664 



here also— has the advantage that the 

 gro^Avth of the hvtter as flowering proceeds 

 gra<Inally overspreads the former, and so 

 coneeals the untiduiess after flowering, 

 wliioh is one of the drawhacks to hyacinths. 

 A similar effect is proiluced by the use of 

 the Leopard's bane known as Harpur Crewe, 

 though, as this plant is only effective in 

 clumps, the hyacintlie must bo planted in 

 clamps also. A variative of this plan, 

 wliicli is suitable for large l>e<ls or borders, 

 is the planting of small shrubs, cither 

 singly or in groups, with clumps or pat<'hes 

 of hyacinths amongst them. 



Hyacinths in Mixed Borders. 



As regards the use of liyacinths in mixed 

 bor<lers, this, Lo tlu.^ Nature-lover, is the 

 Ijest method of growing them, and it has 

 the merit of being inexpensive, for, while 



round tho l)t 



new bulbs must he bought every year for 

 luHlding, if the Itrst results ;iir to lie ob- 

 tain(M|. tbn.sr which liave doiu' ;i yr;u's ser- 

 vice in heds m;iy \h} us(m1 for general 

 ilecHU'atinn ot tlif h'ss formal parts of the 

 gar<len, if (Im-v ;ni' L:i\en a fair chance to 

 ri[)en otf citlier helore or after IxMng liftf^l 

 from thtv !km|»s. In soils of a hefny < haiac- 

 ter, where hyacinths soon die out in an 

 or<linarv wav, thcv will last for yeiirs, and 

 even iiUTeas*', if phHite<l anuingst peren- 

 nials, in shrubhcry l>onI(M's, l>y woodland 

 walks, etc. , w here t he .soil is kept oj)en 



l»y the of ]>lants and 



trtM^s. so that they ai'e Ue])t ilry in the 



summer, an<l free from excessive wet in 

 the winter. liulbs shonid be plant(Hl in 

 snch sitnations in groui)s of three or f{)nr, 

 wh€»n they will soon make clumps carry- 

 ing a do7,<m lie.'ids, which, though small 

 compare<l with those from good new bulbs, 

 will yet be very effective in the mass, and 

 j)osseKs a bea u ty of form and g race of 

 habit qnite unlike that of the massive 

 flowiM- s]»ikes usually seen in btnls. The 

 perennials amongst which they are planted 

 will soon l>egin to hide their foliage in 

 May, and thus lessen their untidy appear- 

 ance. 



One of the best attempts at semi-wild 

 gardening I ever remember seeing was a 

 nut walk where hyacinths took part in the 

 struggle for existence with daffodils, 

 tulips, primroses, foxgloves, and the like, 

 showing that, in favourable circumstances, 

 hyacinths may be almost naturalised. Thev 

 grew in this position for years without 

 being touched, except as far as was neces- 

 sary to keep down the worst of the weeds, 

 and formed large clumps. By reason of 

 their longer and more slender stems thev 

 helped to supply the demand for cut flowers 

 for the house. When one takes up more 

 bnlbfi out of the spring bed than one knows 

 what to do with, it is not a bad plan to 

 put clumps or patches amongst the goose- 

 berry and currant trees, where they will 

 probably do well for the reason stated above, 

 and |)roduco telling patches of colour in the 

 spring. Digging is not, or should not be, 

 done in such positions, and if the hoe is 

 not used from late November till March 

 they will not be disturbed. 



Alger Petts. 



^ Nerines.— These beautiful bulbous sub- 

 jects arc now commencing to show their 

 fiower-spikos. Water should not be g^ven 

 until the spikes are four inches hi^h. They 

 should then ho moved from their resting 

 quarters and placed in the conservatory and 

 griven water. The loaves will be .seen "to be 

 advancingr on some of the bulbs, and such 

 bulbs are not likely to bloom. AVhcn the 

 leaves an- three inclios hi^h, and no flowor- 

 spikes ran he seen advaiicinjr. tlie plants 

 should l)e given water and ircat^-d as fliouo-h 

 they had flowered.— L S 



BULBS FOR THE ROCK 



GARDEN* 



It has heen my practice to utilise bulbs 

 in combination (with rock plants in order to 

 maintain as much beauty and as many 

 pleasing blends of colour as it is possible to 

 get, and to achieve these results means a 

 study of the decorative valuesof rock plants 

 and bulbs. Many gardens, singularly rich 

 in rock plants, are ^\eak in ibulbous plants, 

 and tliereby mi«s much of the colouring of 

 spring. Also, m many cases, bulbs may he 

 grown amid a carpeting of plants, so that 

 they break through a groundwork of 

 greenery, and give the benefit of their 

 beauty before their associates are showing 



lahlc would entail 



the promise of bloom. 



