THE CENTURY BOOK OF GARDENING. 



growing. Katharine Spurrell, with bright gold cup, and 

 Broad white perianth, is a large flower and very hand- 

 some, but, though not one of the latest introductions, is 

 still expensive. 



N. Nelsoni forms another section, of which the type, 

 N. Nelsoni, with goblet-shaped yellow cup, and white 

 perianth, Mrs. Backhouse, Nelsoni major, and N. 

 pulchellus, very similar in colour, are characteristic forms. 

 Other small sub-sections are N. Humei, the Dog-eared 

 Daffodil, yellow, with straight cups ; N. Backhousei, 

 yellow with deeper tinted cup ; N. Macleai, with small 

 white petalled and yellow cupped flowers ; and N. Ber- 

 nardi, an interesting natural Pyrenean hybrid of N. 

 poeticus, and the wild Pyrenean trumpet or Lent Lily, 

 and N. tridymus, a garden hybrid between the Trumpet 

 Daffodil or the Polyanthus Narcissus, and carryinga head of 

 from one to three flowers. N. triandrus is also a Narcissus 

 that usually bears more than one flower on its stem. The 

 form met with 

 commonly is N. 

 triandrus albus, 

 known by the 

 pretty English 

 name of Angels' 

 Tears, a grace- 

 ful little plant, 

 carrying from 

 one to f o u r 

 drooping white 

 reflexed flowers. 

 It is a native of 

 North - W es t. 

 Spain, and suc- 

 ceeds well as a 

 pot plant when 

 grown in a light 

 and sandy com- 

 post. Pulchellus 

 is a stronger- 

 growing variety 

 than the last- 

 mentioned, and 

 does well in 

 sheltered bor- 

 ders of porous 

 soil. It is pale 

 primrose i n 

 colour, and hrs 

 the same reflexed 

 which is white. 



N. poetiCUS (Poets' Daffodils), included in the third group, 

 that of Parvi-coronati, are beautiful flowers, and in the 

 samesection are the Polyanthus or bunch-flowered Narcissi, 

 N. biflorus, and the hybrids of the N. Burbidgei section. 

 Of the Poets' Daffodils, or Pheasant's-eye Narcissi, the 

 most widely known are the following : N. poeticus 

 ornatus, earl}- flowering, with scarlet-margined cup and 

 pure white, broad-petalled perianth, the extremities of 

 the petals being much rounded ; N. p. poetarum, 

 differing from the foregoing variety in the whole cup 

 being scarlet, and flowering a fortnight later ; N. p. 

 recurvus, considerably later in bloom, identical in 

 colouring with N. p. ornatus, but possessing narrower 

 and more pointed petals, which are generally slightly 

 reflexed ; and N. p. flore-pleno, the double form, 

 bearing while, Gardenia-like blossoms, and being the 

 latest flowerer of all the Narcissi, excepting N. gracilis, 

 which is the last of all the Narcissi to bloom, with dainty 

 yellow sweet flowers, borne five to seven on a stem. 

 N. biflorus, a supposed natural hybrid between N. 

 poeticus and N. polyanthus, bears ivory white flowers 

 with small yellow cups, two, and sometimes three, blooms 

 being carried on the same stem. 



Of the Burbidgei section, which has been raised 

 from N. poeticus and N. incomparabilis, there are about 

 twenty varieties. The type, N. Burbidgei, is a very 

 early flowerer, having a white perianth with red-margined 

 cup ; Baroness Heath has a yellow perianth and orange 



MARLIAC'S WHITE WATER-LILY 



penan 



th, as also the rare N. calathinus, 



scarlet cup ; Falstaff possesses a snow white perianth with 

 lemon cup, and is much prized for cutting ; and John 

 Bain a white perianth and citron cup. 



Many of the Polyanthus Narcissi (N. Tazetta) 

 are very handsome, their many-flowered heads being 

 very effective. The earliest are the Paper-white 

 and the double Roman, both of which are invaluable 

 for early pot work. The former, as its name implies, 

 is wholly white, while the latter is ivjry white and 

 orange. Both these are rather tender, and are not 

 suitable for the open border, except in very sheltered 

 gardens. Grand Monarque is exceptionally vigorous, some- 

 times sending up bloom spikes considerably over 2ft. in 

 height; it has a broad white perianth and primrose yellow 

 cup. Her Majesty has also a white perianth, but the 

 cup is deep golden yellow ; Scilly White is a pretty and 

 early variety, creamy white in colour ; Soleil d'Or is a 

 fine yellow, with golden perianth and bright orange cup ; 



while J a u n e 

 a Supreme is of 

 lighter shades of 

 yellow both in 

 perianth and 

 cup. The 

 ground for these 

 Polyanthus 

 Narcissi should 

 be covered after 

 planting with 

 some long straw 

 litter or other 

 light material to 

 break the seve- 

 rity of any hard 

 frost, as they are 

 not so hardy as 

 other Narcissi. 



Nympheas 



( Water - lilies). 

 — F a i r e s t of 

 waterflowers are 

 the Nymphaeas, 

 moreknown now 

 than a few years 

 ago, when the 

 common white 

 Water - lily of 

 oar ponds and 



river back-waters and the yellow Nuphar were the only 

 kinds grown. There are now, however, niany beautiful 

 hybrids, raised by M. Latour-Marliac, a French nursery- 

 man, who saw a great future tor water-gardening, a 

 phase of flower life as distinct and lovely as anything in 

 the border, woodland, or pleasure ground. It is possible 

 to fill the lake and pond surface with colour, as brilliant 

 and refined as a flower bed, the big open blooms resting 

 like glittering jewels upon the surface. Nor are these 

 hybrids difficult to grow, so that failures need not be 

 encountered, and all are perfectly hardy. This is a great 

 point. To grow tender plants in this way would be 

 expensive and disappointing, but these hybrid Nympha;as 

 withstand severe winters without injury. 



There is no more suitable month in the whole year 

 for planting than April, putting the plants into old 

 baskets, the soil in which should be loam mixed with old 

 Mushroom bed manure. Sink these into ift. or more of 

 water, keeping the smaller-leaved kinds at the margin, 

 and flowers will be the reward during the ensuing 

 summer. Where no lake or pond exists the Lilies may 

 lie placed in cemented tanks, but there should always be 

 about 1 ft. of water above the crowns, in case severe 

 weather occurs, and very strong growers may be quite 

 2ft. or even 3ft. deep. It is not difficult to increase the 

 Nymphteas by division, and if seeds are sown in small 

 pots or pans in early spring they should be filled with 

 light soil. Pans may be more easily immersed in water, 

 and this is necessary, letting there be about iin. above 

 the pan, and keep the water at a temperature of about 



