86 BULBS AND THEIR CULTIVATION. 



any of the hardy bulbs described for a cold house with 

 equal success in window boxes, or on roofs or balconies. 



How to Grow Them. The boxes should be such as 

 are used for ordinary summer plants. The soil, indeed, 

 that has been used for summer plants may be used for 

 bulbs. It will only be necessary to fork it up, add a 

 handful of bone-meal and two or three handfuls of decayed 

 manure or horse droppings broken up fine, mixing the 

 whole thoroughly. In September or October the bulbs 

 may then be planted. For window-boxes an edging of 

 crocuses may be planted near the outer side; then a row 

 of tulips, with one of hyacinths behind. Or, scillas or 

 chionodoxas and snowdrops may be planted alternately 

 as an edging ; next these a row of muscaris, and a row of 

 narcissi at the back. Another pretty way is to plant 

 hyacinths or tulips only in each box, and to place 'between 

 these polyanthuses, double daisies, forget-me-nots, or 

 wallflowers. In this case the bulbs will flower first, and 

 the other plants follow on, providing a display of floral 

 beauty from March to June. If summer-flowering bulbs 

 are grown, such as English or Spanish irises or gladioli, 

 similar spring-flowering plants might be grown between 

 the bulbs. After the former have flowered they could be 

 replaced by seedling nasturtiums or petunias, to flower in 

 company with the bulbs and afterwards. The advantage 

 of growing other plants between the bulbs is the greater 

 variety and longer duration of floral beauty, and the pretty 

 effect of an attractive carpeting for the soil of the boxes. 

 On balconies or roof gardens larger boxes may be used 

 than for window-sills. They may be of any length or 

 width to suit the situation, but the average depth should 

 be nine inches. Holes should be bored freely in the 

 bottoms, and the ends stood on bricks or narrow strips 

 of wood to permit water to drain away and air to have 

 access to the bottom of the boxes. Here, again, the 

 boxes may be edged with scillas, crocuses, snowdrops, 

 chionodoxas, or muscaris, followed behind with rows of 



