226 



GARDENING. 



April /5, 



perature as near 40° as possible; after a 

 time bring some of them into a warmer 

 house, and they will soon start to show 

 signs of blooming." 



The Greenhouse. 



OREENSOUSE FLOWER SEEDS. 



By this we mean seeds of such plants as 

 Chinese primroses, cinerarias, and the 

 like, that we raise afresh from seed every 

 year for bloom in the window or green- 

 house. Seedsmen render it impossible for 

 us to specify distinct varieties as a study 

 of their catalogues will show. Take 

 Chinese primroses, for instance. Com- 

 pare the lists of them in half a dozen 

 catalogues and see how bewildering they 

 are; and there is more in this than mere 

 names and vitality of the seeds, the fine- 

 ness and selectness of the strains. Well, 

 what can we do in the matter? Deal with 

 a seed firm in whom we have perfect con- 

 fidence and get the best seeds of their kind 

 that it offers. Bear in mind that the 

 finest strains arc the most expensive, and 

 mixed seeds are apt to contain some of 

 the poorer varieties. 



Acacia armata, a bushy species easily 

 raised from seed and makes a nice flower- 

 ing plant third year. 



Amaryllis, hybrids.— In sowing the 

 seed set them on edge as you would Lima 

 beans, to save them from rotting. They 

 should bloom the third year. 



Anemone coronaria (St. Brigid 

 strain).— The largest flowered. Sow 

 indoors, and prick ofi"; plant out in a 

 partly shaded cold frame in summer, and 

 lift and pot them in fall to bloom indoors. 

 They are also fine for outdoor spring gar- 

 dening- r^ , i-^u- 



Asparagus plumosus.— Seeds oi this are 

 now offered and from seed we can get up 

 nice stocky plants in a year. 



Begonias of all kinds, tuberous 

 rooted, single and double flowered, Ver- 

 non in variety as regards foliage and 

 flowers; insignis for December flowers, 

 Rex varieties for all the year, and many 

 others. The packets of seed are very 

 small, and sometimes it is a hard matter 

 to tell whether it is seed or only a little 

 orange dust. All true species of begonias 



are apt to come true 



from seed, although 



the first leaves of the seedlings may be 

 different from those of the mature plants, 

 for instance voung seedlings of coccinen 

 are full of little white spots like those ot 

 argyrostigma, but as the plants get 

 older thev bear spotless foliage. Even 

 varieties, "after the type gets fixed are apt 

 to come true, Vernon for example, but 

 this is not absolute, i?ex to wit. 



Calceolaria —For this you trust to 

 your seedsman. Get the large flowered 

 spotted. The finest strains are of such 

 compact growth as to need no staking, 

 and thev have broad heads of large full- 

 puffed out blossoms. The shrubby or 

 rugosa varieties from seed are quite dis- 

 appointing either for indoors or outside. 



Canterbury Bells, Calycanthema 

 varieties, are worth growing for early 

 spring blooming. Get the pure white, 

 and rose-colored; sow half the packet now 

 to give you big plants before winter sets 

 in and which you can lift and pot and 

 force into bloom at or before Easter. Tde 

 other half of the packet you can sow in 

 summer for flowers out of doors next 

 season. 



Carnations.— While all manner of car- 

 nations may be raised from seed Cha- 



baud's Perpetual and Marguerite are 

 worth growing as pot plants for winter 

 flowers as for the summer and autumn 

 flower garden. Why we do not urge the 

 regular winter blooming greenhouse car- 

 nations from seed for our regular supply 

 of flowers is because we can get plants ot 

 thoroughly tested, good named sorts so 

 cheap, that bothering with seedlings and 

 their uncertain quality would hardly pay. 

 Celosia plumosa.— Get a good strain 

 of the red or yellow feather plume 

 celosias. Sow in early spring for outdoor 

 decoration in summer.and sow again in 

 July to get nice pot plants coming into 

 bloom in October to beautify the green- 

 house till New Years. 



Chrysanthemums of the Chinese and 

 Japanese garden varieties sown now will 

 give you fine blooming plants next fall. 

 And these seedlings are apt to be healthy, 

 luxuriant and floriferous, and every 

 flower different; of course we cannot ex- 

 pect more than a few to be good enough 

 to be worth keeping over another year. 

 Chrysanthemum coronariiimis an annual 

 species bearing white, lemon, or yellow 

 flowers; sown in late summer and grown 

 in pots it is a good deal used for green- 

 house work in early winter. 



Cinerarias.— For a good strain of 

 these you have to depend on your seeds- 

 man. The compact habited ones with 

 broad heads of bloom are the most 

 esteemed; the very large flowered varie- 

 ties are usually of rank growth. There 

 are also double flowered ones. We know 

 of no flower more crowdedly double than 

 a double cineraria, still lots of them are 

 only semi-double. They are not as pretty 

 as the singles. 



Cosmos.— If you cannot flower them 

 out of doors, grow a few for the green- 

 house or piazza. The mammoth varities 

 Eriinda, white; Rosetta, pink; and Con- 

 chita, crimson, have lovelv large flowers. 

