i 



YOL. \N,—^o. 3,070 



SATURDAY. AUGUST 31. 1912 



THE 



GARDENERS 



MAGAZINE 



NOTE OF THE WEEK. 



♦ 



Value of Springr-flowering: 



Bulbous Plants. 



Many are the changes that have fuithiii 



tunat'ely, they included varieties such as matter that must afford o^i atificatiou to all 



Emperor and Empresss, in "which were com- who take an aciivt^ inti^rest in bulbous 

 bined with floAvers of great "beauty a consti- 

 tution «o robust as to admit of their multi- 



plication at a rapi(i r^it(^ As tlu'sc and 

 other of the Ibeaiitiful daffodils tliat were 



plants, sho'wing, as it does, that tlieir value 



is becoming generally recognised. A still 

 furllitT rx'M iision in iheir n. o in beautifying 

 iho flower garden is niucli to be d<\sired, for 



recent j^ears been made in the methods of known thirty years ago became widely dis- tlieir value is great, and there are many 



beautifying the garden and the ornamental 

 structures that have a place therein ; and 



tribiited as the result of the enterprise of 

 those who were associated with the bulb 



gjirflens in which they arc^ as yet but spar- 

 inm\ p :inte(l. Lai'ge niunhcr.s of the vaj"i<'- 



one of the most important of these has been trade, the poiiblic tast-e for spring flowers t > ot daifodils, tulips, eti-., are obtainable 



the fuller utilisation of bulbous plants that 

 yield of their floral ^vealth 



during the earlier months of 

 the year. Time was^ and that 

 not so far distant, when the 

 greater proportion of the "^^'^ 

 gardens of all classes W''ere 

 wholly destitute of flo wers 

 during the joyous season of 

 spring, or contained so few 

 as to bring into stronger re- 

 lief their poverty in spring 

 blossoms. Happily, this state 

 of things has been changed, 

 not wholly^ perhaps, but suffi- 

 cient to enable us to say that 

 it is now' the rule, rather than 

 the exception, to find flower 

 gardens, not alone of the 

 wealthy^ gay with colour, and 

 it may be redolent with per- 



underw-ent a remarkable development. As at yo small a cost that the most beautiful 



dis])lays may be produ x^d for 

 a very small snm. For ihis 



r(*as(ni 



th 



cv 



ha v 



strong 



fume 



during 



the three 



months which constitut'e the 

 spring eeayoii. Not only is 

 the flower 



garden 



made 



claims ujxtn owuiMs of to\vn 

 gardens who desire to main- 

 tain the suri'onndings of their 

 house attractive' with flow<MS 



pos>;])ie 



over 



la rgcst 



the 



period^ for by uriiising 

 varieties of daffodils 



and 



tulips that are at once cheap 

 and beautifni. the vast of 



])rof!u<-in'^ 

 heant V 



gi'cat 



r 



GM 415 



brighter and more interesting 

 at this period, but the attrac- 

 tions of the conservatory and 



greenhouse have been in- 

 creased and the floral adorn- 

 ment of the home carried out 

 on a more liberal scale. The 

 more general cultivation of 

 trees and shrubs that ai'e re- 

 markable for the beauty of 

 thei r flowers and bloom in 

 spring, or can be so readily 

 forced as to yield their 

 flowers at that season, have 

 contributed in some degree to 

 the great change that has 

 been wrought in the spring aspect of the 

 flower garden and conserv^atory, but the 



dominating factor has been the fuller ap- many fine old varieties were rescued from 

 preciation of the great value of the early- oblivion, new forms were raised, and these, 

 flowering bulbous plants of which there is as they came before the flower-loving com- 



t'ljiuiia ra I ivel V 

 speaking, so small that the 

 question of destroying them 

 at the end of the flowering 

 season is not a matter for 

 serious consideration. To 

 the owner of a town garden 

 the facility with which the 

 stock can be annually replen- 

 ished is a great advantage, 

 for he has no space available 

 for the <-cmpletion of their 

 grcwtli. Mor(M)ver. nearly alt 

 clas^<^s of bulbs rapidly de- 

 teriorate, a> do many fibrousr 

 rooted plants, when grown 

 und r the conddtions that ob- 



ME. E. F. HAZELTON. 



so great an abundance at the command of 



cultivators 



The commencement of the 



liigh degree of popularity which these bulb- esting to observe that, as one result of 



ous plants now enjoy was unquestionably 

 ^stniiulated by the successful endeavours 

 that were made &oine thirty years ago to 

 obtain for tlie daffodils then available the 

 prominence they so well merited. The num- 

 ber even then was eonsiderable, and for- 



tain ill gardens ^\ithin the 

 influence of the atmosjiheric 

 CO iidit ions tha t oh t a in in 

 towns. In country gardens 

 the bulbous plants will, as far 

 as cir{nmstan:'cs permit^ be 

 o:r(iwn on from year to vear, 

 but where, as in so many 

 ca^e^. tile spring bulbs have 

 to be removed before they 



the result of this stimulus attention was have completed their growth to make way 

 given to tulips that bloom in May, and for summer flowers, it will not be possible 



to maintain them for an indefinite period 

 in the best possible condition. For flower 

 production for beautifying the home in 

 spring, the nu>re important of the classes 

 of bulbous phmts that blmmi at that season 

 are of imnu'n>o value because of the sim- 

 plification of their culture, which luivS been 

 cfFecttnl bv the intnxluction of mo^s fibre 



%■ 



to w^hich a small quantity of char- 

 coal and broken shell is addeil when 



munity, still further increased the wide- 

 spread taste for spring flowers. It is inter- 



the change in public taste, hyacinths havt 

 been restored to public favour, and now 

 take the position they so fully deserve in 

 the production of tasteful colour effects, 

 both under glass and in the open. This 

 further appreciation of spring flo\yers is a 



use<l. It may not be possible to grow 

 them to so high a ilegree of perfection 



