HOUSE AND GARDEN 
October, 
1910 
209 
to fifteen or eighteen feet, a 
splendid display of bulb blos¬ 
soms may be made. I have in 
mind such a border, one that 
is a trifie over a hundred and 
fifty feet long, and three feet 
wide. It is separated from a 
rose garden by a grass walk, 
six feet wide, and is designed 
to prove a mass of color run¬ 
ning from pink to yellow; 
white, pink, red, pale yellow, violet, lavender, deep blue and 
white again. Numbers of bulbs are planted in irregular clumps 
throughout it, and there is very little evidence during the sum¬ 
mer of any unkempt patches of browning foliage. A section of 
this border is given in the diagram, and it shows the bulbous 
plants arranged in the colors of this particular portion of the 
border. When the bulbs are planted, in October and early No¬ 
vember, they are carefully inserted among the herbaceous plants 
already established, these being trimmed or thinned as may be 
required. Certain others of the latter are not planted out until 
spring, being carried over in winter in coldframes, not because 
they are not hardy, but rather that the winter mulch does not 
seem to help them as it does the bulbs. 
Of the bulbs which will thrive in such a border, providing 
the proper soil and location be given them, the Narcissi, Tulips, 
Lilies, Crocuses, Chionodoxas, Scillas, Snowdrops, Fritillarias, 
Montbretias, Spanish and English Iris, Grape Hyacinths and 
Dutch Hyacinths, must be planted in the fall. The Dutch Hya¬ 
cinths are not such likely sub¬ 
jects as are the others, in that 
they need some staking to 
support the heavy trusses 
and keep them clean, and I 
am not altogether sure that 
they are worth the trouble 
this involves. The Japanese 
Lilies frequently do not ar¬ 
rive in this country in time to 
succeed with fall planting, 
unless the ground can be kept from freezing by a covering of 
leaves or litter. The English Irises do not do well in every soil 
or situation, so that it would be advisable to experiment with 
them first before they are used extensively. The enthusiastic 
amateur will undoubtedly enlarge this list in time, if his enthu¬ 
siasm is real, and a treat is in store for him at each success he 
achieves. 
Narcissi should, as a rule, be placed in the front or middle 
part of the border, yet some of the taller and stronger-growing 
varieties, like Emperor and Maximus, could well be permitted 
to run into the background. Effective border planting does not 
mean that all the tall plants should be in the rear, nor that 
those of medium height should not help to break a too regular 
symmetry of elevation. The tiny varieties like Triandus albus, 
Tohnstoni, Queen of Spain, or Moschatus, are excellent sorts 
for the very front of the border. The bulbs of the Narcissi 
should be lifted and divided at least every three years if their 
(Continued on page 252) 
1 — With plants of pink Myosotis; 2 — with pink Antirrhinum; 3 — with pink annual 
Scabiosa; 4 — among Anemone Japonica, var. Queen Charlotte; 5 — among Achillea 
tomentosum; 6 — -with plants of yellow Antirrhinum; 7 — among Oenothera Missouri- 
ensis; 8 — among Inula Montana 
The most satisfactory way of planting the spring-blooming bulbs is in the hardy herbaceous border, preferably in one of considerable depth 
as on the right. Then the bloom of the perennials that follow along will serve to offset the disheartening untidiness of the bulbs’ dying 
foliage. Among the bloom of the bulbs on the right will be noticed the deep red of the peony shoots 
