little flowers of a bright
dark-blue colour, on stalks about five or six inches high; they flower for
some weeks, and must be massed together to get a good effect.

=The early-flowering scillas= resemble the _chionodoxas_, but last much
longer in bloom. They are very =easy to manage=, and rarely fail to make a
good show. _S. siberica_ is the best-known variety, and can be obtained
very cheaply.

=The miniature narcissus= is the sweetest thing imaginable; _N. minus_, is
only a few inches high, and when in the open border is apt to get
splashed, but amongst stones in a sheltered position on the rockery they
are charming. All these dwarf bulbs look so well in such positions,
because =their purity remains unsullied=.

Here I will leave the rockery, merely intimating that =early autumn is the
best time for planting=, and that if pains are taken to construct it
properly at first, a great amount of trouble will be saved in the end.
Most of these plants and bulbs may be had of Messrs. Barr & Sons, 12, King
Street, Covent Garden. Their daffodil nurseries at Long Ditton, near
Surbiton, Surrey, are famous all the world over, but they also go in a
great deal for hardy perennials and rock plants, of which they have a
splendid stock; their prices are very reasonable, too, when you take into
consideration that everything they send out is absolutely true to name.
Their interesting catalogues will be sent post free on application.

CHAPTER X

Trees, Shrubs, and How to Treat Them.

_Some good plants for growing beneath them--Selection of hardy
shrubs--Enriching the soil--Climbers._

Forest-trees in a small garden are somewhat out of place, but as they are
often found in such positions, I will deal with them here. It is to be
remembered that though they give most grateful shade, not only do they rob
everything beneath them of sunshine, but also =take so much out of the
soil=, that, unless constant renewals are made, very little can be grown
in their immediate vicinity; the class of plants that will do best beneath
their branches also find the soil they are growing in best renewed by the
leaves which fall therefrom. For the sake of tidiness, these of course are
swept away, but they should be kept for two or three years, and then
brought back, converted into =leaf-mould=; if this is not done, the
quality of the soil will steadily deteriorate, instead of getting richer,
as it does in woods; and this is one reason why