ANNUAL AND BIENNIAL PLANTS. 53 



In wet seasons and in wet northern districts annuals surprise 

 us by their vigour and beauty. In warmer counties the defect of the 

 heat may in the case of the hardy kinds be met by autumn sowing in 

 good rich ground. The autumn sowings are the best. The plants 

 not only flower much sooner, but, where the soil and climate suit 

 them, they are stronger and more beautiful. 



Concerning crowding, " Salmoniceps " writes: "1 have just 

 measured a plant to-day (October 4) of Nemophila insignis, sown 

 more than a year ago. It has been in flower since May, and measures 

 now 4 feet by 3 feet 10 inches. It would take a long time to count 

 the blossoms, although they are not so large as the earlier ones. The 

 plant grows in a new and rich border. According to the ordinary 

 way of sowing annuals, this single plant occupies the space which is 

 usually allotted to a whole packet of seed." 



In nature, annuals are usually autumn-sown and gather strength 

 in the winter. In growing a number of annuals from various countries 

 we must remember that our winters can be faced by the hardy 

 ones only, such as the Sweet Pea, Cornflower, Silene, Nemophila, 

 Viscaria, Limnanthes, Larkspur, Poppy, and Scabious. Annuals are 

 best in masses or groups. 



Among annual flowers we have the lovely Everlastings of 



Australia, which have an order of beauty distinct from those we 



see in gardens into which annuals do not enter. 



Everlastings. Carefully gathered, they may adorn our houses 

 during the winter. The Pimpernels, which with 

 their pretty blue flowers were once made charming use of in gardens, 

 are much neglected. The Mexican Poppy is a pretty flower and 

 quite distinct. Among annuals we find plants of fine foliage or 

 habit, such as the Hemp, Castor Oil Tree and Mallows, Maize 

 and other grasses, Cotton and Blessed Thistles. The annual 

 Chrysanthemums of Southern Europe and Northern Africa, and 

 indeed of our own fields, are strong in effect. The annual Bindweeds 

 are pretty, and in southern gardens may be used. The annual 

 Larkspurs are so little used in gardens that it is only in seed 

 farms that we have the pleasure of seeing them now and then in all 

 their beauty. The annual Chinese Pinks are brilliant grown in sunny 

 beds and good soil. Our native Foxglove, seen in many of our wood- 

 lands, breaks in the hands of the gardener into varieties well worth 

 growing, if not in the garden, in shrubberies and in copses and woods. 

 It is a good plan, when any ground is broken up for fence-making or 

 rough planting, to scatter a few seeds of the white and other pretty 

 kinds and leave them to take care of themselves. There are many 

 graceful grasses which may be treated as annuals, and their flowers, 

 like the Everlasting flowers, be in bloom through the winter. The 



