344 PEACTICAL GARDENING. 



beauties ; or it may be managed yet better by pot culture. 

 In the one case you must remove things under a disadvantage, 

 and sacrifice the health and strength of half-perfected roots 

 and bulbs, or wait while they complete their growth, in which 

 case the garden must be occupied by things out of bloom, 

 and therefore untidy, or without flower ; in the other, no 

 sooner is a thing past perfection than it is replaced. Pot 

 culture restricts us, in some measure, to the size of a plant, 

 because, if we constantly shifted them as soon as they required 

 it, so as to spread to a noble size, the pots would be of a most 

 unmanageable size. It is therefore necessary to restrain all 

 the plants to a moderate growth. The stock of plants for the 

 garden may consist of all the best of the perennials, and a few 

 of the best of the biennials and annuals. The bulbs for 

 spring blooming are necessarily a considerable time decaying, 

 and if they are potted and plunged into the soil, they can be 

 removed and replaced the instant the bloom decays. There 

 are, however, some plants that are useless as soon as they 

 have done blooming, and may be pulled up and thrown away 

 directly. The principal plants for furnishing a constant suc- 

 cession of flowers may be thus classed : — 



Mignonette ; insignificant flower, but very odorous ; six to 

 twelve inches. 



French Marigold ; brown, purple, and gold, various shades ; 

 one foot to a foot and a half. 



Dwarf Larkspurs ; blue, white, and pink, of several shades ; 

 nine inches to a foot. 



Collinsia bicolor; pretty spike of blue, white, and yellowish 

 flowers ; nine inches to a foot. 



Convolvulus minor; brilliant blue-purple; straggling 

 growth ; nine inches to a foot. 



Nemophila insignis ; bright blue and white, small flower ; 

 six to nine inches. 



Erysimum Peroffskianum ; bright orange ; small pretty 

 plant ; six to nine inches. 



Double Balsams ; scarlet, crimson, purple, and white ; one 

 foot to eighteen inches. 



Sweet Peas ; various purples, and whites, and pinks ; two 

 to three feet. 



Calliopsis bicolor ; orange and brown ; one and a half to 

 two feet. 



Lupinus nanus ; purple, spikes of flower ; six to twelve 

 inches. 



