ROSE TIME 



it be left uncut more than a week throughout the summer. June 

 A lawn can be mown much more rapidly if the Grass is ^"^5 

 allowed to fall than if it is collected in a box, which has 

 to be regularly emptied. Letting the grass lie is per- 

 missible. Rolling does most good, perhaps, in late 

 winter and early spring, just when the Grass is beginning 

 to grow ; but it is always beneficial after mowing, and 

 especially after rain. 



Sometimes one finds that a lawn on poor ground, 

 and where it is much worried by enemies at the root, 

 gets bare in parts. If the weak spot amounts to an 

 actual hole, it is best to cut it out in a neat parallelogram, 

 lay down fresh turf, and water well (Fig. 38) ; otherwise 

 it will suffice to spread on some soil, sow seeds, and roll. 



Flowers 



Sowing Biennials. — One of the first tasks in the 

 flower garden is to raise a good quantity of biennial 

 plants, such as Canterbury Bells, Foxgloves, Wallflowers, 

 and Sweet Williams, from seed for planting out in autumn 

 to flower the following year. Early June is an excellent 

 time for this, because the plants have plenty of time in 

 which to get strong by October, and at the same time 

 they do not get in the way of other things. It is true 

 that it is not advisable to leave them in the seed bed all 

 the summer, unless they are sown very thinly indeed 

 (and they are rarely sown thinly enough to escape 

 becoming crowded before autumn), but it is generally 

 easy to find a spare bed where they can be put out in 

 rows a few inches apart in July. Here they can be kept 

 healthy and sturdy by hoeing as necessary. 



And while the amateur is buying seed of these 

 special biennials he may, if he likes, get packets of some 

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