BULBOUS PLANTS 



that live in rich dry soil. They blossom after the 

 irises, and therefore give continuity to the planting. 

 There is, moreover, complete harmony between the 

 foliage of the irises and the gladioli, which cannot be 

 said when they are used in connection with roses. 



But, in the majority of cases, it is individual taste 

 that governs their planting ground, and wherever 

 gorgeous rich bloom is desired at a time when other 

 flowers are scarce in the garden, gladioli should be 

 encouraged. 



There is one bulbous plant which bears the same 

 relation to the autumn that the crocus holds to the 

 spring. Colchicum autumnale, the meadow saffron, or 

 more commonly and erroneously called the autumn 

 crocus, is preeminently lovely. It looks like a very 

 large crocus, delicately rose lavender in hue. It stands 

 two or three inches above the ground, and is not seen 

 alone, but in groups of five or six flowers, entirely 

 without foliage. This is because the bulb makes its 

 lance-shaped leaf growth in the spring and early sum- 

 mer, showing with it the seed pod of the preceding 

 year. The meadow saffron, therefore, should always 

 be planted in places where the grass need not be cut 

 until after this growth has died down to the ground. 



The meadow saffron forms enchanting little colonies 

 in the grass of borders, which in turn provides it with 

 a gracious green background. If planted in beds, it 

 is apt to look shorn of its natural belongings, with only 

 the bare earth to offset its delicate color. It requires 

 a rich soil. 



In England, several varieties of Colchicums are 

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