FLORAL HINTS. 



A Small Greenhouse — A small 

 greenhouse may. be constructed sixteen 

 or twenty feet long and eleven feet wide, 

 with benches three and a half feet wide 

 at each side, a walk through the centre. 

 Let the house stand north-east and 

 south-west, and cover with a comb roof, 

 with hinged ventilators at either side, 

 so that ventilation can be secured from 

 the calm side of the house. If the 

 walk is sunk in the ground the eaves 

 need not be more than two and a half 

 feet above the surface, requiring less 

 heat. Use a coal oil heater, with pipe 

 running aro und beneath the bench, 

 to distribute the heat. A house of this 

 kind requires but little care, and will ac- 

 commodate many plants 



For Winter-Blooming. — Now is the 

 lime to get your plants for winter- 

 blooming. Get small plants of Mrs. 

 Hill Geranium, Lopesia rosea, Agathgea 

 coelestis, Crassula cordata, Abutilon 

 Mesopotamicum, Strobilanthes aniso- 

 phyllus, Begonia semperflorens, Begonia 

 Angel's Wing. Primula obconica. Droop- 

 ing Lantana, Plumbago coccinea. Me 

 sembryanthemum grandifiorum and 

 Peristrophe angustifolia variegata. Start 

 in three-inch pots, and shift as the 

 plants grow till they occupy five- inch or 

 six-inch pots, encouraging growth rather 

 than flowers. Then in the fall you 

 will have fine large plants, all ready for 

 doing good service in the window- 

 garden during winter. Most of the 

 failures to have flowers in winter comes 

 from not starting in time, or getting 

 plants that are not adapted for winter- 

 blooming. This note should therefore 

 prove a timely hint to those who are 

 anxious to succeed with winter flowers. 

 TheTuberous Begonia. — One of the 

 most satisfactory pot plants for summer 

 culture that I know of is the Tuberous 



Begonia. It deserves every word of praise 

 it has received or may yet receive. Be 

 sides its handsome, thrifty foliage it pro- 

 duces a brilliant display of gorgeously 

 beautiful blossoms from June till Novem- 

 ber, thus making a truly charming plant, 

 the delight, admiration and envy of all 

 beholders. Some varieties have immense 

 drooping blossoms, others more stiff 

 and erect ones, but all are comparative- 

 ly beautiful in thqir bright, glowing 

 colors. The yellow variety will be a 

 revelation to those who have never seen 

 it 



Plant the Tuberous Begonia any time 

 from March till June, putting one bulb 

 in a four-inch pot. For soil use a good, 

 porous, compost, enriched with manure 

 and leaf-mould, and see that the drain- 

 age is of the best. Do not cover the 

 bulb entirely over, but leave the concave 

 end in view. Set the plant in the coolest 

 most even-temperatured place in the 

 yard, on the north side of some build- 

 ing if possible, where it will not be in- 

 jured by fierce rain and wind storms, 

 and see that its supply of moisture is 

 never low. Do not, however, keep it 

 sopping wet, as the bulb might decay. 

 Treated in this manner it will begin to 

 bloom in a very short time, and bear 

 blossoms until well into the fall, then it 

 prepares for its annual rest. At this 

 stage the foliage grows brown and 

 withered, and no more buds appear. 

 Then the plant should be gradually 

 dried off in its dish, and put into some 

 dark, frost-proof room to spend the 

 winter. When growth starts in the 

 spring repot, using fresh, new soil. The 

 bulb will be good for several years if it 

 receives good treatment. 



The Tuberous Begonia may be bed- 

 ded out in the open ground, and will 

 make a striking display, provided it is 

 36 



