Flowers all the Year Round 



seed sown in drills on light soil, but the attempt is a little hazardous. 

 There is, however, no danger at all in sowing in pans placed in a 

 cool frame. The plants should be potted immediately they are large 

 enough to handle. The flowering from this sowing will be rather 

 late, but not too late for a good show of bloom. 



Zinnia.. The double varieties are now grown almost to the 

 exclusion of single flowers, and the former are so incomparably 

 superior, that they are judged by the severe rules of the florist. With 

 this plant it is useless to start too early. Towards the end of the 

 month a commencement will be made by experienced growers, but 

 the comparative novice will be wise to wait until the beginning 

 of April. Sow in pots filled with a compost of leaf-mould, loam, 

 and sand, and be quite sure there is effectual drainage. Plunge the 

 pots in a temperature of about 60. 



APRIL 



MANY half-hardy flowers, such as Acrodinium roseum, Convolvuhis 

 major, Linum rubrum^ Nemesia, Salpiglossis, Schizanthus, and others, 

 which at an earlier period can only be sown with safety under pro- 

 tection, may now be consigned to the open ground without the least 

 misgiving. A knowledge of this fact is of immense value to owners 

 of gardens that are destitute of glass, for it enables them to grow a 

 large number of flowers which would otherwise be impracticable. 

 Of course, the flowering will be a little later than from plants raised 

 earlier in heat. 



Annuals, Hardy, which were not sown in March should be 

 got in during this month and in May. Many subjects, such as 

 Coreopsis, Helichrysum, Hibiscus, Leptosiphon, Mathiola, Mignon- 

 ette, Sanvitalia, and Sunflower will do quite as well now as from 

 sowings in March. 



Aster. When the seedlings attain the third leaf, they should 

 be pricked off round the edges of 6o-sized pots ; later on put them 

 singly into small pots, from which the transfer to the open ground 

 will not cause a perceptible check. As the plants do not thrive in a 

 close atmosphere, it is important to give air freely on every suitable 

 occasion, or they cannot be maintained in a healthy growing con- 

 dition. A second sowing should be made about the middle of the 

 month, following the routine already advised. A sowing in drills on 

 a carefully prepared bed in the open ground is also desirable, and in 



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