PLANTING LIST 343 



spikes. Colors are white and chiefly blue ; avoid the purple. The 

 soil for larkspurs should be cool and deep. 



Annual larkspurs should be sown in early spring, under glass 

 in March or April, outdoors about May 1st. They should be trans- 

 planted to stand from twelve to eighteen inches apart. They are 

 very delicate and airy when in bloom. 



Perennial larkspurs are larger and more robust, living sometimes 

 ten years, and often sending up several stalks, five feet tall, from 

 each plant. They may be sowed like the annuals, but probably 

 will succeed best from freshly ripe seed sowed in August. Thin the 

 plants to three inches, and in late September set out two feet apart 

 or more. They will flower in June, and if the stalks are cut to the 

 ground will bear a second crop in late fall. The pale blue and pure 

 blue of perennial larkspurs can scarcely be surpassed, and the per- 

 ennial garden can hardly do without them. 



Larkspur roots can be divided if necessary. They should be set 

 close to the surface, lest they rot. Or finely sifted coal ashes may 

 be scattered over them. 



Rust sometimes troubles larkspurs, and cannot be cured. Pre- 

 vent it by spraying with Bordeaux in May and June, fortnightly 

 until the time of flowering, and again after cutting back the stalks. 



Lavender : True and Common Lavender are different shrubs, 

 grown in the same way. Raise them in spring from cuttings of last 

 year's, wood, taken with a heel of still older wood. Set in moist, 

 shady soil, until rooted, and in fall set out, four feet by two. Use 

 the flower buds for perfume after the first year. During the first 

 year, pinch off all flower spikes. 



Leek : One of the onion family ; it is grown with much care by 

 those who like it. Sow seed in early spring, in rows six s inches apart ; 

 thin to three inches in the rows. In May set in the garden, six by 

 twelve inches, or less; feed the plants well. The soil should be 

 moist. Leek is often blanched by being set in trenches or holes, 

 and earthing up, after midsummer, to the depth of several inches. 



Lettuce : One of the most widely grown of salad plants. It is 

 hardy, and has many varieties, which classify as loose or close head- 



