THE WELL-CONSIDERED GARDEN 



here shown (page 80) very badly because rather 

 too tightly planted. Puschkinia could be asso- 

 ciated with Iris reticulata most beautifully; or its 

 slender bluish bells would be delightful growing 

 near Tulij) Kaufmanniana. The bloom of all 

 these bulbous things may be quite confidently 

 expected at the same time. 



Another illustration shows practically nothing 

 but crowds of the fine white crocus Reine Blanche, 

 grown as naturally as possible below Pyrus Ja- 

 ponica. Here they dwell calmly and seem to 

 sleep year after year, except for the time when 

 they show their shining faces to the sun of April. 

 The most dreaded enemy of the crocus, to my mind, 

 is a wet snow. The petals, once soaked and 

 weighted, never recover their beautiful texture, 

 and when, one fatal April, as my note-book shows, 

 our hectic climate brought in one hour upon these 

 charming but tender flowers rain, hail, and snow, 

 the wreckage may be left to the imagination of 

 the tender-hearted. 



Nothing, to my thinking, can exceed for beauty 

 the picture made by the majestic Tulipa Vitellina, 

 with its beautifully held cups of palest lemon 

 color, when supported by the lavender trusses of 

 Phlox divaricata — and the stems of that, in turn, 



82 



