264 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  18,  1902. 
Muscari  conicum]  xer.  Heavenly  B  ue. 
Naturalising  Bulbs  in  Grass, 
Year  by  year  the  practice  of  planting  bulbs  in  grass  finds  more 
favour  with  plant,  lovers,  and  at  the  present  time  vast  quantities 
of  bulbs  are  used  for  that  purpose.  That  the  practice  should 
increase  in  popularity  cannot  be  wondered  at,  for  a  sweep  of  grass 
land  dotted  over  with  Daffodils,  Pheasant-eye  Narcissus,  or  other 
bulbs  is  infinitely  more  beautiful  than  a  square,  round,  or  any 
other  shaped  bed  crammed  with  bulbs  of  one  particular  sort. 
Planted  in  the  grass,  each  plant  stands  clear  cf  its  neighbour,  or 
groups  with  it  in  a  natural  manner,  whilst  planted  in  a  bed  all 
the  plants  are  jammed  together,  and  the  form  of  any  individual 
specimen  cannot  be  seen. 
The  selection  of  suitable  positions  for  various  sorts  of  bulbs 
should  be  given  attention  when  plantations  are  being  made,  for  on 
this  the  success  of  the  undertaking  depends  to  a  great  extent. 
For  instance,  in  places  where  the  grass  has  to  be  mown  fairly 
early,  those  bulbs  only  should  be  planted  whose  foliage  dies 
naturally  at  an  early  date,  for  no  leaves  should  be  cut  off  until 
they  turn  yellowr ;  then  again  notice  must  be  taken  of  whether  the 
grass  forms  a  thick  turf  or  whether  it  is  somewhat  scarce,  for  in 
many  places  such  things  as  Snowdrops  and  Chionodoxas  quickly 
deteriorate  when  planted  under  a  thick,  dense  turf,  whilst 
planted  under  trees  where  the  grass  is  fairly  thin  they  increase 
in  vigour. 
Then,  again,  the  sizes  of  the  masses  must  be  given  consideration, 
for  while  in  some  cases  extensive  sweeps  would  be  desirable,  in 
others  small  colonies  only  would  be  better  fitted.  At  Kew  some 
very  pretty  effects  are  made  by  planting  clumps  of  Daffodils  on 
the  outskirts  of  Rhododendron  bushes,  and  this  is  a  plan  which 
could  be  readily  adopted  by  those  who  have  a  few  bulbs  only  to 
plant.  In  other  parts  of  the  gardens  at  Kew  large  expanses,  an 
acre  or  more  in  extent,  are  planted,  and  these  in  their  position 
make  a  fine  display,  but  are  by  no  means  more  beautiful  than  the 
small  colonies  among  the  Rhododendrons. 
The  planting  of  the  bulbs  should  also  be  carefully  managed, 
for  nothing  looks  worse  than  quantities  of  bulbs  planted  in  grass 
in  a  formal  manner.  Straight  lines  and  circles  should  be  avoided, 
an  irregular  outline  being  aimed  at.  Then  when  planting  a  large 
mass,  the  bulbs  should  not  all  be  used  in  the  mass,  a  number 
being  left  to  scatter  about  the  outskirts  either  singly  or  in  small 
clusters.  In  the  mass  itself  it  might  also  be  found  desirable  to 
leave  a  patch  here  and  there  without  bulbs,  so  that  when  in  flower 
a  large  group  may  be  relieved  here  and  there  with  patches  of 
green.  Of  all  exotic  bulbs,  possibly  Daffodils  are  the  best  for 
naturalisation,  as  they  will  thrive  under  very  adverse  conditions, 
and  are  suitable  for  a  great  number  of  positions. 
In  addition  to  the  common  Daffodil,  however,  there  are  a 
number  of  species  of  Narcissus  and  a  great  many  varieties  which 
are  first  rate  subjects  for  the  purpose,  whilst  spring  and  autumn 
Crocuses  are  extremely  useful,  especially  in  places  where  the 
grass  has  to  be  mown  early.  Snowdrops  and  Chionodoxas  are 
better  fitted  for  planting  under  trees  where  the  grass  is  thin 
than  for  planting  in  thick  grass,  though  for  two  years,  especially 
if  the  ground  is  good,  they  may  be  depended  on  to  flow'er  w’ell 
even  in  thick  grass. 
In  some  cases  Tulips  and  Hyacinths  have  been  planted  in 
grass  and  make  nice  patches  of  colour  for  a  few  years.  A  few 
species  of  Tulip  naturalise,  and  these  might  be  more  often  used 
than  at' present.  The  practice  of  saving  all  bulbs  which  have  not 
been  subjected  to  very  severe  forcing,  is  carried  out  in  many 
places,  and  all  these  are  planted  out  either  separately  or  as  a 
mixture.  The  majority  of  these  flower  the  following  year,  and 
the  greater  portion  improve  in  condition,  especially  if  the 
ground  is  good. 
