THE FLORAL "WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 55 



planting anything. Nearly all plants will bear the heat of the sun 

 if the roots are cool and moist ; but if it be, as in most cases with 

 which we are acquainted, that the soil is of a light, gravelly texture, 

 there are some things which will not grow during the summer — at 

 least not without a continued use of the watering-pot ; but as this 

 entails considerable labour, it is worth while to know what can be 

 grown wholly or partly without it. Such situations are decidedly 

 favourable for spring flowering bulbs, which flower at a time when 

 the ground is sufficiently moist to support them, and the porous 

 soil and hot sun will ripen the bulbs, and the moisture soon drain- 

 ing through the ground, will prevent them rotting ; but during the 

 summer months, scarlet geraniums, with a small amount of moisture, 

 will preserve as creditable an appearance as anything, and will yield 

 abundance of gay blossoms, where calceolarias would be burnt up, 

 Pinks, cloves, etc., it would be almost useless to attempt to grow, 

 but many of the evergreen herbaceous plants will thrive there, as 

 the Sedums, for instance ; but, of course, much depends upon the 

 season, whether it be a wet or dry one. 



Bedding plants give a splendid effect to a little garden, and they 

 are subjects on which a greater share of skill and taste are employed 

 in blending and harmonizing the colours than on any other class of 

 plants. The following comprise what are usually grown for the 

 purpose : — Calceolarias, yellow, brown, etc. ; Cuphea platycentra, 

 scarlet ; Ageratum, blue ; Anagallis, blue and red ; Gaillardia, 

 various ; Grazania, yellow ; Scarlet geraniums ; Heliotrope, lilac ; 

 Lantanas, various ; Lobelias, blue and white ; Salvias, blue and 

 scarlet ; Senecio, crimson ; Petunias, various ; Verbenas, various. 

 Of these, the Anagallis and Lobelias are very dwarf; Ageratums, 

 Lantanas, and Salvias grow from two to three feet in height ; and 

 Hollyhocks, Dahlias, and Marvel of Peru grow still taller, and are 

 only suitable where there is plenty of room. The time of planting 

 out, all excepting Hollyhocks, is about the latter end of May ; nor 

 is it at all safe to trust them out before, as late seasons have proved. 

 Hollyhocks are hardy, and may be treated as hardy biennials, or the 

 offsets may be taken from old plants in the spring and planted 

 where they are to flower. Dahlias are perennials, and make tube- 

 rous roots, which are taken up from the ground when the plants 

 have done flowering and are cut down. The roots are then stowed 

 away in a dry cellar or other convenient place, or] buried in a dry 

 situation beyond the reach of frost till the following April, when 

 they are planted in a warm situation to break, when they are taken 

 up and divided with an old knife or some such instrument, leaving one 

 shoot to each piece of root, which plant where they are to flower. Ifc 

 is not safe to trust them for any length of time after planting without 

 sticks to support them, as they are very brittle. The above mode 

 of propagating the dahlia is most readily performed, and answers as 

 well as any other, but where there is a hotbed a larger quantity of 

 plants may be obtained from one root by potting it and plunging it 

 in heat, and cutting off and striking each shoot as soon as large 

 enough. Mirabilis or Marvel of Peru may be treated precisely in 

 the same manner as dahlias. The ordinary bedding plants are half 



February. 



