7 HE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 10, 190 . 
i o 
gay. They are not particular as to soil, as long as it is fairly 
rich. I know where there is a border of them by the side of 
a ro'vv of espalier Apple trees in a kitchen garden, where 
hundreds of blooms are cut every season, and all the attention 
they get is a coating of rotten manure pricked into them every 
year. 
Alstroemeria is one of the tubeirous>-rooted, hardy plants which 
no one should be without, and, as to handsomeness when in 
bloom, it is almost impossible to find its equal, even rivalling 
soane of the orchids*. The tubers should be planted from 6 in. 
to 8 in. deep in a rich, peaty soil. They like plenty of water 
when growing, and, as they are summer flowering plants, frost 
is not likely to hurt them. They may remain undisturbed for 
years in one' place. They are not nearly as much grown as they 
deserve to be. They do well in the herbaceous border, but 
to' see them in their glory they should be in a bed 1 under a 
south wall. They may be raised from, seeds, and flower freely. 
Some of the best named varieties are: A. aurantiaoa, A. brasi- 
liensis, A. peruviana, and A. violaoea, but mixed varieties are 
very cheap, and produce grand flowers. 
Hemerooallis, or Day Lily, is another of the very useful plants 
of Lily tribe which should be in every flower border, and they 
are not at all particular as to- soil and situation. In fact, if 
partially shaded and rather damp, they like it better. A strong 
clump, when in bloom, has a pleasant fragrance of their own. 
The only drawback to them is the flow'er only lasting one day ; 
but on strong Stalks you get as many as from twenty to thirty 
blooms, so that is as many days. The most popular species is 
H. flava (yellow) and H. kwanso flore pleno (orange-red). 
Watsonias are a type of Gladioli-like bulb®, well worthy of 
growing in any warm, sheltered border. They like a sandy, 
rich soil. Their long spikes of scarlet and crimson flowers are 
most useful for cutting from. There is a pure white one, lately 
introduced, of which there has been a. lot of talk in the garden¬ 
ing Press. 
Fuchsias, or Plantain Lilies, are not as much grown out of 
doors as they deserve to be, for they do not require much care 
either in soil or situation, and their handsome Plantain-like 
foliage lends a graceful appearance to the flower border. When 
the leaves die down in the autumn, -all the attention they re¬ 
quire is a little sand or ashes to' protect the crown. They 
bloom in August, arid open their blooms towards evening, when 
the scent of them is very sweet. The best are F. siubcordata 
grandiflora (pure white), F. oculata (with lilac Solvers), and F. 
ovata (blue flowers). They are easily forced, and where grace- 
fid foliage is required, even when not in bloom, they are very 
useful in the conservatory. 
Polygonaitum, otherwise Solomon’s Seal, belonging to 1 the 
Lily of the Valley family, is another plant of the old-fashioned 
borders, but is worthy of a place in any herbaceous border, 
with graceful stem standing two or more feet high, and 
its tiny rows of greeny white bells between every leaf, which 
look as much as to say," If we 'are small, you cannot pass us by.” 
• bice planted and not disturbed, they take care of themselves. 
They are very useful for forcing, which they stand well, and 
the flowers are then pure white. P. multiflo-rum is the common 
Solomons Seal, but there are two or three more specie's of it. 
Tri'tomas Torch Lilies, or Red-hot Poker plants., so called, are 
a noble tribe of the Lily family, and worthy of a conspicuous 
place in-every herbaceous border, or even as specimens on the 
lawn. They like a deep, rich soil. T. aloide-s grandiflora is 
one of the best, also 1 Grandis and Noblis are worth growin°', 
but rather dwarfer. The Torch Lilies are having more atten¬ 
tion paid to them of late by our neighbours on the Continent, 
being called Ivniphofia. Several hybrid's have been sent out. 
