1919.] BEDDING PLANTS FOR TRINIDAD. . 25 



Asters. — With care and attention Asters will grow well although 

 they do not produce such fine flowers as in English gardens, neither 

 can they be relied upon to make the same massed effect. Propagated 

 by seed. 



Balsams. — Our garden balsams are botanically known as Impatiens, 

 so named because the seed pcds when nearly ripe are impatient of the 

 slightest touch, the valve discharging the seeds at the least provocation. 



There are several florists strains hut the Camellia flowered balsams 

 are the finest and thrive well. Seeds can be bought in several distinct 

 colours, such as white, cream, rose, salmon-pink, scarlet and violet, and 

 if they be kept apart from each other and seeds selected from the 

 best double flowers, good balsams can be produced for several genera- 

 tions from home grown seed. I have had good double flowers true to 

 type from the fourth generation of seeds grown here from white. 



The advantages of balsams are that they make a good show, can be 

 raised and brought into flower quickly; they thus serve a very useful 

 purpose if there is likely to be a bare time in the flower garden. The 

 seeds are easily raised being simply sown in drills out-doors in a sunny 

 place and transferred to the flower beds when a few inches high. 



Browallia speciosa major is one of our introductions of last year. 

 Its close relation, Browallia demissa, is a common native plant. 

 They are somewhat ditficult to raise from seed being very slow in 

 growth but fully compensate one later by the lovely show of blue 

 flowers they are capable of producing. It grows to a height of 18 inches 

 to 2 feet and produces seeds in quantity. The period of growth from 

 sowing of seed to the time it must be discarded from the flower beds 

 is about seven months. 



Cockscombs do best in the dry season, as during heavy rains 

 they tend to make very vigorous growth at the expense of good heads 

 of flower. Cockscombs very readily reproduce themselves here by seeds. 



CosTOos.— The yellow or orange cosmos is best suited for dry weather 

 conditions, as although making smaller plants during that time they 

 produce more flowers than they do when grown in wet weather. It 

 reproduces itself naturally and can become a regular weed in the garden. 

 The pink and white varieties are much mors delicate. 



-Coreopsis.— These are first rate bedding plants, and make useful 

 flowers for house decorations. They are natives chiefly of the Northern 

 and Central parts of America. 



Two species, C. Drummondii and C. tinctoria, with their numerous 

 colour variations have given us luost of the varieties of annual coreopsis 

 used in gardens. 



C. tinctoria grows frcm two to three feet high and produces bright 

 brown and yellow flowers. Seedsmen have produced a variety of strains 

 -of different colours from this and also a dwarf one. 



