32 JOTTINGS OF A GENTLEMAN GARDENER 



Poppy 



Carnation .. 2^ ft. 



Paeony 2 ft. 



The Shirley 2 ft. 



Tulip 2 ft. 



White Swan 2 ft. 



I think readers should begin with the Shirley Poppy. 

 I have grown it for years now, and each season I become 

 more fond of it. The flowers are so brilliant and varied 

 in colour, and the whole growth of the plant is full of beauty. 

 Poppies do not transplant well so must be sown where 

 they are to grow, in April. The Shirley comes very readily 

 from seed, but I find that some of the others do not. All 

 Poppies should be sown in large clumps to get good effects ; 

 and as well as being sown in the border devoted to hardy 

 annuals, clumps should be sown near the front in mixed 

 borders. It is a mistake to sow thickly. 



Poppies enjoy a good deal of water, and to enable them 

 to go on blooming, the dead flowers and seed heads must 

 be cut off nearly every day. 



Saponaria : The dwarf variety, S. calabrica rosea 

 (6 ins.), is the most useful of the annual Saponarias. I do 

 not care much for the tall sort, S. vaccaria rosea (2 ft.), 

 but both should be grown, for they are both showy. 

 Either of them transplant readily, but the first suffers 

 least. It should either be sown in April in the borders or 

 planted out later in large patches near the front. 



Schizanthus : The two hardy annual Schizanthus, 

 S. grandiflorus and S. pyramidalis (both 18 ins. in height), 

 are grand plants. But in my exposed garden we cannot 

 get them to grow and flower by sowing outside. It is 

 better to sow in a frame in March, or even treat them as 

 half-hardy annuals by sowing in January or February, 

 planting out later. Then they give a splendid display. 

 Some of the true half-hardy sorts may be grown into 

 " specimen " plants, and very pretty they look. The hardy 

 and half-hardy ones are good plants for summer bedding. 

 Silene : The best sorts of this are Silene armeria, the 



