230 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURISl 



grade, as mentioned above, gradually from 

 the back and sides of the garden to the front, 

 so that there will always be something in 

 'bloom in every part of the garden. 



HAVE SOME COLOR. 



Try and avoid too much greenness. Many 

 gardens are spoiled by this, which would be 

 vastly improved by a little dash of color here 

 and there. 1 would not advocate planting 

 flowers of the same species in different parts 

 of the garden, as a rule, although there are 

 cases (as in that of gladiolii) where this can 

 be done to advantage. The general and 

 best rule is to keep the flowering plants of 

 the same species together so as to make a 

 mass of them. 



There are manv lovelv and beautiful gar- 



dens in Ottawa. The Lady Minto garden 

 competition has done much to encourage 

 people to improve their grounds, more than 

 that it has given other people who were not 

 in the competition object lessons from which 

 to lay out their"own grounds. It is a fact 

 to be noted that when in a locality even one 

 man starts to improve his grounds and 

 beautify them, it is not long before his neigh- 

 bors begin to follow his example, with the 

 result that there is a general improvement in 

 the locality. The gardens and grounds of 

 Ottawa are of many and varied styles, each 

 with its own peculiar beauty. This is as it 

 should be, as each garden must be laid out 

 in that way which best suits its surroundings 

 and locality. 



PANSIES IN THE GARDEN 



E. F. COLLINS, TOROXTO, OXT. 



PAXSIES are easily raised from seed. 

 The seed can be sown at any time, 

 but the usual way is to sow it in July and 

 August to have plants to flower the next 

 spring, or in March or April, which will 

 produce nice plants to flower during the sum- 

 mer and fall months. 



If sown in the spring the seed should be 

 sown in a pot or pan. in a light soil, or gentle 

 Iiotbed. and kept moist. As the wellbeing 

 of the plants depends on their being well 

 rooted it is necessary to prick off the seed- 

 lings as soon as they are large enough to 

 handle into other boxes filled with a rich 

 light soil, about three or four inches in 

 depth, placing the plants about three inches 

 apart each way. This space will give them 

 room to grow and also allow a nice sized 

 ball of roots to be lifted, with the soil adher- 

 ing, to plant out in the garden. 



The soil should be of a free, rich and 

 gritty nature, and deeply cultivated, as the 

 pansy makes lots of roots of a fibrous nature 

 and likes to penetrate a considerable dis- 



tance in search of food. Grit is essential 

 to the well being of the pansy. Road sand, 

 gravel si f tings with sandy loam, and lots of 

 well decayed manure and leaf soil, are all 

 favorable to the plants. When planting 

 out to flower it should be done firmly and 

 deep, as the plants are continually be- 

 ing renewed by means of the fresh growths 

 which spring up from their base. 



It is a good plan to top dress the roots 

 once or twice during the season. This can 

 easily be done by taking some light soil and 

 shaking it close around the stems of the 

 plants to a depth of about two inches, which 

 treatment has a wonderfully sustaining and 

 fertilizing effect on the pansy. 

 SOWIXG THE SEED. 



If you wish to have plants for flowering 

 in the early spring sow your seed about the 

 early part of August. Do not think that 

 bv sowing earlier you will have more flow- 

 ers the next spring, because, although you 

 will get larger plants before winter sets in, 

 vou will find a lot of them liable to die if the 



* Extract from an address delivered at the May meeting of the Toronto Horticultural Society. 



