BARR A SONS, 11, 12 & 13 King Street, Covent Garden, London. 3 
Naturalising Bulbs and Plants in Grass, Woodlands, etc. 
CROCUSES NATURALISED IN GRASS IN A LONDON PARK. 
This fascinating phase of gardening deserves more attention than has hitherto been bestowed upon 
it. No sight is more deliglitful than the fresh brightness of spring flowers growing freely in grass land or 
lending colour to woodland walks, hedgerows, and ditches, here and there nestling at the foot of trees, 
or establishing themselves on sloping banks. 
For naturalising in grass spring flowers arc especially suitable, as they bloom and are over before the 
grass grows tall enough to hide their beauty. Amongst our spring-flowering bulbs there are manj' gems 
which refuse to grow in cultivated borders, but when planted in ^ass, where they enjoy a cooler and 
more even temperature, they soon become established, and nudtij)ly freely until a regular colony is 
formed which greatly adds to the charm of the landscape. 
All formality of arrangement should be avoided, the bulbs being scattered freely from tlic hand and 
planted where they fall. Large irregular breaks of one kind of bulb should be made in order to obtain 
the finest effect. In planting under trees, select spots where the soil is deepest and where the drip is least. 
Those whose gardens are of limited size might make them very beautiful in spring, by utilising the 
fringes of their lawns and any grassy mounds or shady shrubbery walks for such spring favourites as 
Daffodils, Anemones, Scillas, Crocuses, Chionodoxas, etc., reserving the borders for Tulips and Lilies, etc., 
also summer and autumn-flowering herbaceous plants. In large gardens and parks ample opportunities 
arc afforded for naturalising spring-flowering bulbs, and very beautiful results may be attained in this 
way. 
In planting bulbs m grass, Barr’s Bulb Planter {see page 30) should always bo used. It cuts out a 
clean piece of turf, leaving a hole to receive the bulb, and on making the second cutting clears itself of 
the first piece of turf, which lies ready at hand for covering the bulb. This handy implement saves an 
immense ammmt of time, and does not, as with an ordinary dibber, leave a hard resting-place for the 
bulb, while by its use the grass is not in the least disturbed. Planting should not take place while the 
ground is hard, but after the first autumn rains. If the giound is poor, a compost of fresh soil with an 
abundance of Crushed Bones (7 lbs. to a bushel) or Phytobroma {3 lbs. to bushel) should be made and a 
little of the compost dropped into each hole before placing in the bulb, a little more should be given as 
a covering, and then the sod of turf bo replaced and pressed down. The bulbs will then be given a fair 
start in their new quarters. It is advisable to cut the grass as late in autumn as possible, so as to ensure 
it being short at tlie time the bulbs flower. In meadowland .spring-flowering bulbs in no way affect 
the hay crop, which may be cut at the usual season. 
Among the many gems which lend themselves to wild gardening and naturalising, we would specially 
mention the following : — Alliums, Anemones, Anthericums, Chionodoxas, Crocuses, Cyclamen, Daffodils, 
Dog’s Tooth Violets (Erythronium dens-canis), Fritillaries, Funkias, Helleborus, Hemerocallis, Irises 
(Tall and Dwarf Flag), Muscari, Ornithogalums, Scillas (early-flowering), Snowdrops (Galanthus), May- 
flowering Cottage Tulips, and Wood Hyacinths (Late-flowering Scillas). 
B 
