The Book of Bulbs

Our gardens owe so much of their charm to the free use of plants with bulbous or tuberous roots, that it is unnecessary to impress their value upon the reader. We have only to c...

Although the effective Aconitums or Monkshoods of our gardens are usually classed with ordinary herbaceous plants, the best of those with tuberous roots can hardly be omitted fr...

The only really hardy Amaryllis is A. Belladonna, the Belladonna Lily, which is a very effective plant with silvery rose flowers in late summer or early autumn. The leaves appea...

The Calochortus, with which is now included the Cyclobothra, is one of our most beautiful bulbous plants, its appearance well justifying the names of Butterfly Tulip or Star Tul...

The hardy Cyclamens or Sowbreads are charming little flowers which grow well under the shade of trees or in the rock-garden. They like a rich, but light soil, with a few stones...

Although many of the Fritillarias are more distinguished for their singularity than for the brilliance of their colouring, there are few more interesting garden plants. The nati...

The garden Hyacinths, the offspring of H. orientalis, are fine for beds or for groups or lines in borders, although too stiff for planting in grass. They like a good, but light,...

As a separate volume of this series to treat fully of the Iris is contemplated, only a brief _résumé_ of the genus, with a few general cultural hints, are required at the presen...

The Lily is the noblest of bulbous plants, and it is to be regretted that its cultivation often presents insuperable difficulties in many gardens. There are a few species which...

The Ornithogalums, or Stars of Bethlehem, are not general favourites in gardens, because of their seeding propensities, which make them difficult to keep within bounds. Several...

It is a matter for regret that the true beauty of the Tulip has been so long obscured by the manner of its planting in stiff lines or beds, where the flowers stood in almost reg...

The only species of Acidanthera which has been introduced hardy enough to be classed with half-hardy bulbs is A. bicolor, a pretty plant with spikes of whitish flowers with the...

Although there are some districts in which the greater number of the Gladioli may be grown as hardy bulbs and left in the same position for years without removal, in the vast ma...

Few people seem to grow the Ixiolirions, which are pretty summer blooming bulbs with umbels of lilac or blue flowers on stems about a foot high. This is unfortunate, as they are...

The charming Achimenes is not so much grown as formerly, but it might well become more popular among those who have a warm greenhouse or stove in which to start the tubers, as b...

The Clivias and Imantophyllums were formerly kept distinct, but are now combined by botanists, the name Imantophyllum being retained as that of a sub-genus. Both have long leave...

Freesias, whose fragrant flowers are so acceptable, are so nearly hardy, that it might, perhaps, have been more consistent to include them among the half-hardy bulbs. They are,...

Were the beauty and usefulness of the Lachenalias better known, they would soon become very popular plants for the amateur's greenhouse and window. They may be said to lie on th...