April, 1916. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



»& 



Annual Flowers Worthy of Favor 



F. E. Buck, Central Ebcperimental Farm, Ottawa 



'HOSE flowers known as annuals, 

 the life of which does not ex- 

 tend beyond one season, are 

 lore popular to-day than ever be'fore. 

 Some flowers in the great annual class 

 lire perhaps better known than any 

 lowers. The names of such as sweet 

 )eas, china asters, mignonette, nas- 

 turtiums, stocks, are almost house- 

 lold words. This fact alone is proof 

 fthat they must be popular. 



The three main reasons for this popu- 

 iarity are perhaps the ease with which 

 they may be grown, the cheapness of 

 the seed of annual flowers, and the 

 long blooming season of many of them. 

 For instance those mentioned, and 

 many other annuals, will continue in 

 bloom for ten weeks to three months. 

 Few perennial flowers or shrubs can 

 equal them in this regard. 



All the energy of the annual flower 

 is put into its short life ; it does not 

 seek to sitore up food for the next year 

 as do perennial flowers, consequently 

 its life, although short, is a gay one. 

 From seed to seed, in a period of about 

 five short months, is the life cycle of 

 most annuals. 



Typical Annuals. 



Attention can be drawn best to the 

 merits and pos.sibilities of annuals by 

 taking one or two typical examples. 

 The sweet pea is perhaps the most 

 popular of all annuals. During the 

 past fifteen years it has passed through 

 a remarkable period. The development 

 of the sweet pea, and some other an- 

 nuals as well, during the early years of 

 this centurj' has been in response to 

 a popular demand for easily grown 

 flowers suitable for the smalllest as 

 well as the most pretentious gardens. 

 Such annual flo^vers have done much 

 t^ make our towns and cities more 



beautiful and life a pleasanter thing. 



Keats, many years ago, immortalized 

 the sweet pea in charming verse when 

 he wrote : 

 "Here are sweet peas on tiptoe for a 



. flight, 

 With -\\'ings of delicate blush o'er tip- 

 ped with white ; 

 And taper fingers catching at all 



things, 

 To bind them all about with tiny 

 rings." 



However, very feAv were grown in 

 those days. Few colors were known, 

 not half a dozen. Few people had 

 much regard for them. Introduced 

 from Sicil.y about 1700, it was not till 

 1870 that any improvement in regard 

 to the size, vigor, or -substance of the 

 flower took place. 



The years 1901- '02- '03 were other 

 very important dates in the life of the 

 sweet pea, for in these years the l)eau- 

 tiful, modern sweet peas known as the 

 Spencers were introduced to the pub- 

 lic. The Spencers are handsomer than 

 most types, owing to the fact that the 

 "stamdard" is waved or frilled, the 

 "standard" being the largest of the 

 five petals or colored parts of the 

 flower. From ithose years on the popu- 

 larity of the sweet pea increased so 

 rapidly that a few years ago over fifty 

 tons of sweet pea seed sold in Great 

 Britain a'lone in one j'ear. 



For the Small Garden. 



The spirit which old Thomas Brown 

 breathes in these verses 

 "A garden is a lovesome thing, God 



wot, 

 Rose plot, 

 FVinged pool, 

 Ferned grot — 

 The veriest school of peace ; 



And yet the fool 



Contends that God is not — 



Not God! in gardens! when the eve i& 



cool? 

 Nay, but I have a sign : 

 'Tis very sure G-od walks in mine. ' ' 



will be eventually the spirit which 

 directs every man or woman who takes 

 up gardening for a hobby. To one, 

 however, who has had no practice in 

 gardening effort, the grooving of a few 

 simiple annual flowers makes a success- 

 ful start more assured, and annuals are 

 often the best flowers for the beginner 

 with the small garden. 



Easy to Grow. 



In all districits which have weather 

 conditions similar to those at Montreal, 

 Ottawa or north of Toronto, the best 

 way to grow annuals with success is to 

 sow the seed during the first two weeks 

 in April. It should be so\vn either in 

 the house, in a greenhouse, or in hot- 

 beds. Good, friable, loamy soil and 

 flower pots or shallow boxes for hold- 

 ing the same are all that is necessary 

 in the way of material. Good seed 

 should be used. Intelligent seed sow- 

 ing, careful attention to proper water- 

 ing and temperature will invariably 

 hmng the best results. The seedlings 

 will be strengthened and made more 

 stocky if they are once transplanted 

 before planting out into the garden, 

 but this is not absolutely necessary. 



Certain annuals also will do best if 

 the seed is sown directly into the place 

 which they are to occupy in the gar- 

 den. Most people know that flowers 

 like the sweet pea, nasturtium, pop- 

 pies, portulaca, and climbers like the 

 Morning Glories, should be so^vn direct 

 and not transplanted. In such cases 

 the seed should be sown about the first 

 week in May or before, if the soil is fit. 

 Many people may not know, however, 

 that such flowers as balsams, candytuft, 

 cosmos, calliopsis, gaillardias, everlast- 

 ings, liniums, lupines and petunias will 



The nearly four liuTidrod aster blooms here ."ihown wen- sathered on one occasion in the parden of Mr. Gadsb.v. of Hamilton. They comprised five 



colors and were grown from a twenty-flve cent package of .seed. 