The  planting  of  bulbs  in  grass  is  a  rather  tedious  operation, 
especially  where  large  quantities  are  dealt  with.  Numerous  ways 
of  planting  may  be  adopted,  any  of  which  are  satisfactory.  Two 
methods  which  are  practised  at  Kew  with  success  are,  firstly,  the 
making  of  holes  3in  or  4in  deep  with  a  crowbar,  and  secondly, 
removing  patches  of  turf,  digging  up  the  ground,  placing  in  the 
bulbs  and  covering  them  over  with  the  turf.  For  the  commoner 
kinds  of  bulbs  the  former  method  answers  well,  but  for  the  rarer 
kinds  it  is  advisable  to  adopt  the  latter  plan.  When  planting 
under  the  first-mentioned  manner  it  is  a  good  plan  to  drop  a  little 
fine  soil  into  the  holes  before  the  bulbs,  afterwards  filling  the 
holes  up  with  good  soil. 
For  making  new  plantations,  no  time  is  better  than  the 
present,  as  the  bulbs  will  begin  to  root  at  once,  and  they  may  be 
looked  for  to  make  a  good  display  next  spring.  Until  choice, 
expensive  bulbs  have  been  well  tested  in  cultivated  ground,  it 
is  not  advisable  to  plant  them  in  grass,  for  if  they  should  not 
come  up  to  expectations  the  planter  would  probably  be  dis¬ 
couraged  from,  trying  other  things. 
Almost  all  the  old,  well  tried  varieties  of  Narcissus  are  suit¬ 
able  things,  whilst  others  previously  mentioned  are  also  suitable. 
The  large  flowered  Bluebell,  Seilla  hispanica,  is  worth  intro¬ 
ducing  into  the  woodland,  either  used  alone  or  mixed  with  the 
common  one.  On  the  outskirts  of  woods  Lilium  Martagon  is 
worthy  a  trial ;  in  places  where  the  ground  is  not  very  hard  the 
Winter  Aconite  is  a  useful  subject,  the  hardy  Ornithogalums  and 
several  Alliums  may  be  used  by  those  who  like  variety,  and 
numbers  of  other  things  of  which  large  quantities  are  obtainable. 
— W.  Dallimore. 
- »  « - 
“A  GOOD  SAMPLE.” 
The  title  above  applies  to  the  exhibit  of  a  handsome  potful 
of  Hyacinths  which,  through  Messrs.  Webb  and  Sons’  (Stour¬ 
bridge)  goodness,  we  are  able  to  present  on  this  page.  The  variety 
is  Webb’s  Golden  Perfection,  and  there  can  be  no  better  proof  of 
the  high  quality  of  the  bulbs  and  the.  attention  of  the  cultivator 
than  that  photograph.  The  fragrance  of  springtime,  and  a  vision 
of  bright  colours  in  greenhouse  and  hall,  is  borne  to  us  in  view¬ 
ing  it.  Good  yellow  Hyacinths  are  not  at  all  common,  and  this 
variety  is  a  beautiful  bright  yellow. 
MUSCARI  CONICUM  var.  HEAVENLY  BLUE. 
We  desire  to  bring  to  the  notice  of  any  who  may  not  have  a 
stock  of  it,  a  plant  of  such  merit  that  it  has  only  to  be  seen  to  be 
duly  appreciated.  Messrs;  Barr  and  Sons,  of  King  Street,  Covent 
Garden,  London,  have  a  hedge-bank  at  their  Long  Ditton 
nurseries  covered  with  it,  and  when  the  flowers  are  at  their  best, 
and  they  persist  a  long  while  too,  the  display  made  is  specially 
remembered  by  all  who  have  seen  it.  For  the  small  illustration 
of  this  subject  we  are  indebted  to  the  Messrs.  Barr.  Heavenly 
Blue  was  sent,  to  them  some  years  ago  from  Trebizond  ;  the  colour 
is  of  the  brightest  and  richest  shade  of  gentian-blue  imaginable, 
and  large  masses  produce  a  wonderful  effect  in  the  garden  from 
the  end  of  March  to  May  ;  the  flowers  have  a  delightful  fragrance, 
and  are  very  valuable  for  cutting,  having  long  stalks,  and  remain¬ 
ing  fresh  in  water  a  long  time.  It.  was  awarded  a  Certificate  of 
Merit  by  the  Royal  Botanic  Society. 
‘‘A  Good  Sample.” 
