Beautiful Bulbous Plants for the Open Air

By John Weathers

"Beautiful Bulbous Plants for the Open Air" by John Weathers. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Good Press
• Release date: Dec 6, 2019
• ISBN: 4064066237028

Book preview

John Weathers

Beautiful Bulbous Plants for the Open Air

Published by Good Press, 2019

[e-mail]

EAN 4064066237028

Table of Contents

PREFACE.

LIST OF PLATES.

INDEX

BEAUTIFUL BULBOUS PLANTS.

INTRODUCTION.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

SOMETHING ABOUT BULBS AND CORMS.

SOIL FOR BULBOUS PLANTS.

HINTS TO BEGINNERS.

HOW DEEP SHOULD BULBS BE PLANTED?

THE NATURAL SINKING OF BULBS AND CORMS.

PROPAGATION OF BULBOUS PLANTS.

LIFTING AND STORING BULBS.

COMBINATIONS OF BULBOUS AND NON-BULBOUS PLANTS.

NATURALISING BULBOUS PLANTS IN THE GRASS.

BULBOUS PLANTS UNDER TREES AND SHRUBS.

BULBOUS PLANTS FOR CUT FLOWERS.

BULBOUS PLANTS FOR COLD GREENHOUSES.

BULBOUS PLANTS FOR WINDOW BOXES.

DESCRIPTIONS, CULTURE, PROPAGATION, &c., OF THE BEST BULBOUS PLANTS FOR THE OPEN AIR.

ENEMIES OF BULBOUS PLANTS.

MANURING BULBOUS PLANTS.

PREFACE.

Table of Contents

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Although many articles have appeared from time to time in the horticultural newspapers and periodicals dealing with various aspects of the subject, it cannot be said that Bulbous Plants have hitherto received the attention they deserve in gardening literature. This volume therefore appears at an opportune moment to meet a recognised want, and in fulfilment of the promise made in the preface to "

Beautiful Garden Flowers

."

While Bulbous Plants as a class have been somewhat neglected, it may be noted that one or two families have been dealt with specially in years gone by. In this connection mention may be made of the magnificent Monograph of the Genus Lilium, by Mr. H. J. Elwes; the Narcissus, its History and Culture, by Mr. F. W. Burbidge, M.A., and Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S.; a History of the Genus Crocus, by the Hon. and Rev. Dean Herbert, whose original drawings and MS. notes are preserved in the Lindley Library. Mr. Geo. Maw has also dealt specially with the Crocus; and more recently the Rev. Eugene Bourne with the Daffodil; Miss Jekyle and Mr. Goldring with Lilies, &c.

A glance at the coloured plates will perhaps be sufficient to give the reader a good idea as to the numerous kinds of Bulbous Plants now grown in gardens, and of the marvellous range of colour to be found in their blossoms. It has not been considered advisable to include in this volume such hothouse bulbous plants as Eucharis, Crinum, Hymenocallis, Pancratium, but only those kinds that are most likely to give general, if not universal, satisfaction when grown in the open air according to the cultural instructions to be found under the heads of the various genera.

In the preparation of this work I have to acknowledge my indebtedness to the Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, through whose kindness I have had opportunities for examining the bulbs or corms of the rarer plants referred to in the letterpress.

I also owe my best thanks for the specimens kindly supplied to illustrate the work by A. Worsley, Esq., of Isleworth; Messrs. Barr and Son, of Covent Garden; Messrs. Wallace and Company, of Colchester; Messrs. Ware, of Feltham; and Mr. Perry, of Winchmore Hill.

JOHN WEATHERS.

LIST OF PLATES.

Table of Contents

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Preface

List of Plates

Index

Introduction

Geographical Distribution

Something about Bulbs and Corms

Soil for Bulbous Plants

Hints to Beginners

How Deep should Bulbs be Planted?

Natural Sinking of Bulbs and Corms

Bulbs without Contractile Roots

Propagation of Bulbous Plants:— By Offsets, Bulbils, Leaf-Scales, Division, Seeds.

Lifting and Storing Bulbs

Combinations of Bulbous and Non-Bulbous Plants

Naturalising Bulbous Plants in the Grass

Bulbous Plants under Trees and Shrubs

Bulbous Plants for Cut Flowers

Bulbous Plants for Cold Greenhouses

Bulbous Plants for Window Boxes

Descriptions, Culture, Propagation, &c. of the Best Bulbous Plants for the Open Air

Enemies of Bulbous Plants

Manuring Bulbous Plants

INDEX

Table of Contents

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BEAUTIFUL BULBOUS PLANTS.

Table of Contents

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INTRODUCTION.

Table of Contents

The cultivation of Bulbous Plants has reached a point of popularity at the present day that it has never before attained. And there is every reason to believe that this popularity is increasing from year to year as more people become better acquainted with these plants, and the ease with which the great majority of them may be grown in almost any garden. Indeed there are now so many kinds of bulbous plants that there is no difficulty in making a selection to suit the smallest garden or the most modest purse.

Of course, some kinds, such as Tulips, Daffodils and Narcissi, Hyacinths, Crocuses, Snowdrops, Scillas, Bluebells, Chionodoxas, Grape Hyacinths, Lilies, Colchicums, Gladioli, and Montbretias, will be always probably amongst the first favourites with garden lovers. But there is no reason why the Mariposa Lilies and Star Tulips, the Brodiæas and Millas, the Sternbergias and Fritillarias, and many others should not in the course of time become almost equally popular when they become better known.

Some kinds of bulbous plants have been known in British Gardens—and no doubt in continental ones also—ever since such a thing as gardening proper came to be distinguished from mere agriculture. Our native or naturalised bulbs—such as the Snake's Head Fritillary (Fritillaria Meleagris), the Yellow Star of Bethlehem (Gagea lutea), as well as the white ones (Ornithogalum nutans, pyrenaicum, and umbellatum), the Autumn Crocus (Colchicum autumnale), the Lent Lily or Daffodil