40 JOTTINGS OF A GENTLEMAN GARDENER 



year. Three or four colours, notably crimson, purple, and 

 white, are to be had, and the white is chastely beautiful. 

 " Honesty is the best policy," so the more you cultivate 

 in your garden the better ! The height of the plant is 

 2-3 ft. 



Myosotis Alpestris : This rather formidable name con- 

 ceals the well-known blue Forget-me-not. It is a lovely 

 thing. Sown early in June and pricked off it is ready for 

 spring bedding out in October. A bed on the lawn may well 

 be given to it alone. It is really a perennial, but as it seldom 

 survives flowering it is best treated as a biennial. There 

 are several good varieties, but none beat the old blue, 

 which ranges from 6-12 ins. in height. 



There is a way of propagating it which has been proved 

 highly successful here. Lift the old plants carefully when 

 they are " just over," and replant them in good soil in a 

 reserve border lightly shaded from the sun. They must 

 be watered frequently and the seed will ripen. When ripe 

 it will fall on the good soil round the plants, and seedlings 

 will soon appear. By the time the old plants have 

 withered away there will be a colony of seedlings ready to 

 prick off. 



Forget-me-nots may also be grown in the wall garden, 

 where they reach a height of about 6 ins. 



(Enothera Lamarckiana : This has been mentioned 

 earlier in the present chapter. It is a fine large-flowered 

 biennial evening primrose, yellow, and reaches a height 

 of 3-4 ft. It should be put near the middle of the mixed 

 border and does not require any special treatment, beyond 

 that given to other hardy biennials. It spreads rapidly. 



Scabious : The amateur must not confound this with 

 the perennial Scabiosa. The Scabious is a hardy biennial, 

 and a fine one too, but it is often raised as a half-hardy 

 annual to flower the same season. If, however, it be 

 treated as a biennial and sown in June, it flowers freely the 

 following summer, and is most useful for cutting. It 

 succeeds anywhere, specially at the seaside, and is 

 recommended also to town gardeners. 