Now, I must not forget some of our dwarfer friends amongsit 
all the grander and statelier rivals. Hepatioas are about the 
dwaafest of the tuberous family, averaging only about 4 in. ; 
so they may be planted close to the edge' of the bed or border, 
or m the front part of the rookery. They delight in sandy 
peat or leaf mould, but do not like to be disturbed or over¬ 
grown by larger plants, and that is the reason go many of 
them die off. Being natives of North America, they are very 
hardy. There are' three colours of them — blue, pink and 
wbito (rather rare). ’ 
Erythroniums', or Dog’s-tooth Violets, are another class of 
North American plants, ‘which do best in light, rich soil, only 
growing 6 in. high, and do well in front rows of borders or 
rockeries. The foliage is spotted or marbled with red, and 
the most popular varieties are yellow or yellotvish white, 
although the original variety, Dens-Canis album, is pure white. 
Cyclamen europseum, or Alpine section, is amongst the class 
of' dwarf ]>lants worthy of growing in any sheltered, sunny 
spots, or in the rockery, hut they should he protected from 
severe frost by a covering of sand, ashes, or eocoanut fibre. 
They enjoy a mixture of leaf mould and well-rooted manure, 
and in spots where they enjoy themselves they seed out and 
increase. 
Dodeoatheon, or American Cowslip, although not a bulbous 
plant, is a worthy companion to either of the former, being 
perennial, and growing 6 in. high, flowering about April. The 
flowers are more like Cyclamen in shape, and are borne in a 
cluster on the head of a straight stem, just clear of the ground. 
Tire flowers are mostly of a rosy purple colour. 
Calochortu®, the Butterfly Tulip, i® a plant so often seen 
that once seen is never forgotten. A® the colours are most 
gorgeous, they resemble an immense Tulijr in shape, being of all 
shades of colour, spotted and edged with gold. They have 
graceful, grass-like foliage. They like a very rich soil and 
plenty of water during the growing season, and the sunniest 
spot that can be found for them. As they are rather tender, 
they should be taken up and stored in diy sand when ripe. 
I did not mean to. have anything to say about Tulips, but, 
thinking of Tulipa Greigi, a very old .species we so seldom see, 
its dark green leave® being dotted with purple, and! having 
immense orange-red flower, makes a large clump of them valu¬ 
able in the choicest flower border. In fact, there are many of 
the May flowering section that should have a place in the 
borders. There is another Tulip, Tulipa gesneriana, which was 
introduced into the country over 200 years ago, and has been 
used as the parent of a lot of our florists’ Tulip, so much in 
demand at present.. T. gesneriana major has come to the front 
of late years as a bedder, and a grand bed it makes too, being 
deep crimson, with a black blotch at the bottom of each petal. 
Then there are the Parrot. Tulips. Although rather weak in 
their .stems, they are very gay in colour, and where hanging 
basket® are in much demand, a few pots should be grown. 
Then there is the Ranunculus asiaticus of the florist, 
of which, generally speaking, there are three types, 
the Persian having imbriated flowers. The turban 
varieties are pseony or turban-shaped, and the French 
are the largest and of strongest constitution. They 
all of them indulge in every shade of colour from black to 
white. They are not grown as much .as in former years, for 
what reason I cannot say, without it is that when in beds they 
make it too late for other flowers; but a ribbon border of 
them is a gay sight when in bloom, and they are really worth 
growing if it is only in clumps in the herbaceous border. They 
do best in well-rotted oofw manure, loam, and silver sand. 
Generally speaking, they are not worth much after the first 
year, but if they can be allowed to ripen in the ground, then 
taken up and kept quite dry, they may be worth planting 
again. When planted they should have a little sharp sand 
put in with each tuber. The best time I find to plant is 
February; having put the tubers in boxes of sand a few weeks 
previously, to swell, they then grow away, and you get 
a good display from them. 
In addition to the florists’ Ranunculi, tve have the herbaceous 
or botanical Ranunculi, or Crowsfoot, of which our Buttercups 
of the held are a type. They embrace many species, and the 
ones worth growing are R. acris flore pleno (double yellow), 
R- acomtifolius' flore pleno (white), Fair Maids of France, and 
R. bul bos us flore pleno (yellow). There are several others. 
Now I must bring this to a close. There are many more kinds 
and varieties of bulbous and tuberous plants ‘worth growing 
which do not generally come under our notice; but if the 
varieties and kinds I have mentioned here, without tiring 
your patience, are any gratification -to you, I am satisfied. 
Wm. Andrews. 
