20 The Wild Garden 



plants for wild gardening, many places having much 

 greater advantages than mine for showing their beauty 

 in the rich stretches of grass by pleasure-ground walks. 

 Various kinds of places may be adorned by Narcissi in 

 this way — meadows, woods, copses, wood walks, and 

 drives through ornamental woodland and pleasure 

 grounds, where the grass need not be mown until late 

 in the summer. 



Do^s-tooth Violet. — This beautiful and delicate- 

 looking plant surprises me by the free way it grows in 

 grass in several places where I have planted it, varying 

 a good deal, according to the soil, in its size, but never 

 failing to interest by its beautiful leaves and flowers. 

 It withers rather early, and is a perfect plant for 

 meadow culture. 



Last autumn I made a trial of the Grape Hyacinth 

 (Muscari), and was delighted with the result this spring, 

 with the pretty clouds of blue, quite distinct in the 

 grass. 



Snowdrops in various forms are indispensable, and 

 do fairly well, though they vary very much in the way 

 they thrive on different soils. They look much better 

 in the grass than in bare earth. 



Among the flowers in the meadow grass there is 

 nothing more beautiful than the varieties of Snake's-head 

 (Fritillaria). It is the very type of plant for this work, 

 and the white and pretty purple flowers are admired by 

 all who see them in the early grass. 



The Crocus, from its early brilliancy, is indispensable, 



