GARDEN FLOWERS. 293 



They require arranging according to their heights, as well as 

 according to their flowering season, when grown in collec- 

 tions ; for some are early, others very late. Every year pro- 

 duces novelties ; but many of the varieties are similar, con- 

 sequently a few sho^vy and strikingly different sorts should 

 be selected, and these are very desirable in a flower-garden. 

 In choosing Phloxes, those which are dwarf, and most abun- 

 dant blooming, with individual flowers large and quite circu- 

 lar, should be selected. They grow well in any good light 

 garden soil, if the situation is not too dry in summer, but 

 thrive better in beds of peat soil. In sandy loam, enriched 

 with equal parts leaf-mould, they also grow very luxuriantly. 

 If in beds by themselves, and the plants are small, they re- 

 quire to be planted about a foot apart. They are propa- 

 gated by parting the root, and may be raised from seed ; 

 the former perpetuates any approved variety, the latter gives 

 us a chance of obtaining new ones. The established sorts 

 are propagated by dividing the roots, or by cuttings of the 

 flower-stems ; and the plants should be allowed to remain two 

 or three seasons, for they are the better for spreading out a 

 little. New varieties are obtained from seed, which should 

 be sown in May, and the young plants set out in rows in a 

 nicely prepared bed. The next season, when they bloom, 

 the best should be selected. The dwarf trailing species are 

 fine for rock-work. P. Drufnmondii, an annual species, is a 

 very beautiful plant, forming one of the most showy of flow- 

 ering plants during summer. The colors vary a good deal, 

 and there is no dependence on any seed bringing plants 

 quite similar in color to the parent ; but the general form of 

 the plant, and its pretty and abundant blooming habit, are 

 maintained. The seed should be sown in gentle heat in 

 March or April ; and, as soon as the plants are large enough 

 to handle, they are to be pricked out an inch apart, in wide- 



