28 
House & 
Garden 
The permanent bulb bed needs A thorough fining and smooth- A stick may be used in mak- 
plenty of enrichment with well ing of the soil shoidd precede ing holes to accommodate the 
rotted manure planting smaller bulbs 
THE FALL BULB BUDGET and ITS SPRINGTIME YIELD 
When, Where and How to Plant Bulbs, with Several Definite Schemes of Arrangement 
I N proportion to the effort expended, no 
other flowers are so effective as bulbs. 
They need only to be tucked in the ground in 
the autumn and given a slight protection of 
litter to repay one the following spring by a 
prodigality of blossoms. As the bulbs con¬ 
tain their own plant food they will blossom, 
for the first season at least, on very poor soil. 
They may be had in every color, and for prac¬ 
tically every season, and are equally desirable 
for both outdoor and indoor decoration. One 
who desires a gorgeous display of color may 
plant thousands of the inexpensive species, or 
the collector may have his cultured taste grati¬ 
fied at greater cost. 
It is the purpose of this article to suggest 
ways in which bulbs may be used most suit¬ 
ably, to select and describe some of the most 
satisfactory named varieties, and to give an 
approximation of their cost. 
There is a distinctive way of planting each 
part of the home do¬ 
main : the herbace¬ 
ous garden or bor¬ 
der, the formal par¬ 
terre, the odd corner 
beneath the window, 
or the tree-bordered 
stretch of grassy 
lawn. 
When placed in 
direct competition 
with the showy tu¬ 
lips and daffodils, 
some of the more 
unusual bulbs are 
eclipsed. For these 
there may be re¬ 
served a sunny cor¬ 
ner, possibly by the 
entrance where they 
will attract greater 
notice, and create 
an intimacy which 
would be denied 
them in the plan of 
ELIZABETH LEONARD STRANG 
a larger garden. They will also thrive better 
if the tops are allowed to die undisturbed in¬ 
stead of being removed to make way for an¬ 
nuals, as is necessary in conspicuous places. 
A Combination Plan 
Such a border is shown in the plan at the 
top of page 29. Dark evergreens are used 
as a setting for the flowers, and bright for- 
sythia to strengthen the color, since many of 
these bulbs are daintily inconspicuous. Earli¬ 
est of all is the tiny yellow aconite with its 
cup-shaped flower and deeply divided leaves. 
Then follow in quick succession snowdrops, 
scillas, and yellow crocus, the last the showi¬ 
est of the very early bulbs. A little later blue 
grape hyacinths and nodding white fritillaries 
form an attractive combination in the fore¬ 
ground, while at the back are accents of the 
tall Leucojum or snowflake. The dainty little 
hoop petticoat narcissus will be appreciated 
here, though its charm would be wasted in a 
lar*ge bed. The allium, a relative of the 
onion, bears umbels of deep yellow or blue 
flowers which happily lack the scent of its 
lowly relative. Puschkinia and camassia are in¬ 
teresting scilla-like flowers of the ever-desirable 
blue. The above-mentioned bulbs fill the 
spring season, and may be planted as thickly. 
For summer the tiny gladiolus-like mon- 
bretias of deep orange will take up little space 
and are hardy with slight protection. To 
make the bed still more interesting at this 
season ferns might be planted sparsely, as they 
uncurl their fronds after the bulbs have fin¬ 
ished. In autumn the leafless colchicum will 
send up its lavender blooms. As they look a 
little bare it is proper to mask them at the 
base by some trailing plant like myrtle. 
Such a border is interesting and unusual, 
but the most important and showy spring bulbs 
are the tulips and daffodils. An effective way 
of utilizing their 
beauty is to plant 
them in groups be¬ 
tween the herbace¬ 
ous plants in the 
garden, and even in 
a space apparently 
filled with plants, it 
is surprising how 
many may be in¬ 
serted. Used in this 
manner it is cus¬ 
tomary to leave them 
in the ground after 
blooming, removing 
the tops as they turn 
yellow. If this is 
done the tulips will 
need renewal every 
third year. The daf¬ 
fodils are more per¬ 
manent. A better, 
if more laborious 
way is to lift the 
bulbs after bloom- 
For planting good sized bulbs, The bulbs should Invariably be The winter protecting mulch 
a trowel is a convenient tool set with their crowns up is essential to prevent damage 
