the time for planting of hardy perennials and shrubbery is optional with the gardener, many things doing quite as well when planted at one season as at another, but in the planting of spring blooming bulbs less latitude exists; these must be gotten into the ground in fall if any measure of success is desired. the handling of this class of plants is one of the luxuries of gardening, as they come all ready to commence root growth, but in a perfect dormant condition, and may be gotten into the ground very much at one's convenience, and regardless of weather; the earlier they are planted the stronger root growth they will be able to make before the ground freezes, which makes for stronger bloom in the spring.
crocus, scillas, narcissi, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and the like may be planted from the time283 they can be procured from the florist (which is usually in september) until the ground freezes. they will grow and bloom to perfection in any good, well-drained garden soil, providing it is not infested by moles and ground mice but beware of these, as they seem to possess an insatiable appetite for bulbs and once they have entered a bed will seldom leave it until they have exhausted its resources.
i recall that a few years ago i planted, in an empty canna bed on the front lawn, some five hundred choice, named tulips. the following spring just three tulip plants appeared above ground—the moles having destroyed the other four hundred and ninety-seven. in the flower garden where other hundreds of bulbs had been used to border beds of hardy perennials, they fared somewhat better, the greater part coming up, but many had been destroyed and still others carried far from the place of their planting, coming up as much as three feet away in the middle of paths and in sod.
one of the most satisfactory ways of using284 tulips is to plant them as a border to beds of perennials or shrubs, setting them in single, double or triple rows, along the edge and leaving them to ripen and increase from year to year; in this way one gets the greatest good at the least expenditure of time and space. when they are planted in beds by themselves it is customary to lift them when through blooming and to heel them in some out-of-the-way spot until the tops have died when they may be lifted and stored in paper bags until time to plant out again in the fall. this leaves the beds free for summer annuals or bedding plants. if it is not desired to lift them, then one may sow seed of some annual of light root growth such as the myostis or forget-me-not, the schizanthus, pansy, verbena, or phlox drumondii, as these plants will not interfere with the maturing of the bulbs and the protection afforded them from the heat of summer will be of benefit.
the soil for any variety of bulbs should be rich, mellow and thoroughly well drained and it is285 better in planting any but the smallest bulbs to remove a few inches of the top soil and having leveled off the surface mark it in straight lines from side to side each way so that the lines cross each other and set a bulb at each intersection of the lines. for tulips the lines should be five inches apart each way and for hyacinths seven inches. where solid beds of hyacinths or tulips are planted small bulbs, such as crocus, scilla or winter aconite, may be used for filling in the spaces between with charming effect. white crocus and blue scillas are especially dainty, or the lovely ixias may be used but in this case the beds must be very carefully protected against the cold and covering removed with discretion in the spring.
narcissus, daffodils, jonquils and all that family appear to better advantage when planted in long double or triple rows and should be set a foot apart each way and about four inches deep. these bulbs increase by forming new bulbs in a circle around the old bulb and should be allowed286 abundant room to increase and once planted should not be disturbed until they have become too crowded to bloom well.
crocuses are never so lovely as when studding the green of the lawn in early spring and this is the simplest form of planting, it only being necessary to lift a bit of sod with a trowel, slip a crocus bulb underneath and press the sod back above it. plant them informally, singly, in groups. scatter them freely about with the hand and bury them where they fall. there is one precaution, however, to be observed in this system of planting—the lawn-mower must be withheld in spring until the crocuses have matured their leaves or there will be no flowers the following spring.
all spring bulbs profit by a liberal application of old, well-rotted manure but this should be either spaded deep in the beds below where the bulbs will set or used as a top dressing after the soil removed before planting has been replaced and not allowed to come in contact with the bulbs. manure is not only harmful in itself but287 it is also the home of the little white wire worms so injurious to all bulbs and especially to lilies, and almost always when bulbs are found to be not doing well the trouble will prove to be either worms or poor drainage.
a part of the winter covering of all bulb beds should be lifted as soon as growth starts in the spring as a stockier, stronger growth results but the finer portion should be left and in case of such tender bulbs as ixias that removed may be kept handy to replace in case of an unusually cold snap.
many of the miscellaneous bulbs offered by the florists are desirable when grown in well established groups, but lack effect planted singly or in too small groups. one of the loveliest of summer-blooming bulbs is found in the anthericum or st. bruno's lily. these should be set in colonies in the hardy border where they may remain undisturbed for years. plant about three inches deep and four inches apart. alliums, chinodoxia, and bulbs of this class need grouping to be at their best, otherwise they are288 apt to appear rather straggly. i like to see bulbs colonized among the shrubbery and the edge of evergreens where they appear at their best in the early days of spring and do not seriously interfere with the use of the lawn-mower later on.
ramblers
an effective treatment of ramblers