 Cyclamen giganteum is the favorite 

 because of its luxuriant foliage and bold 

 fine flowers. But we have a tender lean- 

 ing to Grandiflorum which is not so mas- 

 sive as the other, but it has more numer- 

 ous blossoms and fewer imperfect ones. 



Cyperus alternifolius commonly 

 called "umbrella plant" is easily raised 

 from seed, indeed from seedlings we get 

 prettier plants than from division. 



Forget-me-nots (Myosotis) especially 

 the bunchy one called Alpestris Victoria 

 make re.al pretty pot plants in late win- 

 ter and early spring. 



Freesias are easily raised from seed, 

 and a few bloom the second year, and all 

 the third season. 



Gloxinia —Here again you must trust 

 to your seedsman for a good strain. 

 We prefer the upright blooming sorts and 

 get a packet of scarlet selfs, and another 

 of spotted flowered. 



Grevillea rohusta —We raise it from 

 seed everv rear. We plant out a lot of it 

 in May for' foliage effect in summer, and 

 save another lot which we grow in pots 

 all summer for house plants in winter. 

 We grow them for their fine fern-like foliage 

 onlv. 



Impatiens Sultani or Zanzibar balsam 

 is one of the best perpetual blooming 

 window plants for winter that we have 

 got and easily raised from seed; and it is 

 good too planted out of doors in summer, 

 Mandevillea suaveolens is a white 

 fragrant flowered, greenhouse vine, easily 

 raised from seed. It does well too out- 

 side in summer. 



Mignonette — Machet is a very large 

 fragrant varietj', and about the best for 

 winter flowers. Some florists have select 

 strains of it to which they give their own 

 name. 



Nasturtiums.— What is generally cata- 

 logued as Tropieolum Lobbianum will 

 bloom continuously all winter long. Sow 

 it out of doors in May and in July strike 

 cuttings from these plants and grow them 

 in pots for winter flowers. Or delay sow- 

 ing till July and grow in pots. 



Pansies— Here we have the utmost 

 confusion. — We grow Trimardeau, very 

 large; Large-flowered German, large and 

 fragrant, and Cassier's, Bugnot's, and 

 Odier's, three splendid strains doing well 

 in a warm frame or cool greenhouse in 

 winter and early spring. Sow in July for 

 this purpose; and in August for wintering 

 over for spring planting. 



Sweet Peas.— Blanche Ferry, pink and 

 white, and Emily Henderson, white, are 

 the favorites for cut flowers, as a pot 

 plant no doubt Cupid will be grown. 



Petunias.— The finest sorts for out- 

 doors are also best for indoors. The 

 doubles don't flower freely till towards 

 spring; the singles can be had in bloom all 

 winter. Better sow for outdoors, and 

 take cuttings from these in July, or sow 

 seeds of the finest striped or frilled varie- 

 ties in July, and grow them in pots for 

 winter blooming. 



Chinese Primroses —Here again one 

 has to depend on his seedsman for a good 

 strain. We get scarlet, rose, white, and 

 blue. A good deal of stress is laid on 

 ••fern-leaved," but while the fern-leaved 

 varieties are very beautiful, we get as 

 fine flowers, especially in scarlet, from the 

 rounder foliage. Seedsmen have a way 

 of tacking on their names to strains, 

 to-wit "Brown's Superb Fringed White," 

 now the probabilities are that is a pretty 

 good white, were it not so Brovv'n 

 wouldn't fasten his own name to it. 

 Magenta, purple and violet are not 

 favorite colors in primroses. 



Primula obconica grandiflora is the 

 finest large flowered form of this winter- 

 blooming gem. Also get some seeds of 

 Primula Forbesi and P. fforibunda, both 

 are little beauties. 



Solanum capsicastrum nanum, or 

 Wetherell's hybrids, are good strains of 

 what we call Jerusalem cherry plants, so 

 useful for its ornamental bright orange 

 berries from September till January. Sow 

 the seeds at once. 



Saintpaulia ionantha, a tiny rosette- 

 like greenhouse plant with many violet- 

 like flowers Sow at once. 



Stocks —For greenhouse decoration in 

 earl V spring we prefer the East Lothian, 

 and'intermediate sections. Sow in July 

 or early August, grow the plants on in 

 pots, winter them plunged in cold but 

 almost frost proof frames, and bring 

 them indoors as ret|uired for blooming. 

 Sown in spring they foi-m a succession to 

 10-week stocks, but bloom rather spar- 

 ingly in fall. Wintered in cold frames as 

 above they m.-iy also be planted out in 

 spring for April and May bf'ssoms. 



Streptocarpus, new hybrids.— The'e 

 are most interesting free-flowering, and 

 very pretty little plants, and amateurs 

 having a greenhouse will welcome them. 

 As thev are a little hard to raise from 

 seed, w'ith window care, we don't recom- 

 mend them for this purpose. 



PLANTS IN BLOOM IN THE WHITE HOUSE 

 CONSERVATORIES. 

 In the conservatory at the White 

 House immense specimens of Indian aza- 

 leas present a magnificent appearance, 

 their leaves being hidden by the wealth of 

 bloom. There are also lots of azaleas 

 from one to two feet high, these plants 

 are grown on from year to year, being 

 planted out in summer in a frame with 



