October. 1909 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



115 



Dutch hyacinths -will not endure frost ; plant early 

 as possible 



to see them flowering when a late flurry of 

 snow happens along. Plant the bulbs in 

 clumps about six inches apart and about 

 three inches deep. 



The best white varieties are Mont Blanc 

 and Mammoth White. In yellow the best 

 are Mammoth Golden Yellow and Cloth of 

 Gold; in purple David Rizzio and King of 

 the Blues. The best striped sorts are Sir 

 Walter Scott and Albion. 



As a subject for naturalizing the narcissus 

 is perhaps the best of all the bulbs. All that 

 is necessary is the first planting, after that 

 they multiply very rapidly. They can be 

 used in woodlands, along meadow banks or 

 brooks, along garden walks, as a border 

 plant — in fact, any nook or corner can be 

 improved wonderfully with a planting of 

 these beautiful, yet inexpensive, bulbs. 

 The small flowering types are best for natur- 

 alizing as they multiply faster. The large, 

 flowering kinds are used in formal beds to 

 some extent, but look better if planted in 

 clumps, each variety by itself, in the hardy 

 plant border or in spots where they will 

 brighten up a shrubbery border. Narcissus 

 require planting about the same as a 

 hyacinths. Some people do not plant so 

 deeply, but I prefer six inches to the bottom 

 of the bulb, as I think they are farther away 

 from the drought, and this helps them in 

 summer when the new bulbs are forming. 

 In this way increase is rapid. My favorite 



In the early days of spring the bulbs give •welcome 

 color to beds and shrubbery 



of the entire family (and it is a large one) 

 is the poet's narcissus (Narcissus poeticus), 

 and no error will be made by using this for 

 all kinds of natural plantings. Other 

 forms of this are the varieties poetarum later 

 flowering, and omatus, earlier. The largest of 

 the type is var. grandifiorus. All the poet's 

 narcissus are white with crimson centres, very 

 short-cupped and very bold in their manner 

 of flowering and very fragrant. Other 

 short-cupped varieties closely allied to the 

 poet's narcissus are Narcissus biflorus, white 

 with yellow cup, and Narcissus Burbidgei, 

 white perianth, yellow cup-edged crimson. 



Of the large-flowering kinds there are 

 three groups, namely, the large or trumpet 

 cupped varieties, the medium-cupped 

 varieties, and the doubles. All are very 

 useful for cut flowers. 



Among the best of the trumpet all-yellow 

 kinds are Golden Spur, Henry Irving, 

 Princess, Maximus, Trumpet Major, and 

 Emperor. This last one is the largest of 

 them all, although Trumpet Major is per- 

 haps the most commonly grown. In the 

 two-colored section, Empress is my favorite. 

 This has a rich yellow trumpet and white 

 perianth. Horsneldi is also a good one of 

 the same color. A new variety of this type 

 pure white and sure to become very popular 

 is Madame De Graaf. 



In the medium-cupped varieties the best 

 are conspicuous, simplex, Sir Watkin. 

 All clear yellow. Two varieties of this 

 group classed as white really have the flowers 

 of pale yellow, gradually fading to white. 

 These are Leedsii, and Leedsii Mrs. Langtry, 

 an improvement on the former. 



Of the two-colored varieties the "surest 

 to grow" are Queen Bess and Stella. Both 

 having white perianth and yellow cup. 



The best of all the doubles is Van Sion, a 

 good clear yellow. Alba plena odorata is a 

 good white. For a mixture get incompara- 

 bilis plena, yellow and deep orange. Orange 

 Phcenix, is white and orange; Sulphur Phce- 

 nix, pale creamy white with orange centre. 



Because of their delicate odor and rich 

 deep color the jonquils are justly popular, 

 and may be used for any of the purposes 

 recommended for other narcissi. The best 

 single yellows are Campernelle and Single 

 Sweet Scented, and of doubles, Double 

 Sweet Scented and Rugulosus. 



Of all the bulbs to be planted now the 

 lilies give the largest and most showy flowers, 

 yet how seldom we see them planted suf- 

 ficiently these days. They fit into all kinds 

 of situations: beneath pergolas, along 

 shrubbery borders — in fact, wherever you 

 plant a lily the place is improved just so 

 much. Hardy lilies of the Japanese type, 

 which include some of the finest varieties, 

 cannot be delivered until late in November, 

 but the ground can be prepared now, cover- 

 ing it with leaves or litter to prevent freezing. 

 The lilies can then be successfully planted 

 whenever they are received. 



There are a vast number of lilies suitable 

 for use in the open ground, and it would take 

 a small-sized book to describe them. I give, 

 therefore only a general description of some 

 of the very best. 



Tulips for bedding must be of even weight, size, 

 carefully selected and planted uniformly 



The most gorgeous of all lilies is the 

 golden-banded (L. auratum). This is a 

 grand flower and every person fond of 

 flowers should make an effort to plant at 

 least a few bulbs of this lily. The flowers 

 are enormous, nearly a foot across, each 

 petal having a heavy golden-yellow stripe 

 down the middle besides numerous crimson 

 spots. Most reliable are the varieties of the 

 speciosum type, which are commonly offered 

 in catalogues as album (white), rubrum (rose 

 colored with crimson spots), and Melpomene 

 (white with crimson spots). 



Probably he varieties of L. elegans are the 

 most generally useful all-around hardy lilies. 

 The flowers are erect. I recommend the 

 following varieties: erectum, orange with 

 red markings; atrosanguinea, deep crimson; 

 grandiflora, yellow; and aurantiacum, yel- 

 low with dark brown markings. The 

 pretty Annunciation lily (L. candidum), 

 illustrated in last month's Garden Maga- 

 zine, is a beautiful lily for outside planting, 



The smaller bulbs, crocus, snowdops, and scillas 

 must be in colonies to give effect 



