A GARDEN OF ANNUALS n 



in May after being well hardened off. I find this method 

 highly successful and grow a number of hardy annuals in 

 this way. 



To go back now to our original point that " a hardy 

 annual is a plant to be sown where it is to grow," let us 

 take the case of Mignonette. Many people say they cannot 

 transplant mignonette, but I grow a great many plants, 

 and transplant them with ease. 



How is it done ? Well, in this little book there are to 

 be no secrets from my readers, so I will tell them how I 

 transplant. 



The night before transplanting, all the hardy annuals 

 in the boxes are well watered. The plots they are to go 

 in are also generously soaked with water, and in the morn- 

 ing the plots are soaked again. By the afternoon, if the 

 morning has been fine (in May and June), the soil is in a 

 nice condition for planting. The Mignonette and other 

 annuals are removed from their boxes and planted in the 

 borders with as little delay as need be and are watered at 

 once. They are kept well watered and soon pick up and 

 grow strongly. 



Sowing in the Open Ground : There are, however, 

 many hardy annuals, especially some of the dwarfer sorts, 

 which it is less trouble to sow in the open ground where 

 they are to be ; and much the same applies to certain taller 

 annuals such as Shirley Poppies, Godetias, Clarkias, and 

 Convolvulus minor, provided that clumps of a fair size 

 are required. 



Only those which are not over 12 ins. high should be 

 sown in lines. Clumps are much better, and the taller 

 the annual the bigger the clump should be. Clumps of 

 the four annuals named, look well if they are 2-3 ft. across. 

 " Clumps " of tall annuals, only 9 ins. or so across look 

 ridiculous and are also extremely difficult to manage. 



The question of colour enters into the operation of sowing, 

 but here I will merely say do not put clashing colours near 

 together. I will deal more fully with this subject of colour 

 in Chapter VIII. 



