CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS FOR MAY. 



819 



kept clear of weeds, and the earth 

 loosened round their patcljes ; the 

 bulbous kinds should have their 

 beds watered if the weather be 

 very dry, and be shaded when they 

 show colour. 



i//i/.— The large-flowering sorts 

 in pots should be sheltered. Al- 

 though not tender, they would 

 suffer from wind and rain ; but 

 their proper place is the cold pit. 

 The hardy sorts in the borders re- 

 quire no cave Avhatever. Seedlings 

 of all kinds should be kept clean. 



Lnphius po/i/phi/Iliis. — There is 

 scarcely a family more numerous 

 than tlie Lupine, from Liipinus na- 

 nus to Lupinus Cruikshaiikii. They 

 are of all sizes and colours, but the 

 most superb is Lu/dmts polyphyllus, 

 which has a splendid spike, and is 

 worthy of all praise ; nor is it the 

 less acceptable on account of the 

 many shades of colour which dis- 

 tinguish it from more common 

 ones, nor for being a very hardy 

 perennial. "We consider it so neces- 

 sary an appendage to the border, 

 that we recommend sowing a few 

 seeds for the sake of possessing 

 whatever new varieties may come, 

 and enabhng you to throw away 

 any that are worse than the ori- 

 ginal. 



Mimuhis seed may be sown the 

 first of the month in clumps at 

 the foot of trees, or in beds al- 

 lotted to it, where they may flower 

 without any care or trouble. They 

 are very brilliant when in bloom. 

 Plant out those sown early in 

 pots — they will be a month earlier 

 in flower. 



Penny. — These plants are for 

 the most part showing their bloom. 

 Some of the varieties want sup- 

 port; others grow down to the 

 g^round, and provide the support 

 lor themselves. There is hardly 

 a more striking plant tlian a 



Peony in full bloom. The Tree 

 Peony is not so good in tlie flower 

 as some of the lierbaceous kinds, 

 but it is a noble plant notwith- 

 standing. 



Pansy. — Now in perfection. 

 Shade jjarticular flowers, but not 

 whole beds, 'i'ake off cuttings, or, 

 which is better, side-shoots, and 

 strike them under hand-glasses in 

 the common border. 



Paths.— The first part of the 

 month pick up and turn all gravel 

 walks. Begin this by chopping 

 up all the weeds and clearing the 

 surface, then with a common pick 

 loosen the gravel from end to 

 end, with a spade turn the clean 

 side to the top, and the dirty side 

 to the bottom ; and, if the -walk be 

 too thinly gravelled to do this, take 

 the rake to it after it is loosened, 

 and merely freshen it up a little. 

 Let it be well rolled afterwaids, 

 and keep it rolled after rains, as 

 indeed all gravel walks should be, 

 whether disturbed or not. 



Petunias. — If a collection of 

 these are grown, and you have 

 among them any of those weakly 

 varieties which will not support 

 themselves, you must resort to 

 sticks. It is a most untidy flower, 

 and is almost a trellis plant : nor is 

 it long pretty even as a border 

 flower, though it keeps in bloom 

 a considerable time. Now is the 

 period the weakly ones require 

 sticks, and those which are to be 

 turned out in the borders require 

 topping. Those in pots should 

 be tramed after some fashion, or 

 they will hang over their pots, and 

 be hardly endurable. The plain 

 varieties are hardly worth growing ; 

 but there are some which, from 

 their liabits, which are shrubby, 

 and others for their colours, which 

 are curiously striped or spotted, 

 may be grown for pots. All those 



