Colchicums make a very effective display when grown in masses and will do very well in a grass lawn if it is not mowed too frequently 
A Bulb That Will Prolong the Fall Garden 
COLCHICUMS WHICH LENGTHEN THE BLOSSOMING SEASON—A HARDY FLOWER 
THAT NEEDS LITTLE ATTENTION AND COMES UP YEAR AFTER YEAR 
by Florence Beckwith 
Photographs by 
P LANTS which prolong the blossoming season and tend to 
adorn the garden in autumn are generally welcomed by all 
flower lovers. The colchicums most emphatically possess this at¬ 
tribute. Once planted they never fail to present themselves, and 
their delicate but cheerful coloring is very attractive. Much is 
said of the desirability of planting the crocus to brighten the gar¬ 
den and the lawn in the early spring days, but the colchicums, al¬ 
though equally desirable for the fall garden, receive but small at¬ 
tention. They are perfectly hardy and once introduced can be de¬ 
pended upon for a fine showing year after year, through all 
vicissitudes of fortune and even utter lack of care. 
One pretty garden, of which the owner was justifiably proud, 
had a bed of these flowers. Circumstances required the surren¬ 
dering of the garden and removal to the city. A visit, after fif¬ 
teen years had passed, showed the colchicums still living, though 
they were all that remained to tell the tale that a garden once 
flourished there, and they were growing in the grass in the hard¬ 
est of soil. 
In another garden some colchicum bulbs were taken up to be 
Nelson R. Graves 
planted in another location. It was supposed at the time that all 
were removed, but small ones must have been left in the ground 
which later was set out to raspberries. The colchicums, however, 
did not propose to yield their right of previous possession and 
every fall bloomed profusely around in the grass among the berry 
bushes. The pinkish-lavender and pure white flowers made a 
very pretty show in the grass, and the bulbs seemed to blossom 
earlier and more profusely than those in the garden beds; the 
flower stems, too, were longer than the ordinary ones. 
The colchicums make a very effective display when .grown in 
masses, and they can be recommended for growing in grass if it 
is not often mowed. When once established they should not be 
disturbed for years, unless necessary, or unless the flowers show 1 
signs of deterioration. 
The manner of growth of the colchicum and the u'ay in which 
the seed is produced are very peculiar. In September the buds ap¬ 
pear and the flowers are soon in bloom without a green leaf to 
protect them from the winds and storms of Autumn, which they 
bravely face and from which they never seem to suffer harm. 
(170) 
