CHAPTER III 

 ANNUALS AS POT-PLANTS 



As the majority of annuals are easily managed in the open 

 ground, it may seem a very simple matter to grow them in 

 pots, yet a good deal of care is required. Unlike perennials, 

 they have an exceedingly short growing period, and if their 

 development at any stage is interfered with as the result 

 of ignorance or carelessness, they have no chance afterwards 

 of making good. Perennials may therefore be compared 

 with long distance runners who, if they drop behind at the 

 start, may yet finish in front. Annuals, on the other hand, 

 have only a quick sprint before them, and if at any point 

 they fall back into the ruck, they are most unlikely ever 

 to emerge again. If only for this reason, and apart from 

 the beauty of their flowers, it is an excellent thing for an 

 amateur to grow some of them in pots, for they teach 

 better than any other class of plants the importance of 

 attention to small details. 



There are plenty to choose from, among them asters, 

 ageratums, alonsoas, antirrhinums, balsams, annual chrysan- 

 themums, clarkias, dimorphotheca, forget-me-nots, linarias 

 (toadflax), mignonette, mimulus, nemophila, nigella, nemesias, 

 nasturtiums, petunias, phlox Drummondi, schizanthus, stocks, 

 and sweet peas (dwarf). Of course all are not equally good 

 or equally suitable. Nemophila has flowers of a beautiful 

 blue, but its season is much shorter than that of nemesias 

 or of schizanthus. The flowers of mignonette are not much 

 to look at, but because of their sweet scent it is largely grown 

 in pots, especially for winter. Balsams may be too tall for 

 some positions, and nasturtiums too brilliant for others, but 