The li>t of bulbs avaiu 

 :niuch sym-.-v ii i were to detail varietal 

 iforms, but 1 will confine myself, as far as 

 /possible to the varied groups. These in- 

 'ciudc snowdrops, crocuses, scillas, chionio- 

 <loxas, brodia^as, camassias, ixiolirions, 

 nuiscari, fritillarias, calochorti, iris of many 

 typo.s, i{)u.schkinias, narcissi, hyacinthus, 

 tu i ip species, erytSironiums, and many 



otbcrs. 



I may ibriefly allude to a few successful 

 ff)rms and groupings. A mass of the dark- 

 ^criiusoned foliage of Thymivs cocctneus 

 throws into <-harming relief the golden, 

 fblack-veined blossoms of Crocus Susianus. 

 K'rocus Imperati, blue and silver, comes 

 through a silvery canpet of Antennaria to- 

 mentosa. With Crocus ibiflorus is massed 

 the close-growing Aubrietia Al, which fol- 

 lows later in Mossom. A ro-ving mass of 

 ISedum album will cover the 'bulbs of Nar- 

 cissus moschatus and Muscari Heavenly 

 Blue. The effect of the ricili green and 

 bronze-veined foliage of the sedums, as an 

 undergrowth to these exquisite bulbs in 

 'blossom is a pictiu-e of de^light. One can 

 also comibine the two forms noted, or re- 

 place N. moschatus with N. Queen of Spain, 

 grouping thoni faii'ly closely, and the effect 

 will \)v woiuhu'Fully pleasing. It is wdl that 

 the majority of latc-flowering sedums and 

 other plants of like nature should have 

 early-flo'wering bidbs amongst them. One 

 should always include Muscari azureum, as 

 its delightful touches of blue are charm- 

 ing, especially if near the early golden saxi- 

 fragas, of which S. apiculata, 8. sancta, and 

 S. pseudo-sonata are so conspicuous. Thcj 

 quaint Muscari monstrosum, with its 

 mauve plumes of Iblossoms, is best against a 

 mass of white. 



Aiu)tb-r good combination is the dainty 

 yellow Waldsteinia trifoliata, with a drift 

 of the soft blue Puschkinia liibanotica run- 

 ning through it. In another instance, the 

 scented Tulip sylvestr is, with its showy yel- 

 low hlossoms, rises from a cool bed of Tia- 

 rella <'Ordifolia. In biw drifts hy the path- 

 ways Fritillaria meleagris and its forms 

 may ibe massf»d in quantity. Few spring 

 flowers hold more charm than the nodding, 

 chequered bells of F. meleagris, and few are 

 more dainty than the best forms of alba, 

 its white variety. The vvixdvr would do well 

 to note the fine varietal forms known as 

 Cassandra, Pomona, Orion, Emperor, 

 Triton, etc. ; these are large in blossom 

 and very dainty and distinct in colouring. 

 Camassias, of course, require moisture, ami 

 any low rock bod where Primula rosea and 

 P. 'cortusoi-des, or the dodocatheons flourish, 

 there also will Camassia esculenta, C. 

 Cusicki, and C. Leichtil ini find a home. 



The sun-loving Californians, tho bro- 

 dijeas and dwarf calochorti, I usually give 

 a, well-drai?nHl, warm position, whci'c <-old 

 and damp docs not affer-t tlicm to anv i-rcaf 

 <l(i(rroe. Tli(^ (^xqnisit(* grace of tli!* i-aio- 

 chorti, and the wide ranue of colourin<i of 



the broditeas, should commend them to al' 

 lovers of floral beauty, , Hyacinthus aint! 

 thystinus should always be included in 

 plantings, and may he grouped with Phlox 

 suibulatii, the pink-fiow^red aubrietias, or 

 the yellow of Ailys^aim montanum or' A. 

 rostratum. The white, form of the fore- 

 going is also of much value, while the whitt- 

 pink, and blue scillas are worthy of not»^ 

 where a goodly range of subjects are re- 

 quired. 



