COLUMBINES
Anemones are not bulbous plants, but their tubers are usually listed in the florists' catalogues with bulbs, and[41][42] in many ways this is a convenient arrangement; but of all bulbous plants those which have most attracted the attention of florists and hybridists are undoubtedly the Tulip and the Daffodil. The Daffodil has won the heart of the poet as well as of the florist, and English verse is full of references to the "darling Daffodils" (as Marvell called them) and "faire Narcissus." Keats named these graceful flowers as an example of those things of beauty which are joys for ever, and Shelley, whose garden of the Sensitive Plant contained many beautiful flowers, referred to the Narcissus as "the fairest among them all."
Perdita's description of Daffodils,
"That came before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty,"
is familiar to all who read their Shakespeare. The daffodil is indeed an old-fashioned flower, for dry specimens of Narcissus Tazetta have been found in Egyptian mummy cases dating back nearly four thousand years. Mr Burbidge thinks that many species of Narcissus were introduced into England by the Phœnicians when they came to Cornwall for tin, "and, as Cornwall has a climate and soil eminently suited to daffodils, these have been there perpetuated." Daffodils will grow in almost any garden soil, but in many gardens, especially in very rich soils or in soils which are badly drained, they tend to disappear in the course of one or two seasons. A little shade from the heat of the sun is desirable, as also is a little shelter from cold winds. Stiff loam of moderate richness is suitable for most varieties of daffodil, and the bulbs should be planted by the end of August. After being planted they should in suitable soils be left undisturbed for from two to six years; and when lifted they should be placed to ripen in a shady place, and replanted in the course of a month. The bulbs should be planted from four to six inches apart, and from four to six inches deep, according to the size of the bulb and the lightness of the soil. Where all the varieties are beautiful it seems hopeless to select. To a beginner, perhaps, the following list may be of some help:—Poeticus-ornatus, Obvallaris, Emperor, Leedsii Minnie-Hulme, Empress, Golden Spur and Grandee; to which should be added the sweet Campernelle Jonquil.
For naturalising in grass, the poet's and star narcissi, as well as some of the trumpet daffodils, are particularly suited.
In the whole history of the craft, few things have occurred so calculated to throw ridicule on gardening and gardeners as the celebrated outbreak of Tulipomania in the seventeenth century, though at times the contemporary Daffodilmania threatens to rival it. The Tulip was introduced into England towards the end of the sixteenth century, and but half a century later Parkinson describes a hundred and forty varieties. Apart from the various species which the florist has not as yet seriously taken in hand, the bulk of the tulips commonly grown in gardens are of two great classes, the short stalked April-flowering tulips which are descended from T. suavolens, and the taller May flowering descendants of T. Gesneriana which are known as "Florist's Tulips." These garden varieties are of every shade of colour and do well in any rich well-drained garden soil. It is advisable to lift them every year, or in light soils every three years, as otherwise they tend to become crowded and poor. The bulbs should be planted in October, about four inches deep and four inches apart, and, like all other bulbs, if grown for decorative effect, should have the earth between them carpeted with some dwarf surface-rooting plants as elsewhere suggested. Far better for ordinary garden decoration than any of the florists' striped or feathered varieties is the parent of the race, the brilliant red or crimson Gesner's tulip. Its effectiveness is much increased by the great dark brown blotch at the bottom of its cup, and this is even more marked in the variety spathulata. Many of the self-coloured Darwin tulips are also delightful and vigorous growers. The early dwarf species, T. Greigi, with its brilliant red flowers and quaintly marked leaves, is well worth cultivating either in small groups or bold masses, as also is the native species, T. Sylvestris, with pale yellow flowers of great beauty. Among other species and varieties specially worthy of a place in the garden are T. Elegans, T. retroflexa, T. australis, the dwarf T. kolpakowskyana, T. viridiflora, T. clusiana (introduced early in the seventeenth century), T. vitellina, and the kinds known as Golden Eagle, Picotee, and Bouton d'Or. To modify the observation of a writer of the seventeenth century, "The tulip is a queenly flower, and asketh a rich soil and the hand of a lover." And indeed given these conditions tulips may be easily and successfully grown.
The bulbs already named are but a few of those worth growing for effects of beauty in the spring garden, for a complete enumeration would occupy many times the amount of space at disposal. There is, however, one other bulbous plant which should be included in any collection of spring flowers, the Erythronium or Dog's Tooth Violet. The beautiful European species, E. dens-canis, has been grown in England for nearly three hundred years, and, in light soil and an open sunny site, produces its rose coloured flowers with freedom. The more recently introduced American species are equally worth growing. Spring is the great season for the flowering of bulbous plants for the very obvious reason that only plants with an accumulated store of last season's solar energy can produce flowers so early in the year. For like reason it is that the thick-rooted primroses and other species of primula are such early bloomers. The hybrid primroses (mostly descendants of P. acaulis and P. altaica) often produce their variously coloured flowers long before the native P. vulgaris begins to bloom. The primroses rejoice in moderately rich soil and partial shade. It is well to divide and replant every two or three years—especially in the case of the pretty P. rosea. In July it is a good plan to top-dress them with a fine and well rotted mixture of manure, leaf mould and loam. Most of the primroses are easily raised from seed, sown as soon as ripe in light soil kept shaded and slightly moist. The old double primroses cannot of course be raised from seed, and are by no means so vigorous as the single kinds. They require partial shade, and are somewhat intolerant of frequent interference.