Commercial Gardening 



Fig. 247. Miniature Sunflower 



forms worth growing for cut flowers are Golden Nigger, Sulphur Gem, 

 Apollo, Diadem, Starlight, &c., amongst the singles, while there are also 



____ double forms. They are all 



easily raised from seeds sown 

 in the open air in April and 

 May, or in warmth in March, 

 the young plants being spaced 

 out eventually about 2 ft. apart. 

 The perennial Sunflowers are 

 considered under the genus 

 Helianthus, see p. 51. 



Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odor- 

 atus). The Sweet Pea indus- 

 try is now a very large one, 

 thanks to the grace and beauty 

 of the flowers, the comparative 

 ease with which they may be 

 grown, and the wonderful va- 

 rieties that patience and skill 

 have evolved during recent 

 years. Growers of flowers or 

 seeds have to thank the 

 National Sweet Pea Society 

 for the great advance this industry has made during the past ten or twelve 

 years. Probably there are more tons of Sweet Pea seeds sown now than 

 there were hundredweights a dozen years ago, while the size and beauty 

 of the varieties and the range of colours provided are all due chiefly to the 

 encouragement this society has given to its name flower. The seed-growers 

 in Essex have added acres to acres year after year for the purpose of 

 providing the necessary seeds, and the visitor to Kelvedon, Coggeshall, 

 and surrounding district is greeted with the daintiest of perfume and a 

 perfect ocean of lovely blooms. (See coloured plate.) 



In other districts large areas are devoted to flower culture for market. 

 The earliest flowers grown under glass come chiefly from the Channel 

 Islands, Cheshunt, Uxbridge, Worthing, Hampton, Uckfield, Haywards 

 Heath, Saffron Walden, and Waltham Cross. Cornwall supplies early 

 outdoor blooms, and then come quantities of flowers from such districts 

 as those of Woking, Hanworth, Slough, Farnham, Rockley, Yarmouth, 

 Guildford, and Cambridge. 



According to the time of year, and also to the quality of the flowers, the 

 market bunches consist of 12, 18, or 24 spikes. These bunches are packed 

 in a single layer, and the box that finds most favour is one 24 in. by 15 in. 

 by 3J in.; it carries from eighteen to twenty-four bunches. The colours 

 most in request at Co vent Garden and other large flower markets are white, 

 crimson, lavender, mauve, pink, rose, salmon, blue, blush, cerise, cream, 

 and scarlet. Varieties of Sweet Peas that are at present very popular 