A very pleasing drift of blue may be 

 tained by using Anemone hi anda, A. Robin- 

 soni, and A. apennina, which rise prettily 

 among low-growing veronicas, sedums, anil 

 similar subjects. The white of A. apennina 

 alha and A. nemorosa alba plena are also 

 of great service, and, with the prec^ediiK' 

 blues, are valuable for streaming through 

 a colony of small ferns. Bulbous- irises niav 

 be groAvn with many subjects, though a 

 favourite plan is to associate them with 

 dwarf flag irises. Of the latter I do not 

 favour the pumila fcrms as greatly as the 

 vastly improved intermediate varietieji. 

 wihich last se^ison gave me two displays r.i 

 blossom. Of these intermediates I may notr 

 Diamond, Dauphin, Dorothea, Ivorino. 

 Odin, Freya:, Bride, and Bosniamae. 

 Throughout the groups of intermediates I 

 would advise running drifts of such bulbous 

 irises as I. alata, I. tubei'osa, I. filifolia, I. 

 Danfordipe, I. pavonia major, I. reticulata. 

 I. Heldreichi, etc. iSuch .sterlins; dwarfs ;is 

 I. orchioides, I. Bucharica, I. Tuberge- 

 niana, etc., should always be kept to the 

 forefront of the rock garden in a warm, 

 well-drained position. 



One might go further and note the valiio 

 of dwarf liliums for the larger rock gardens 

 and pretty groups of erythroniiuns near to 

 the footways. Ailliams, such as A. Ostrow- 

 skyanum and A . azureum, the glorious 

 blues of such ehionodoxas as C. gigantea. 

 C. sardensis, and C. Lucilise, the snowy 

 heads of the ornithogalnms, the starry tri- 

 telias, the varied ranunculus, e^^pecially tho 

 scarlet of R. asiaticus, tihe many fine galan- 

 thus (snowdro'ps), and the hright hhie of 

 Ixiolirion Pallasi, all assist to swell the 

 heauty of the rook garden, while, if ^V^^ 

 can he found for Sternbergia lutea, tht' 

 oolohicums, and the autumn-flowerini 

 species of crocus, a supply of late hulbnn- 

 blossom is readily a^sui-cd. The^e bulTi^ 

 may he carpeted with mossy saxifrag^'?^- 

 gaining thereby spring hlossom and a pomi- 

 nial surfacing of delicate greenery. From 

 the foregoing notes tht^ reader will 

 ceive the wealth of bulbous nuiteiial 

 hand, and there remains but one thine 

 more, namely, to use it, and in the best 

 possible manner. ^' 



Veronica longrifolia and its vano 



ties form a group of hardy perennials, ^dio-=* 

 value during July is not readily ovor^sti- 



. This species is of more than ordm/'r} 



mated 



■ 



interest, in that it produces four disf^"^ 

 viarieties, differing only in the colour ot tn^ 

 flowers; in other respects, the good q^*''^]^ 

 of the type a^e faithfully reproduced 

 each. In the type the flowers are a ncii- 

 deep shade of blue, and are borne in "P'^^ll' 

 branching spikes on stems some 24 to dui - 

 high; another form yields flowers of a m"*-^ 

 paler shade, probably best described a la^^j 

 der, while there is also a pure whiti^ 1^^^^^ 

 and the variety inearnatue produces llo|^ 

 of a most desirable shade of pink; tlie la^^ 

 fl-anied Tariety is less vigorous '^^^^^-a 

 ot-hers, and averages in height eonie w 

 24in. Veronica longifolia and it-"i 

 are hardy perennials', succeeding in any ^ ^ 

 nary garden soil, and show to c^Hi^pic^ 

 advantage when planted in rather 

 maews of a vaTiety. The .stiflF, erect 

 tall for little or no airtificial 

 Thomas Smith. 



