Naturalizing the Star of Bethlehem — By Henry Maxwell, 



Con- 

 necticut 



A STARRY WHITE FLOWER OF JUNE WHICH ESCAPES FROM OLD GARDENS AND MAKES BEAUTI- 

 FUL PICTURES IN WOODS, MEADOWS AND ORCHARDS — NOW IS THE TIME TO DIG THE BULBS 



"\ "^ 7" HEN I moved to my present home in 



» * May, 1907, I was surprised and 

 delighted to find hundreds of plants in my 

 back yard which looked like clumps of 

 crocuses after flowering. I could hardly 

 believe my eyes, for it was evident that the 

 previous tenant had not cared about garden- 

 ing, yet these clumps of foliage would seem 

 to indicate that crocuses had been multiply- 

 ing here for many years. 



We had many a lively discussion in 

 the home circle as to whether the plants 

 were really crocuses or not. I soon took 

 the negative, but could give no reason for 

 my faith. As I worked beside them day 

 after day I found them most companionable, 

 until one day I exclaimed: "Well, whatever 

 this weed may be, it 's a perfect plant, even 

 if it never produces a flower." 



But it did produce flowers and charming 

 ones too. For in late May my little girl 

 came running in with a starry white flower 

 she had found in the grass. Then I knew 

 it for my own — the dainty little star of 

 Bethlehem {Ornithogalum umbellatum) . 



In early June we had a bowlful of these 

 modest but lovely flowers on the table every 

 day, and wherever we walked in the garden 

 during that period we saw these bits of star- 



dust strewn in the grass. The whole plant 

 grows only four to six inches high and the 

 leaves, being narrow, harmonize beautifully 

 with rather long grass. 



The flowers are only an inch or so across, 

 but there may be half a dozen in a cluster. 

 They have six petals, or perianth segments, 

 like all members of the lily family, and one of 

 the prettiest features is the green stripe on 

 the back of each petal, reminding one of the 

 exquisite green and white of the snowdrop 

 and snowflake. The green color adds 

 greatly to the delicate beauty of the cut 

 flowers, but is not visible as you look down 

 upon the blossoms in the grass. 



Ever since this discovery I have been 

 seeing the star of Bethlehem everywhere. 

 It is a European flower which has escaped 

 from gardens and occasionally one sees 

 splendid colonies by the roadside near 

 abandoned homes. On the Pratt estate 

 at Glen Cove, Long Island, it makes a fine 

 effect in woods, carpeting the ground with 

 a continuous sheet of flowers. 



Like many another good plant the star 

 of Bethlehem has the "defects of its vir- 

 tues." It multiplies too fast, and though 

 the bulbils help to make fine clumps of 

 foliage, they are provokingly slow in reaching 



blooming size, unless detached and grown 

 separately, which means a good deal of work. 

 Thus it is a little too free for the garden, but 

 this very exuberance of propagation is. 

 what we want in wild gardening. " The 

 star of Bethlehem might run out the grass 

 from a lawn," says Neltje Blanchan in 

 "The American Flower Garden," "and 

 should never be planted in one. It spreads 

 prodigiously." But in long grass that is 

 mowed only once a year it is a joy, pro- 

 ducing sheets of bloom. 



The best time to dig the bulbs is in July, 

 when the foliage begins to die. I have 

 moved dozens of clumps in spring and 

 should not be afraid to transplant them 

 at any time, but this is the logical season. 

 They can be bought of bulb dealers in the 

 fall and cost about $15 a thousand bulbs. 

 Whether or not these are only the large 

 bulbs sure to bloom next spring, I do not 

 know. But I think the cheapest way to 

 get them would be to go scouting about the 

 country now, until you find a colony that is 

 running wild in some farmer's woodlot or 

 meadow. Offer the farmer a dollar or two 

 for the privilege of digging a wagon load and 

 for $5 you can get what might cost you 

 otherwise from $30 to $<o. 



"Wouldn't you like sheets of starry white flowers in your meadow, woods or tall grass in June? The star of Bethlehem has pretty crocus-like foliage. The> 



bulbs can be had almost for the cost of digging and hauling. {Ornithogalum umbellatum) 



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