12 MARCH 



stopped as they require it, to induce a bushy shape. 

 In the hot weather they are placed in the sunniest 

 part of the garden, and never allowed to become 

 completely dry, and by the month of September, 

 when they are housed, they are good strong plants, 

 capable of flowering continuously for three or four 

 months or more. There are many amateurs who 

 fail to get satisfactory results from pelargoniums 

 in the winter, but there is no difficulty in doing 

 so if the right sorts are chosen and the summer 

 routine is carefully observed. Primulas may be 

 sown at the end of the month if they are wanted 

 for December, and a second sowing in May will 

 ensure a succession throughout the winter. 



But it needs a certain amount of tenacity at this 

 time of year, when the outside garden is full of 

 promise and spring is bursting over the land, to 

 do the necessary work that is demanded for next 

 winter's enjoyment. The present time is so in- 

 finitely better than any future when that present 

 time is the spring of the year. And the reward 

 which outdoor flowers will give us is nearer than 

 that which we can expect from greenhouse plants 

 grown for next winter's enjoyment. So the place 

 of greenhouse work is taken by work in*the garden, 

 and there is much to be done in it for a long time 

 to come. 



March 24. The pruning of hybrid perpetual 

 bushes needs some acquaintance with the individual 

 habit of each kind of rose. If separate beds are 

 given up to one variety, a glance at the occupants 

 at this season will tell, better than any garden book 

 could do, what bad habit is to be corrected by 



