IRISH GARDENING 



*3* 



and grow slowly, as the temperature is by then 

 getting lower, but as the days lengthen in the 

 new year and the sun gams strength they may be 

 pricked out into boxes of sandy soil, keeping the 

 frame shut for a week or more and during cold 

 weather till the seedlings are established. 

 Afterwards give plenty of air when fine, but 

 avoid cold draughts, as, of course, having been 

 in the frame all winter the young plants have 

 become more tender than if raised entirely in 

 the open. By mid- April they will be strong and 

 sturdy, ready to go 

 out to the border. 



Some may be in- 

 clined to d oubt 

 whether it is worth 

 while sowing in 

 autumn when fine 

 displays are possible 

 from spring sowing. 

 There is one manifest 

 advantage anyway, 

 and that is in the 

 earliness of flowering. 

 Obviously the 

 autumn sown plants 

 have a very con- 

 siderable start over 

 those sown in spring. 

 Having already de- 

 veloped a root system 

 which soon gets away 

 into the soil as spring 

 advances, the plants 

 are better able to 

 withstand drought 

 than the tiny seed- 

 lings struggling 

 through the soil 

 in early spring with 

 the chance of a dry 

 period to face in May. 

 Moreover, it will be 

 found that the autumn 

 sown plants, by vir- 

 tue of their stronger roots, will continue 

 flowering over a much longer period, in 

 fact some of the Clarkias. Godetias, &c, 

 sown here in a cold frame last autumn are 

 still flowering in August practically as well as 

 those sown in the open in spring. 



Precisely which kinds should be sown in 

 autumn is largely a question for experiment by 

 the individual concerned. Obviously different 

 soils, aspects and localities will materially affect 

 the results. No one can draw up an infallible 

 list to puit every garden, and the best we can do 

 is to recommend a few that have been found 

 generally useful. 



Alyssum maritimum is a neat little annual. 



often sowing itself, coming up even in the walks ; 

 it grows only about 3 inches high and smothers 

 itself in white flowers. 



Brachycome iberidifolia, the Swan River 

 Daisy, can be had in the three colours — rose, 

 white and blue — -and is useful for autumn sow- 

 ing transplanting readily, but better with some 

 protection in whiter. 



Scotch Marigolds, varieties of Calendula 

 officinalis are showy and very hardy, easily 

 raised outside. Good varieties are Meteor, 



orange and prim- 

 rose ; Orange King, 

 che e p orange ; and 

 Lemon Queen. 



The annual Candy- 

 tufts are hardy and 

 effective, and may 

 be sown where they 

 are to flower or 

 pricked out and 

 transplanted in 

 spring. Good kinds 

 are Rose Cardinal, 

 Dunnetti, crimson ; 

 and white spiral or 

 giant hyacinth - 

 flowered white. 



The annual Chrys- 

 anthemums are now 

 much sought after, 

 and prove very use- 

 ful for early work. 

 The coronarium va- 

 rieties are strong 

 growers, inclined to 

 coarseness, and are 

 not recommended 

 for autumn sowing. 

 The varieties of C. 

 carinatum are better, 

 growing about 18 

 inches high and pro- 

 ducing abundance of 

 prettily coloured 

 flowers. A new race, represented by C. 

 Evening Star, Morning Star and Northern 

 Star, is a decided acquisition, giving larger 

 flowers of pleasant colours and flowering over 

 a long period ; in the order named the colours 

 are golden yellow, primrose and white respec- 

 tively. The improved forms of the Corn Mari- 

 gold, C. segetum. are also of much merit, in 

 appearance resembling the Star class. The blue 

 Cornflower is first-rate for autumn sowing, and 

 gives fine material for early cutting. The white 

 and rose coloured varieties are not so satis- 

 factory. A very useful and hardy annual 

 is Collinsia bicolor, which produces lilac 

 and white flowers very early from autumn 



The Stock-flowered Larkspur. 

 Lavatera rosea splendens and Love-in-a-Mist. 



