The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-11-02
WINTER BLOSSOMS.
Hints About Bulbs Grown in the
Garden and in the House.

AS this is the season when the lovers OF
beautiful flowers are preparing the winter
blossoms the following hints from the pages
of Vick's Magazine are timely:
Some one has sung Of the garden in these
strains:
Let Iong-lived pansies here their sweets bestow.
The violet ianguish and the roses grow;
In yellow glory let the crocus shine.
Narelssus here his love-sick head reclne;
Here hyacinths in purple sweetness rise,
And tulips tinged with beauty's fairest dyes.
And who that knows what a garden is. and
enjoys il, could spare one of these flowers?
Their beauty, their fragrance ana their asso-
citation satisfy the senses and inspire senti-
ment The literature OF history, mythology,
poetry and romance is studded with illusions
to these fair forms that bedeck the earth.
But how frequently the Dubious plants are
lacking in the gardens of this country In some
cases il is because their planting season is
an unusual one Planting in spring IS taken
as matter OF course, and plants requiring
to be set in spring receive attention. In
autumn the requirements OF the garden may
be somewhat forgotten, tho owner may be
away on vacation or travelling, and so, from
one cause or another. the bnlb-plantlns sea-
son is passed and the flowers that should
make the garden bright and gay IN early
spring are lacking. 1t is proper, therefore, at
this time to call special attention to these
supplied with them, and thus be made at
traetive at the earliest possible time In the
spring With a good variety OF Dubious
plants pushing their green blades as soon as
the heavy frosts are past, there will be no
lack of interest in the garden, and thus
there will be Indictment TO further timely
effort to make it beautiful and enjoyable for
the whole season. But the Dubious plants
have another claim ON our attention; Tor
their ease Of culture in the house window
,INl tr rn
with their brightness and fragrance through
most OF the winter season.
Snowdrops, snowflakes and crocuSes can
also be raised in pots for winter blooming;
but they are more impatient OF heat, IL pos
sible, than hyacinths and tulips, and it is
absolutely necessary to bring them along in
a cool temperature up TO the time Of bloom
ing.
The Freesia refracta alba is another very
satisfactory winter blooming bulb and can
be treated practically the same as hyacinths
and tulips.
Bulbs should be employed literally both
for the greenhouse and the window garden
and their bright. fragrant flowers will
always be admired. In the open garden
they should be planted in beds, in groups
and in masses. They should form dOmi-
nant feature of the garden in early spring.
The blooming season of bulbs in the open
garden is frequently shortened by term of
hot " Gather. such as we often have IN spring,
sometimes in April or May, and lasting days.
or week or more; as we all know II is not
uncommon to have in the middle of spring a
succession of hot days of almost midsummer
heat, bringing forward vegetation with great
rapldity, and then reaction occurs and
cold winds prevail, whipping and inJuring
the newly unfolded leaves and flowers.
This, too, is danger period of frosts. To
provide against the damage that may occur
at such time, and also TO prolons the
blooming season in any event, 1t is good
plan to mulch bulb beds with some noncon-
Quoting heat material; covering OF about
two inches Of coal ashes carefully placed
over the beds in the spring, just before the
bloom appears, will prove of great benefit;
sawdust, il easily procurable, would be even
better, and in some places old pine needles,
OF the fallen and decaying foliage OF other
evergreen trees, can be obtained and is eX-
ceIlent for the purpose.
Narcissus bulbs, the single and double va
rieties, can be planted in the garden in the
same manner as above described. The
Polyanthus Narcissus is not hardy, and in
cold climates is used only indoors Tulips
in the open ground need only three or four
inches OF space between them, but otherwise
may be planted like hyacinthS.
With plenty of bulbs in well arranged
masses and good collection of herbaceous
plants selected with reference 10 their time
OF blooming the garden may be made con-
tinuously bright, attr active and interesting
from early spring until winter closes in.
In the preparation of garden-bed or bor-
der for hyacinths it is best to take some
special care. The application of stable
manure before planting is not desirable as it
has tendency to cause the bulbs to decay.
But the addition of quantity of leaf-mold
and if the soil is heavy a good dressing of
sand, will be found beneficial. About four
inches of the top soil Can be removed from
the space intended for the bed and laid on
one side; spade over the whole as deep as
possible and work in the leaf-mold, and
sand if desired. With sandy soil leaf
mold alone makes an excellent dressing.
Rake over the bed, freeing it from all stones,
and giving it smooth. level surface. Par
allel lines can be drawn, and intersecting
ones, and the bulbs placed so as to show
solid masses of color or designs of ANY de-
sired patterns. At the point where the lines
cross press the bulbs down into the soil even
with the surface, and when all have been set
cover the whole bed with the sell which was
first removed, thus leaving them with about
four inches of soil entirely over them. Be-
fore the ground freezes hard the bed should
have a thick covering of leaves for winter
protection