CHAPTER II 



Daffodils in The Garden Border 



How a bulb grows — Soils and varieties — Planting depths 

 and distances — ^Early planting — ^Lifting and dividing — ■ 

 Winter protection — ^The ideal mulch — Sunshine and 

 shade — Blooms for three months — Cutting flowers — 

 How to select bulbs. 



All narcissus and daffodils are bulbous 

 plants, and an understanding of the phases 

 of a bulb's life will help materially in arriving 

 at an intelligent system of cultivation. The 

 bulb, the plant's thickened, underground 

 storehouse from which the roots descend and 

 the stems, leaves and flowers ascend, is fully 

 formed by the growing plant after the flower- 

 ing period and before growth for the season 

 is suspended, and it contains within itself next 

 year's flowers and foliage in embryo. In the 

 thick, fleshy scales of the bulb is stored up a 

 supply of food to support the new growth in 

 early spring; these scales also serve as shields 

 to protect the leaves and' flower from injury, 

 from cold or other external conditions. 

 17 



