TO THE FLOWER GARDEN. 127 



ornamental. Soil, sandv loam. Propagated by division or 

 by seeds. G. pratense and G. grandifiorum are the best. 



GILIA. [Polemoniaceoe.] Favourite hardy annuals, with 

 small cup-like, but very pretty simple flowers. There are 

 several varieties, and but little to distinguish them one from 

 the other save the different shades of colour. G. tricolor is 

 the best for general purposes ; it is neat, dwarf, and quiet. 

 Being as hardy as most of the armuals, it may be sown in 

 March, and again in April and May, where it is to bloom, 

 and should not be too much crowded. It will bloom from 

 June onwards in succession. It is not sufficiently bright 

 or striking to be effective in geometrical gardens. It may 

 also be sown in September in open dryish places ; and, unless 

 the winter is very severe, it will survive and give early bloom. 

 G. tricolor is the favourite. 



GILLENIA. [Rosaceae,] Hardy herbaceous perennials. 

 Peatv soil, rather moist. Propagated by division. 



GLADIOLUS. Corn Flag. [Iridacete.] Beautiful per- 

 ennial plants, with bulb-tuberous roots. Some few are quite 

 hardy, and the remainder are for the most part set down as 

 greenhouse plants ; but in fact they flower in the open air 

 stronger and better than under any other mode of culture. 

 They may be planted in the autumn six to eight inches deep 

 in a warm border, and a few inches of litter, or some equi- 

 valent protection in the event of frost, given them for the 

 winter. When grown in pots it is necessary to place them 

 in frames during the winter season. Sandy loam and peat is 

 the best compost ; and in the beds or borders on which they 

 are grown the soil ought to reach a foot or eighteen inches 

 deep. After flowering they require no water. The roots 

 multiply abundantly by offsets, which should be planted in 

 nursery-beds ; and after one year's growth the largest will be 

 strong enough for flowering, the smaller ones being still kept in 

 nursery-beds until they reach a flowering size. They may 

 also be raised from seed, which should be sown in pans very 

 thinly in February, and be placed in the greenhouse or frame, 

 covered with a hand-glass. When the plants are up they 

 must be cleaned from every weed, and- watered occasionally ; 

 and the hand-glass may be removed, because, after the first 

 three or four days, they want no more protection than the 



