46 



lUlSil (.lAUDl'JXlM; 



<-oiii|>l<-t<- uith ait tliriii. .11x1 11 • iiiiini.'il I.imI> 

 itself bi>(t«T l«i Imusf «l.i-. nation. 



.MAM.nWS. I,AV ATKKA. 'I'lu'Si- aii- fur liiaiK li- 



inn annuals, wliitli ran In* sown wlicic flicy ati- 

 to flower, and have the advantage of iloin>; 4|uite 

 wi'll in a shady part of the garden, \Nhere many 

 tither thing's would not he suceessful. li. trinu-s- 

 tris. white and pink, often eutalopU(>d as J.. 

 spientlens 'Mm ami splendens nisea. They llower 

 frtvly :uul open freely in water. 



Iie|it.>syne stillmanni is an anmial of reeent 

 int nidmtion. with >ello\N llo\\<*rs ahoiit \\ inches 

 ner >ss. resemhlim: a small sinjile hahlia. an<l. liki- 

 ll>e Dahlia, the Hower.s are horne single on lon^j 

 .stems. 



Poppies and .Miirnonette are amon>,' the most 

 p ipular anmrils. and there are plenty of varivties 

 to rh,>se fmm. 



KueliaritliuMi, which Ixdon^s t • the .same family 

 as (Jodetias. is an annual from ("alifornia. Iv 

 Jireweri is an easily jjrown s(n<i( s. <5 inches hii,'h. 

 pinky red flowers wJiidi will la.st a lonii time cut. 

 and make <|uitf a pretty patcli in a horder. 

 TJiis anmial can h- so^\ n where it is to flower, 

 and the plants are much improved hy liavin^ the 

 Weaker ones thinn d out c.nlv in th" season. 



Prinsepia sinensis. 



OUK.iNAi.i.v diN(riln,l,,i 1^ l'laj,'io.spermnm 

 sinensis, this >hruli is to h.- lontid in a f.-w nanlens 

 where rare or uncommon plant> llnd a place. It 

 is not striking eVen when in flower, hut is, 

 nevertheless, interesting', and lias a i|uiet heauty 

 of its own when closely examined. The leaves 

 are produced in clusteis on th • elder slioots, hut 

 on those of the <urrent y»-ar they lire h irne 

 singly: the lirinclies are also furnislied with 

 spines. Tile flowers are produced in tlie leaf 

 axils all alon^,' the hranches, and measure alxuit 

 h.ilf an incli across; they are if i li^'lit yellow 

 colour, rather pretty, hut ren(h-re<l soniewliat 

 iiielTective hy hein>,' produced mi the undersides 

 • if the hraiiches anionic the \owiij; leaves. The 

 shruli was in flower in the liofanic (hardens at 

 (ilasiievin in i''elMiiarv ; it is said to ^mow f5 feet 

 hi^'li. hut s^.ecimeiis a coui-le of feet hinh flower 

 fre.dv. 



The Month^s Work, 



The Sweet Pea Annual. 



'I'lii- Annual, wliich iv(oi,l> tli- .ImJu-s ..f the 

 National Sw.-et I'ea Society duriui; last year, 

 should he in the hands of all ^^arden lovers, for 

 what garden is there worthy of tlie najne wliere 

 Sweet IVas are not firown.' No summer flower 

 <an compare with the Sweet Pea. as ]\lr. Todd of 

 Edinhurgh says in the Annual, for " beauty and 

 variety, ease of jirodviction. fragrance, length of 

 .season in fine bloom, and ready response to high 

 culture, beautiful in ])oor cultivation, exquis-ite 

 in ih'jt best." The year 1915 was (i very good 

 one for Sweet Peas: streak and other diseases 

 were not iirevalent. and the flowering jieriod 

 was longer than usual. The seeding season was. 

 however, spoiled by the wet and windy weatlier 

 in August, so that the s?ed crop was a poor one. 

 Perhajts the most important work of the Society 

 in the encouragement of the cultivation and 

 imiirovenient of Sweet Peas is " the trials." 

 Under this sclienie all new varieties are grown 

 vmder tlie same conditions at a .selected " trial 

 ground " ; these are inspected in the flowering 

 Season by a special cojumittee of the Society. 

 whicli rejiorts on the doings of each variety. 

 The trials in 1915 were most successful, and a 

 full reiiort is given in the Annual, so that all 

 growers may know what new varieties were most 

 reliable. Mr. Thtimas Steven.son gives his 

 " Im])ressions of a few new^ varieties." Mr. 

 T. A. Weston describes the efforts that have been 

 made year after year to discover tlie cause of. and 

 a remedy for. streak disease. Other c(tntributions 

 are — " Failures and Disapijointments " by Mr. 

 W. Cuthbertson " "Summer Sweet Peas in 

 America." " Sweet Peas in San Francisco," 

 " Table Decorations." '• Early Flowering Sweet 

 Peas in Warm Climates." " Sweet Peas as 

 Decorative Plants." kv. The Annual is lieauti- 

 fuUy illustrated, and it is sent free to all sub- 

 scribers to the National Sweet Pea Society, the 

 subscription to which is only 5s. 3Ir. II. D. 

 Tigwell, Harrow View, (ueenford, 3Iiddlesex, 

 will gladly supply all particulars. 



The Flower Garden. 



Bv CiiAHLKs ("(jfi'K.v. (iardeUer and Koies(.-r to 

 Lord Carew. Ca.slle Boro'. Cloni-oche. Co. 



\\'exfor(l. 



'|-|||.: munth of .Mai-.h may be described as a 

 monlli of preparation for the spi-ing. which does 

 s imetiiiies .show us a little kindness in Api'il. 

 Spring flowers will be .showing colour in various 

 parts of the garden from now on, both in tlie 

 flower garden and the rock garden. Farly 

 flowering shrubs on walls and in .sheltered sjiots 

 will be brightening up everything after the 

 dulluessof w inter. Wliere Crocusesare naturalised 

 in grass, and where not jilanled too thickly at 

 |)Ianting time, the reward will be great. Scilla 

 Sibirica and single Snowdrops mixed and jilanted 

 on a slo])ing bank, jiartially shelteii-d. makes a 

 lovely and a lasting feature at tliis ]ieriod of the 

 year. The rock garden leciuires keeping 

 scrupulously clean tliis month : many ])lants 

 are starting into gi-owth. and small jtieces of 

 rubbish blown on to them will cause them to 

 rot. At the end of the month, if dry days come 

 and the operation is possible, carefully stir all 

 the surface soil with a hand fork, and work in 

 all crevices a little fine s:til — old potting soil is 

 excellent. With this firm in all jilants loosi-ne<l 

 J)y frost and rains during the winter; <-over all 

 the ground with a layer of line .soil wher<' the 

 plants are small, and r<'new the granite chipjiings 

 where neccs.sary, or where tiny plants lecpiire 

 protection from lieavy rains these chi|ipijigs of 

 granite protect the roots of these tiny alpines 

 and keep them cool later w lien the days are hot; 

 they also ]irevent soil fi-om being splashed over 

 theni. and this often cau.ses the death of the 

 smaller jilants immediately after i>lanting. Any 

 planting of alpines, however, will better be left 

 until April is here. 



The .la|)anese Iris, so beautiful by the water 

 edge, is much the better for frequent planting. 



