Evening star., 1954-09-26
Early Spring Bulbs Are Tonic for Winter Blues
Many Small Ones
Go So Well With
Tulips, DuffodiIs
BY W. H. Younemon
The Stor's Gordsn Editor

NOW tnaC Dulp planning tlIue Is
nearly here, I want to remind
you of those small bulbs which
add so much to the beauty Of q
garden and are rather frequent
ly left out. OF course. they are
not as snowy as tulips, daffodils
or lilies, but having once grown
them you will wish to keep add
ing more and more kinds. Long
lasting, early Towering and un-
demanding as to cultural care,
they have much to offer us.
The most commonly planted Of
the smaller bulbs Is probably the |
crocus.
1t is possible to buy crocus
mixtures which give fine assort-
ment of colors and markings.
Usually, after q time. you will
prefer to buy named varieties
such as Excelsior. Remembrance,
Madam Noordewier, Kathleen
Parlow, Purpurea, Princess
Louise, Golden Yellow or Julia
Culp, to name only few. Be-
sides the named varieties there
are over three dozen species to
choose from and every gardener
should grow C.. susianus, also
called Cloth of Gold. Crocus
growing might even develop into
an interesting hobby, since
among the species there are fall
bloomers as well as numerous
spring boomers.
The Venturesome Snowdrops
For us spring wouldn't be spring
without the early heralding Of
the Snowdrops (Galanthus).
Winter seems so long in Feb
ruary that some clumps Of snow
drops seem to make 1t hasten to
the end. In a protected place
the lovely little bell-like flowers
will often bloom in January and
in spite of snow and sleet con-
tinue in bloom for several weeks.
Snowdrop (elweSiD is the
taller one and the more snowy,
but the double G. nevalis flora
plena is also of interest. G.
maximas Is seldom grown except
by the lobbyist. They are easy
to grow but do not like to be
moved.
Hydcinths Widely Planted
The grape hyacinth (MuscarD
adds much to the garden. The
species M. botryoides is less COM
monty ordered now than some
of the newer named varieties.
Heavenly Blue is, the largest
fowered of them all. Early
Giant is another useful member
of this widely planted group. M.
armeniacum has cobalt blue
flowers, and the more unusual
and less commonly planted one,
M. plumosum, has lavender lilac
flowers, the petals shredded and
curled into light feathery
plumes, hence the name. Don't
overlook the two white ones. M.
agureus albas, and M. botryoides
alba. They grow about six inches
high.
Leucojum should never be
omitted we think. They grow
about IL to Is inches tall, with
fine straight stems which bear
clusters of bell-shaped white
blossoms tipped with green. Ar
rangers will find the Leucojum,
or Summer Snowflake as it is
commonly called, 8 fine addition
to spring bouquets. L. vernum is
the variety usually grown, but
for variety there is L. autivum
with white bells.
Get Rid of Moles
The blue Glory y-of-the- Snow
Chinondoxa lucilliae, Is the Sec
ond earliest of the spring flow
ering bulbs. This species has q
striking blue color with white
center. Other species are white
and rose, c. sardensis is a bright
blue. The Chinonodoxa need tc
be bought and planted as early
in the fall as they can be OBJ.
tanned. Mice are very fond OF
these lovely things and when
ever moles are found there 20,
will find mice also, so get rid o1
the moles.
No garden Of bulbs could bs
complete without the Scilla:
(Wood Hyacinths). They some.
what resemble the larger, Shower
hyacinth with which we are al
familiar. One Scilla. s. non.
scripta, is sometimes called the
English Bluebell. They may be
white, shades Of blue or pink.
Spanish SquiII Is Snowy
s. hispanica, or Spanish squill
is larger and more snowy. 1t Il
IL to Is inches tall and alst
comes in white, pink or blue. I
blooms when the tulips are II
flower and is good for cutting
Both the species S. nonscripts
and S. hispanica were formerly
known as S. campanulata. Th'
early Towering Scilla, S. sibirica
also called Siberian Squill, is
much lower growing plant. usu'
ally from 4 to 6 inches in height
A bright spot in the garden il
created by the blooming of th'
winter Aconite, Eranthis hye'
malls. It's buttercup-yellow bios
SONS add a hit of cheer to th'
wintery-look garden for i
blooms before the crocus come
soon after the snowdrops are IL
full bloom. The yellow cup sit
on a collar of green leaves.
Several other small bulbs ar