142 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



enemies of plants — to be removed to their destinations without the 

 process of potting. The soil for flowers should not be made rich 

 with exciting manures, which have the effect of producing a luxuriant 

 foliage at the expense of the bloom. Rotten leaves do better than 

 anything else to mix with the soil, which need not be very deep. 

 Having some very large scarlet pelargoniums, I intend this season 

 to bury the pots in the beds, instead of turning the plants out, 

 expecting in this way to secure more flowers. Good drainage is 

 necessary, and a few crocks may be advantageously put into each 

 bole under the plants. Calculate well your distances, for nothing is 

 more common than to injure future effect by planting too close. If 

 the object is to cover a bed with one kind of flower, the distance is 

 no object ; but for single plants allowance Bhould be made, so that, 

 when full grown, a little space may exist between each. Training 

 should begin at once, by pegging down the trailers, and putting 

 neat sticks to those requiring support. Remember that it is not 

 always good policy to allow a plant to bloom when and where it 

 pleases. A strong shoot showing bloom may often be removed with 

 advantage ; other shoots will thus be encouraged. Occasional 

 stopping, by pinching oft" the ends of the shoots, will induce a more 

 compact growth and regular bloom. 



The time for placing the plants in the open air should be care- 

 fully studied. It is dangerous in our climate to presume that frosts 

 are over till the middle of May ; and even then the nights should 

 be watched, as a destructive rime has often appeared at the close of 

 that month. If your garden is small, and you do not mind trouble, 

 you may fill your beds now, provided you give protection at night 

 by covering with flower-pots or otherwise. You will in this way 

 get your beds in summer order earlier ; but if you cannot do this, 

 be patient. Take the advice of a sufferer, and stop till the last 

 week of May. It is most provoking to find, some clear, sunny 

 morning, your tender pets blackened, and even the more hardy ones 

 turned to a dingy brown by a frost. With a little management, you 

 can carry on the growth of your stock in pots, so that you will not, 

 after all, be a loser by waiting. In this case, you must retard some 

 and forward others. See that none get pot-bound, and that flagging 

 is prevented by a proper supply of water. 



A frame full of plants demands much watching in this respect, 

 or some bright, warm day will deprive small pots of their moisture, 

 and injure them very much. Where your beds are now occupied by 

 tulips and other bulbs, your plan of operations must vary according 

 to the treatment you propose to give the bulbs. If you intend to 

 allow them to remain in the ground, you can insert your summer 

 plants among the foliage, removing the latter as it decays. But if 

 you wish to remove the bulbs, it will not do to hurry them, for on 

 the duration of their leaves their health and strength depend. By 

 taking them up with the soil adhering to them, and putting them 

 into the ground again in some other spot, the leaves will still do 

 their duty, and the beds they occupied may receive their summer 

 ornaments. 



