Where to Plant Bulbs; and Other Advice for the Outdoor Garden.
A large part of the beauty of the flower-bed lies in its position. A flower-bed in the middle of the lawn is usually out of place. It has no "setting," as the artists say. It lacks background. It is merely an incidental thing dropped into the sward. It is out of place. A flower-bed should belong to some part of the general planting of the grounds, or it should be a part of the border or boundary surrounding the place. The center of any grounds should be left open, or free from heavy planting. A few trees may be planted in the center, if one desires shade; but all the masses of foliage and flowers should be somewhere near the sides or else near the foundations of the house or near other definite boundary lines. In such places the flower-bed is supported by other herbage. It has relation to something else. It forms a part of a general picture; and every good yard should be a picture.
Along the borders the beds are usually more easily cared for than they are in the center of the lawn. In the latter place they are in danger of being trampled over, and the roots of the grass run underneath the bed and absorb the food and moisture which the flowers need. The beauty of a formal bed in the center of the lawn is destroyed if some of the plants are injured or do not develop. Symmetry is part of its merit. If, however, the bed is along the border, a few vacant places in the bed do not attract great attention. In school grounds it is well to have the beds somewhat near together or continuous, in order that the labor of taking care of them may be less.
It is always well to plant profusely. Much of the beauty of a flower-bed lies in an abundance of color. One must consider, also, that some of the roots, seeds, or bulbs may fail. Some of them may not grow in the first place, and others may be injured by weather or by accidents. It is well to provide for all these contingencies.
One of the best plants to use for the school bulb garden is the crocus, because the bulbs are cheap and very hardy. The mixed bulbs, comprising all the common colors, can be had for forty or fifty cents per hundred at retail, and if one should buy them in considerable quantities, they could be had for less than this. A thousand bulbs of mixed crocuses should be got for three dollars or a little more, and these would make a great display along the fence or walks of any school garden. One of the ways to grow crocuses is to plant the bulbs in the grass, not cutting out the grass where they are planted. That is, they grow right in the sod. By the time the lawn needs to be mown in the spring, the flowers are gone and the crocuses can be cut with the grass. The crocuses will not last so long in a mown sod as they will in beds which are especially prepared for them, but they will ordinarily give good results for two or three years if the land is good; and they are so cheap that they can be renewed from time to time.
Other good, hardy bulbs for fall planting out-of-doors, aside from lilies, are hyacinth, snowdrop, snowflake, tulip, narcissus of various kinds (including daffodils and jonquils), grape hyacinth, squill. All these are early spring bloomers and will delight the children's eyes.
Fig. 373. A good arrangement of shrubbery and flower-beds.