THE BULB GARDEN 153 



and freshness have faded, the troubles begm ; and 

 it is on account of these after-troubles that we are 

 driven to say that bulbs, though they may be the 

 cynosure of our eyes at one season, are, at another, 

 a serious perplexity. The fading green, which 

 takes such an inconvenient length of time to get 

 itself decently out of the way, is the first difficulty. 

 All would be well were it only permissible to 

 cut off all that offends ; but if this be done a 

 truth which everyone does not recognise all hope 

 of flowers for next year is at an end. Leaves and 

 stems must, perforce, be left in all their dishevel- 

 ment until the right moment comes for their re- 

 moval ; and the practice of plaiting the dying 

 foliage of crocuses, for example, is but a lame 

 device, a remedy worse than the disease. Unfor- 

 tunately when all untidiness has at last disappeared, 

 and the bulbs are safely tucked away for their 

 long sleep, another trouble takes its place. Yawn- 

 ing gaps are marked with unsightly labels ; or, 

 if the label be forsworn, the exact spot is sure to 

 be forgotten, and the continual pricking over of 

 the surface which, in light soils especially, is so 

 essential in retaining necessary moisture in the 

 ground, disturbs and injures them, or some dis- 

 aster occurs which leads us to rue the day when 

 we suffered ourselves to plant bulbs in a mixed 

 border. It is not, therefore, without deliberate 

 thought that the bulb garden is taken as a heading 

 for an essay on a somewhat intricate subject. 



It is much easier, on occasion, to garden on paper 

 than in real practice! A thousand contingencies 

 come in the way and prevent gardeners, and espe- 



