About Orchids

Book Excerpt: horticulture.Among others which I recollect was an idea of growing bulbs the yearround! No trouble with bulbs! you just plant them and they do theirduty. A patient friend at Kew made me a list of genera and specieswhich, if all went well, should flower in succession. But there was awoeful gap about midsummer--just the time when gardens ought to bebrightest. Still, I resolved to carry out the scheme, so far as it went,and forwarded my list to Covent Garden for an estimate of the expense.It amounted to some hundreds of pounds. So that notion fell through.But the patient friend suggested something for which I still cherish hismemory. He pointed out that bulbs look very formal mostly, unlessplanted in great quantities, as may be done with the cheap sorts--tulipsand such. An undergrowth of low brightly-coloured annuals would correctthis disadvantage. I caught the hint, and I profit by it to this moreenlightened day. Spring bulbs are still a _spécialité_ of my gardening.I buy them fresh every autuRead More