TIMELY TOPICS FOR THE AMATEUR.— XIV. 



lARDEN Annuals and Biennials — 

 llfli^ The many beautiful species and 

 varieties of these two classes of 

 plants are more particularly suit- 

 ed perhaps for the amateur flower- 

 lover than for the commercial or profession- 

 al florist. With the exception of a few that 

 may be termed staple or standard kinds, 

 such as sweet peas, asters, mig'nonette, zin- 

 nias, phlox drummondii, nasturtium, antirr- 

 hinum, and perhaps a few stocks and cos- 

 mos, very few of the remaining varieties are 

 of sufficient merit or attractiveness to war- 

 rant their being grown to furnish a supply 

 of cut flowers. The latter feature is how- 

 ever, as a rule, a secondary consideration 

 with amateurs, as the bright and pleasing 

 appearance of the flower garden or lawn is 

 usually their first consideration. 



The list of annuals, etc., mentioned in the 

 February number of this journal was selected 

 mainly with a view of furnishing varieties of 

 easy culture, and that would also give a 

 successive supply of cut flowers, as well as 

 to assist in brightening up the flower garden 

 in summer. One omission in the list cannot 

 however be overlooked, viz., that of the 

 sweet pea. The value of the sweet pea, 

 especially for cut-flower purposes, can hard- 



ly be over-estimated, as so many beautiful 

 varieties and types of these sweet-scented 

 favorites can be so easily obtained, and 

 the fact that cutting the flowers regularly 

 and not allowing any of them to seed, not 

 only adds to their eff"ectiveness as decorative 

 plants, but also prolongs considerably their 

 period of flowering. 



One objectionable feature with annuals is, 

 that unless early sowings are made either in 

 the greenhouse, hotbed, or perhaps in a 

 window, the flower border is almost bare 

 and devoid of foliage and flower during the 

 spring and the greater part of the summer. 

 This plan of raising garden annuals under 

 glass is a comparatively difficult and delicate 

 operation with most of the varieties. There 

 are few, if any professional gardeners or 

 florists, but will frankly acknowledge that a 

 collection of early garden annuals are more 

 difficult to succeed with, if started under 

 glass, than a collection of orchids or exotic 

 plants. Unless the seedling plants are 

 attended to very carefully, more especially 

 as regards watering and transplanting them, 

 partial or total failure is sure to be the re- 

 sult. The most critical period perhaps is 

 when the young plants are transferred from 

 the almost tropical climate of a greenhouse 



