The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Landscape Gardening
The following list includes the best bulbous plants, with a few which do not grow from the bulbs, but which, in view of the use we make of them, may be best understood just here.
CHINODOXA, Glory of the Snow, one of the earliest and most delightful flowers of spring. Should be planted in a sheltered place with southern exposure in order to get the full value of its precocity.
CROCUSES.—Almost the first flowers of spring, and always welcome for their earliness and freshness. Where shrubs and herbaceous plants are grown in an open border, crocuses may be thickly planted in narrow rows along the extreme edge next the grass. One of the most satisfactory ways to grow crocuses is to scatter them thickly in the grass, where they will usually came up every spring without further care.
DAHLIA.—The dahlia is enjoying just now a well-deserved renewal of public favor. Many fine new varieties are being offered by the dealers, and great satisfaction is to be got out of their culture. The cactus varieties are the most informal and appeal more strongly than the older types to most tastes; but the single varieties and the smaller pompons, as well as the mammoth blossoms of the most regular outlines, have all their various agreeable expressions.
ERYTHRONIUM, Dog's-tooth violet.—These little early flowering plants are very delicate and beautiful. There are several fine species and varieties, nearly all of which are hardy.
GLADIOLUS.—The gladiolus is one of the most striking and effective flowers in the garden when nicely grouped with other plants. When put by itself and with no company but an unpainted stick, it is one of the most awkward and ungainly sights on the lawn. The gladioli are especially useful for grouping in small masses among shrubs. They are also very valuable for cutting, and for this purpose may be grown in quantity in the reserve garden. There are hundreds of fine varieties, in many colors, but yellows and reds are best, especially reds. The bright reds and carmines seem to be the best suited to the character of the plants.
IRIS.—There are some fine, hardy, native irises, and a great many hardy and tender species of great beauty from all over the world which may be grown with a little care. The many varieties of German iris are all desirable, and the Japan irises are among the most gorgeous flowers ever seen in temperate climates. The Siberian irises are also very desirable for garden planting, while the more tender Spanish and English irises, (true bulbous species) are superlatively beautiful and may be grown with proper care.
