The Sternbergias are handsome autumn flowers with blooms like a glorified yellow Crocus, which appear before the leaves. The best for the open air is S. lutea angustifolia, a narrow-leaved variety of the common lutea. Others of much beauty are fischeriana and macrantha, the latter having very large flowers. In order to make them flower they need a dry, sunny position in soil with limestone or lime rubbish. They should be planted in summer about two inches deep.
The Kaffir Lily is a valuable late blooming plant in a warm, sunny border, where it blooms in autumn, when its bright scarlet flowers in long spikes are much appreciated. Although it likes a warm position, it must not suffer from drought in its growing period. Plant in spring about three inches deep. It makes a good pot plant for a cool house.
The beautiful little Tecophilæas are quite hardy in light soils, but are, because of their scarcity, usually grown in frames or in pots in greenhouses. They have pretty Crocus-like flowers of blue and white, and should be planted in rich, light soil in a sunny position, well-sheltered from wind, or in a frame. Slugs are very partial to them, and must be carefully guarded against. The leading species are cyano-crocus and violæflora.
The Trilliums, or Trinity Flowers, are very ornamental plants, and are so distinct in form that they please everyone. They like shade and a moist peaty soil. Grandiflorum is a general favourite, with its large flowers of pure white. There is also a rose-coloured form named grandiflorum roseum. Even finer than grandiflorum is sessile var. californicum, which is considerably taller, and has fine white flowers, those of the typical sessile being purple. Cernuum, erectum, erectum album, nivale, petiolatum, recurvatum, and stylosum are all pretty, the last being the latest to bloom, and well worth growing. Plant in autumn or spring, with the crown one or two inches below the surface of the soil.
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 regimental array, with little but their own foliage to tone down the superfluous brilliancy of the mass of colour. It is emphatically a flower which requires association with other plants to show its true value. Grown in bold clumps in the mixed border, or in irregular groups among the rougher grass, it gives a much better effect. Individually, the Tulips are very beautiful, and their value in pots is of a high degree. Of course those who grow the English florist's Tulip ought to continue to grow them in beds and in lines, so that they can be protected from frost and shaded readily from strong sunshine. For ordinary gardens, however, an informal grouping will be the most satisfactory and pleasing. The species are very varied in their character, and many of the dwarfer are delightful rock-garden plants. A good, loamy soil is suitable for all classes of Tulips, but where it is heavy a little coarse sand may be placed about the bulb. It is well to plant comparatively early, from the beginning of October to the end of November being the most suitable time. In gardens subject to late frosts, it is better to plant in November than in the earlier month. Three or four inches is the depth generally recommended, but on light soil an additional inch may be given. Six inches apart is a good distance at which to plant the bulbs for ordinary effect. The English florist's Tulip ought to have a good loamy soil, the bulbs being planted three inches deep and four apart in lines. The end of October to the middle of November is the best time, but the bulbs should never be planted unless the soil is in a good working condition. Some litter should be put over the beds in severe frosts, and an awning erected over them at the blooming-time to preserve the flowers from rain and strong sun. There are a number of details connected with the florist's Tulip and its cultivation which cannot be given in the space of this work, but Mr Bentley's little pamphlet, entitled "The English Tulip," will give all necessary information not to be found here. The florist's Tulip can be grown in a border, but its effect there is not so good as that of some of the self-coloured flowers.