The Available Material 13 
heaven send them grace! — were to come 
and ask me what they might plant with a 
measure of success, what would grow and 
thrive in spite of their dislike, I should say 
“bulbs.” For this class of plants rises 
above conditions with a noble serenity 
quite worthy of the superlative beauty 
and sweetness of its members ; yet let 
this not obscure the fact that no class of 
plants appreciates more fully what man 
may do for them, nor responds to the 
human touch and sympathy more grate- 
fully. 
We all too commonly think of bulbs 
as furnishing spring flowers only; this 
perhaps because everyone knows about 
crocuses and daffy-down-dillys, while few 
know about colchicum or alstromeria. 
Whatever the reason, however, we must 
banish this idea of limitation, at once. 
There is no room for it in a bulb garden. 
Some bulbs are tender, to be sure — too 
tender to stay in the ground in the lati- 
tude of New York City during the win- 
