54 
CHILDREN'S GARDENS 
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from the wind, their petals will last much 
longer in perfection. 
If your garden is in a warm part of Eng¬ 
land, it would be an interesting experiment to try 
some of the Cape bulbs in the open, but they 
must have a very warm, sunny spot, where 
they get almost baked with the summer sun, 
or they will not flower well. If you can 
assure them of this, it is well worth while to 
plant some of these pretty plants. Sparaxis 
and Ixia are the best known, and there are 
many shades of colour among them ; and a 
more uncommon bulb which can now be 
bought at a moderate price in England is the 
Homeria , which has starlike flowers of a rich 
salmon colour, and would be unlike anything 
else in your garden. It would be on the 
safe side to give these a little shelter in a 
hard frost; just a handful of litter or bracken 
might save them from being hurt by the 
cold. 
One more bulb I would name amonQf the 
reds, although its colour is not brilliant and 
showy, and that is the fritillary, with quaint 
purplish chequered, bell-snaped flowers. Frit- 
illai'ia , the Latin name, is from a word meaning 
a chess-board, and so describes the funny pattern 
on many of the varieties. F. Meleagris is a 
native of Britain, and grows plentifully in some 
