INTRODUCTION ix 



even in the hottest months in our climate. Such plants 

 are outside the scope of this work, and are consequently 

 omitted. 



Biennials are a class or section of plants that cannot 

 very well be separated from the Annuals, being so 

 nearly alike in habit. However, they have this difference, 

 that they never flower till the second year after sowing, 

 living as half- developed plants through the Winter, after 

 which, like Annuals, they flower and die ; hence the 

 name Biennial, which means two years' continuance. 

 Therefore they are never sown in the early Spring, but 

 during the Summer months of June or July as a rule, 

 so as to allow them to get well established before 

 Winter. They may be sown where they are wanted 

 to flower, but are usually transplanted from the seed- 

 beds in Autumn. Example, the Canterbury Bell. Some 

 even require slight protection in a cold frame during 

 Winter, or at least are the better for it. For instance, 

 the Brompton, Queen, and Intermediate Stocks. 



Under this heading may be mentioned a few plants 

 that in a state of Nature are more or less perennial, 

 though, from the high state of cultivation they 

 receive in a garden, seem to get worn out with the 

 extra amoimt of flower growth forced upon them, and 

 quickly degenerate or die altogether after the first year. 

 For example, we may take the garden Wallflower, or 

 the Chimney Bellflower [Campanula pyramidalis). The 

 plants sometimes flower a second or even a third year, 

 but miserably compared to their first efforts, and 

 are consequently always regarded by gardeners as 

 Biennials. 



