36 PICTORIAL PE ACTIO AL BULB GROWING. 



Chapter VL— Bulbs in tU Woodland, 



The very sound of the lieadiDg of the present chapter will appal the 

 town gardener, whose area is limited to so many square feet of cat- 

 infested land. He will probably pass it over with a shrug of the 

 shoulders and a muttered expression of its uselessness, and, mayhap, 

 a pang of envy at his more fortunate brethren who are blessed with 

 woodlands in which to plant bulbs and wander at will. Assuredly 

 woodland walks and dells add immensely to the interest of any 

 e.^tate, particularly when beneficent Nature has done the planting 

 for us in her own inimitable way. If we gardeners could copy 

 Nature with perfect accuracj^, our gardens, especially in the wilder 

 portions such as the woodland, would be infinitely more beautiful 

 than they are ; but, failing in this, we must do our best with Nature as 

 the teacher. 



The observant travelling horticulturist soon realises that Nature's 

 motto is summed up in one short word, " boldness." Look at the 

 Bluebells (see p. 37) and the Lilies of the Valley in the wood, the 

 Heather on the hillside, the Willow Herb on the waste ground, and 

 see whether they do not all create an air of boldness, even though it 

 may be, and often is, softened down by its surroundings until it 

 appears as the sweetest simplicity. These are merely a few instances 

 out of the many that could be cited, but they suffice for the 

 present purpose, which is to impress upon woodland planters the 

 absolute necessity for strong conceptions, or an effect may be 

 produced that will be nothing more than a poor burlesque upon 

 Nature in one of her most delightful guises. True, one must always 

 adopt the tailor's law and cut according to the cloth, but it is 

 irrefutable that in woodland planting the finest effects are pro- 

 duced when we can think in thousands and plant in acres. 



It is no easy matter to plant woodland walks and glades success- 

 fully, as &o much depends upon the soil and the trees, which will 

 inevitably bring failure to some bulbs, while others would flourish 

 and increase enormously. Here, again, it is the soundest of sound 

 advice to say, "Copy Nature." When it is decided to plant, spend 

 as much time as can be afforded in the neighbouring woods studying 

 the vegetation there, and taking particular note of the plants that 

 are known to si)ring from a bulbous root. Never hurry over this, as 

 it will certainly prove to be time well spent, for it is no small loss to 

 put in, as one may easily do at this work, 10,000 or 20,000 bulbs, 

 only to find them fail owing to some locd inadapt ibility, which could 

 readily have been avoided by the exercise of care and forethought in 



