xii.] HARDYHALF-HARDYTENDER ANNUALS 177 



Nemophila, Cornflower, Larkspur, and Poppy, treated in 

 this way, will come into bloom just at the season when, 

 except spring bulbs, few other things are to be found. 



When they are to be sown in spring it may be best to 

 wait until some genial weather has come in April, then 

 no time should be lost in scattering over some well- 

 prepared border the Shirley Poppy, Phacelia, Candytuft, 

 Gaillardia, Eschscholtzia, and Mignonette, and as the 

 young seedlings grow they should by degrees be steadily 

 thinned, so that each plant may have room to develop. 



Half-hardy annuals require more trouble and culture ; 

 sown in boxes in a frame that has some heat still in it, 

 supplied with air when growing, and before being shifted 

 hardened for a while in a cold frame, and then pricked 

 out 2 to 4 inches apart into a well-prepared bed com- 

 posed of a mixture of thoroughly rotted dung and 

 fibrous earth laid 4 inches deep on the hard ground : 

 watered, shaded, and guarded from slugs until they have 

 filled their compost with roots, when they may be cut 

 out with a trowel and removed to their borders. Amongst 

 the half-hardy annuals may be included China Aster, 

 Ten-Week Stock, Zinnia, Sunflower, Marguerite Carna- 

 tion, Marigold, Summer Chrysanthemum, Salpiglossis, 

 Coreopsis, Portulaca^ Phlox Drummondii, Ricinus (Castor 

 Oil), Sphenogyne^ Petunia, and Canary Creeper.* 



* Another climber admirably suited for greenhouse use is the 

 Maurandya, an annual. It is sufficiently hardy to thrive in the open 

 air in summer, and quickly covers trellises, fences, and pillars. It is 

 easily raised from seed in heat. The flowers are violet, rosy, purple, 

 and white. 



M 



