EVERY WOMAN HER OWN FLOWER GARDENER. 117 



It can be given twice a week, if the bulbs are in the open ground or in 



large boxes. 



The Tigridia. 



The Tiger-flower, or Tigridia, is a very showy Mexican bulb, growing 

 about eighteen inches high ; its flowers are four inches in diameter, and 

 of most gorgeous coloring, and curious form. They require the same 

 culture as the Gladiolus; will not live out of doors in cold latitudes. 

 There are as yet but four or five varieties, which bloom from July to 

 October. 



T. pavonia, scarlet, spotted and tipped with yellow. 



T. conchiflora, orange and yellow, with black spots. 



T. conchiflora grandiflora, lemon-color, spotted with crimson. 



T. speciosa, orange, with deep, maroon-colored spots. 



Amaryllis formosissima. 



The Jacobean Lily, or Amaryllis formosissima, is a dwarf-growing 

 plant, and each bulb will usually produce two flowers of the richest 

 crimson-violet hue, and of remarkably beautiful form ; the flowers have 

 six petals, three erect and reflexed, and three drooping, giving the flower 

 a peculiarly graceful appearance. If planted early, in the house or hot- 

 bed, it will bloom in June or July. The bulbs must be preserved like 

 those of the Tigridia. 



Vallota Purpurea Superba. 



This plant is of the easiest culture, and no summer flowering bulb 

 surpasses it in richness of coloring. It is a native of the Cape of Good 

 Hope ; and its leaves do not die down after the flowering season, so it 

 cannot be packed away like other bulbs, but must be kept at rest in the 

 earth, in a dry state. The leaves are flat and of a rich green, and spread 

 out like a fan. The flower stalk rises about a foot in height, and bears 

 a cluster of from six to eight scarlet, lily-shaped flowers. The bulbs 

 are increased by numerous offsets, which will bloom in three years, at 

 the latest. Botanists class this flower with the genus Amaryllis, and it 

 is called in some books Amaryllis speciosa ; but it is more commonly 

 known as Valotta purpurea, though there is no shade of purple about it, 

 for the flowers are of the brightest scarlet, with bright yellow stamens 

 and anthers. The bulbs can be planted out in the open border, and 

 repotted when the frost comes. It is such a showy and elegant plant, 

 that it should be cultivated by all who delight in Flowering Bulbs. 



