24 BULBS AND THEIR CULTIVATION. 



CHAPTER V. 



BULBS ON ROCKERIES. 



THOSE who possess a rockery may derive a good deal of 

 pleasure from the cultivation of the many kinds of dwarf 

 bulbous and tuberous-rooted plants described in the list 

 published on p. 43. The chionodoxas, puschkinias, alliums, 

 bravoas, brodiaeas, calochorti, colchicums, crocuses, ery- 

 throniums, fritillarias, galanthuses, irises, muscaris, nar- 

 cissi, as minimus and Bulbocodium, hymenocallis, cycla- 

 men, and a few of the tulips are examples of various in- 

 teresting genera of bulbs and tubers that are well adapted 

 for rockery culture. 



Carpeting: Plants for Bulbs The elevated soil of 

 a properly-constructed rockery ensures a well-drained site, 

 just what most bulbs like, and the nooks and crannies afford 

 ideal homes for small colonies of these lowly and interest- 

 ing plants. As many of the foregoing genera flower and 

 complete their growth early, it is a good plan to grow 

 some dwarf alpine plant as a carpet or groundwork for 

 clothing the bare soil in summer, and as a means of pro- 

 tection to the more tender bulbs in winter. Good plants 

 for this purpose are the charming violettas, which Mr. 

 D. B. Crane so enthusiastically describes in his book on 

 " Pansies and Violets," and also aubrietias, Antennaria 

 tomentosa, Arenaria balearica, montana, and purpurascens, 

 Acaena microphylla, Campanula pulla, hederacea, and caes- 

 pitosa, Lina-ria alpina and repens, Mentha Eequieni, Oxalis 

 corniculata rubra, Saxifraga hypnoides and muscoides, 

 Veronica repens and saxatilis, Hutchinsia alpina, Phlox 

 canadensis, procumbens, reptans, and subulata, and 

 Sedum acre, glaucum, and dasyphyllum. These are all 

 very dwarf evergreen plants, not exceeding three inches 



