126 FLOWERS AND THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



be plunged in a hot-bed of 75 temperature. When the 

 plants are well grown, harden them by degrees, and 

 allow the flower buds to grow. The seed should be 

 chosen from the finest flowers, and should be from one 

 to three years old ; the older (in moderation) the better. 

 The plants like plenty of air, light, and water, and the 

 slightest wound will destroy them. The flower should 

 be large and double, and distinct in marking, like a 

 carnation. 



That handsome rich-coloured flower, the Cockscomb, 

 may be treated in the same way ; and also the pretty 

 greenhouse annual, the Rhodanthe Manylesii. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS. 



ANNUALS, with their absence one portion of the year and 

 untidiness at another season, we might do without ; and 

 even bulbs, with their temporary splendour, could, per- 

 haps, be dispensed with, although we should much miss 

 their brightness among flowers ; but the ever varying yet 

 ever constant beauty of our innumerable perennials, 

 handsome in foliage for so large a portion of the year, 

 even when their flowers are off, we should miss more 

 than any other class of plants. With them in abun- 

 dance we could manage to cultivate a flower garden 

 satisfactorily ; without them it would be difficult indeed 

 to maintain for it a home-like face. 



The Hollyhock is useful from its towering noble 

 growth, and from the great diversity of its flowers, 

 including most colours, in all tints, from good white to 

 almost black. It delights in a rich strong soil ; so, 

 unless the earth of the garden be of this nature, it is 

 best to make a bed where a hollyhock is to be planted, 

 two feet every way, of strong loam, enriched with 



