THE SPRING FLOWER GARDEN. 



^3 



flower the second year and soon make a very thick mass ; this refers 

 more especially to C. Luciliae, which I think is the best of all. C 

 ;sis has flowers of a deeper blue ; C. Allenii and C. grandi flora 

 are much larger, but do not grow so freely. I have a pure white 

 seedling from C. Luciliae which I believe has also appeared in other 

 collections. Iris pumila is another gem which does not like to be 

 disturbed. It flowers in March and is only about 4 inches high. I 

 grow three varieties : bicolor, which is grey and blue, concolcr, which 

 is sky-blue, and a dark-purple form. Many varieties are often sold 

 as /. pumila which grow 18 inches high and are not genuine. 

 It is rather apt to die away in some places, I am told. I find the best 

 time to plant it is when the flowers are dying away, then to leave it 

 in the same place until it shows signs of failing health. Muscari 

 conicum ' Heavenly Blue,' compared with some of the preceding, 

 may be called a recent addition to our hardy flowers, and has been 

 used more frequently for pot culture. I find it very useful in the 

 flower-garden, for it gives a fine mass of blue flowers after it gets 

 established, and increases very freely. No special treatment is 

 necessary. 



The varieties of Narcissus contain some of our best spring flowering 

 plants. They have the great merit of standing bad weather well. 

 I have often seen broad rows of them 500 feet long lying flat on the 

 ground on a frosty morning, and, in three hours they have all been 

 standing up again us usual. As it is necessary to plant them early 

 in the autumn (or in August if possible) they cannot be used like 

 Tulips and Hyacinths in the ordinary flower-beds if one wishes to 

 grow them to perfection. The strong-growing varieties do well — 

 where the natural style of gardening is followed — if they are dotted 

 about the grass in irregular patches or clumps ; some plant them in 

 very large breadths about one foot apart. I consider this plan a 

 mistake ; it does not correspond with Nature's way ; they should be 

 put in thickly and then two or three yards be left vacant for the 

 grass to grow. In our strong clay at Belvoir they may be left for 

 twenty years without attention ; in lighter soils they would deteriorate 

 in less time and require removing to " fresh woods and pastures new." 

 The varieties are now so numerous it is not easy to make a selection, 

 but it is best to put the strong-growing varieties in the grass, such as 

 N. obvallaris, N. Telamonius, N. ' Emperor/ N. ' Empress,' N. concolor 

 1 Autocrat,' N. princeps, N. 1 P. R. Barr,' N. major, N. ' Sir Watkin,' 

 and N. * Frank Miles.' These all do well at Belvoir. One of the 

 newer varieties, called ' Lucifer,' is a very telling thing at a distance, 

 and is now getting cheaper. I am not sure if its constitution is as 

 good as the varieties mentioned above. The weak-growing kinds 

 such as N. Johnstonii, N. triandrus, N. cyclamineus, and others, should 

 be planted where their various requirements can be attended to, and 

 not be trusted among the grass. 



Primula japonica is a very imposing object if a good mass of it is 

 planted. A moist position should be chosen for it, because it will do 



