, 

 (rood Varieties. There are Hyacinths with 

 single and double blossoms, the former 

 being the more popular. A selection of 

 twenty of the best in varied colours is as 

 follows : Single : Alba maxima and Mont 

 Blanc, white ; Voltaire, creamy - white ; 



Pink Hyacinth Moreno. 



Grandeur a Merveille, blush ; Ida, pale 

 yellow ; Yellow Hammer, rich yellow ; Gi- 

 gantea, delicate pink ; Moreno, rosy-pink ; 

 Garibaldi, carmine-scarlet ; General Pelissier, 

 deep crimson ; Vuurbaak, rich crimson ; Leo- 

 nidas, lavender-blue ; Grand Maitre, soft 

 blue ; Lord Derby, pearl or china blue ; 

 King of the Blues, dark blue ; Lord Bal- 

 four, purplish-mauve. Double : Koh-i-noor, 

 salmon-red ; Van Speyk, lilac-blue ; La 



Tour d'Auvergne, white ; Cloth of Gold, 

 yellow. 



In addition to the bedding Hyacinths 

 there is one small-flowered species, the 

 Spanish or Alpine Hyacinth (Hyacinthus 

 amethystinus), that produces dainty blue 

 flowers on stems 6 inches high during May 

 and June ; there is also a white variety, alba. 

 They are charming for groups in 

 borders and the rock garden or for 

 naturalising in grass. They need 

 not be disturbed unless for purposes 

 of division by offsets in autumn. 

 The Spanish Hyacinth thrives in 

 ordinary garden soil. 



Iris. The bulbous or tuberous- 

 rooted Iris are delightful plants for 

 amateur gardeners. They form a 

 large family, and the flowering season 

 extends from November to July. The 

 winter-flowering kinds and some of 

 the other small sorts need to be 

 grown on a warm sheltered border 

 or in warm nooks in the rock garden. 

 Though the plants are perfectly 

 hardy the flowers need protection 

 from cold winds, heavy rains, snow 

 and frosts. Sheets of glass, handlights 

 or branches of evergreen shrubs may 

 be requisitioned for this purpose. 

 The ground must be well drained, 

 and the soil consist of sandy loam,, 

 to which leaf-mould and old mortar 

 rubble are added. Plant in August 

 from 2 to 4 inches deep, according 

 to the size of the bulb. The mid- 

 winter - flowering Irises are : alata 

 (the Scorpion Iris), blue, purple and 

 gold, 9 inches ; histrio, porcelain- 

 blue, blotched yellow, 6 inches ; 

 histrioides, blue, orange and cream, 

 9 inches ; and Vartani, azure blue, 

 dark veins, 6 inches. In early spring, 

 commencing in February, the best known 

 Irises in flower are : reticulata, dark 

 blue, fragrant, 9 inches ; Krelagei, deep 

 purple, fragrant, 9 inches ; Danfordiae, 

 golden -yellow, 4 to 6 inches ; Bakeriana, 

 pale blue, dark blue and white, fragrant, 

 9 inches to 1 foot ; Persica, blue, white and 

 yellow, 6 inches. These are followed by 

 Caucasica, primrose-yellow, 6 inches, and 

 tuberosa (the Snake's Head Iris), green and 



