SOME GOOD HARDY ANNUALS 23 



common plant, and few people know how grand it looks 

 when grown in mass. It should be sown out of doors in 

 April where it is to bloom ; the plants reach a height of 

 i-ilft. 



Calendula: I have sung the praises of the variety 

 grandiflora of this plant. It is an annual for everyone ; 

 if the soil is not too sandy or the shade too dense, it will 

 grow and flower freely. My plants flowered this year for 

 four months without stopping, dead flower-heads being 

 picked off nearly every day. The largest blooms were 

 4 ins. and a great number 3 ins. across. Seed is best sown 

 in pots in March, and planted out in April and May. 

 When once the seed has germinated, the pots should be 

 stood in a cold frame, or the plants become too forward 

 before they are planted out. In early April I find it best to 

 prick off into boxes 3 ins. apart each way, but some prick 

 the seedlings out into the open ground at once. Seed may 

 also be sown out of doors in March and April, and the plants 

 thinned to at least 9 ins. apart. The best results are 

 obtained when the plants are put in a border in the 

 sunniest part of the garden. 



Good Varieties. 

 Calendula 



officinalis fl. pi. Meteor i ft. 



Dobbie's Orange . . . . _. ^> . . . I ft. 



Grandiflora Orange, Double . . . .-- i-i| ft. 



Sulphur Queen (Yellow) i ft. 



Prince of Orange i ft. 



Candytuft : The annual Iberis, known as Candytuft, 

 is a deservedly popular hardy annual. It is a most 

 accommodating plant, and will grow anywhere, so long as 

 it has plenty of sun and water. It may be sown in long 

 lines, or in large masses, and looks very well however it is 

 grown. It also adapts itself well to the treatment (de- 

 scribed in the previous chapter) of " specimen " plants, 

 and for this purpose it may be bedded out. Candytuft 

 should not be sown too thickly, or weak plants will result, 

 and the plants should be well thinned out as they come up 



