1871.] SOWING OF CALIFORNIAN ANNUALS. 419 



without a check, either from cold or heat, from improper watering, 

 from anything in the way of repotting, or any other accidental 

 casualty, the chances are all in favour of its being comparatively free 

 from insect pests, and other ills which plants are heirs to, with the 

 certainty of its being something near the "mark" as regards appear- 

 ance, and everything else that constitutes a well-grown plant. 



R. P. B. 



AUTUMN - SOWING- OF CALIF ORTsTI AN ANNUALS. 



We very rarely see the cause of hardy annuals advocated in our 

 periodicals. Now and again we see a notice of one or two new intro- 

 ductions, with a few passing comments on their merits, but the tone 

 of these comments unmistakably shows that annuals are subjects of 

 only second-rate importance in fashionable flower-gardening. Their 

 inexpensiveness, and the ease with which they may be cultivated 

 generally, have prevented them from being so utterly neglected as 

 hardy perennials have been ; but for many years amateurs have been 

 their chief patrons, and they have received very little favour, especially 

 in the better class of gardens, from professionals generally. Now, 

 however, that there are signs of a turn in the tide in favour of intro- 

 ducing more variety in form and colour, as well as subjects likely to 

 prove attractive on other accounts than colour simply, we may fairly 

 hope hardy annuals will come in for a fair share of attention. It 

 would be superfluous to insist on their beauty ; no one that has ever 

 seen hardy annuals really well grown can have any other opinion 

 than that in their ranks are to be found a goodly array of Flora's 

 choicest gems. In general, light graceful beauty is their characteristic ; 

 they lack the boldness and sustained brilliancy of the favourite types 

 of bedding-plants ; but this fact should be all in their favour in the 

 view of those that desire to make some reform in their flower-garden- 

 ing. As a class they can never vie with bedding-plants for the purpose 

 of massing ; a very few, perhaps, may be useful in that way, in cases 

 where it is difficult or impossible with the available means to rear full 

 complements of tender plants. They are only suitable for planting in 

 the mixed style in which density of general effect must give place to 

 individual attractions. They may be best employed in filling up 

 blanks in herbaceous borders, and in ornamenting the edges of beds 

 of shrubs, and some few are very beautiful rock-work plants. Many 

 of them bloom very early, and may be had in flower a few weeks 

 after sowing ; and a very important group — the " Calif ornian Annuals " 

 — by means of autumn sowings, can be brought into flower so early in 



