358 



How to Make a Flower Garden 



bulbs four inches deep in rich, moist, but 

 well-drained, sandy loam, allowing from a foot 

 to eighteen inches between bulbs. The beds 

 should be out of the direct rays of the sun, 

 either shaded by trees or shrubs during the 

 heat of the day or planted on a northern 

 exposure. Since the bulbs form numerous 

 offsets they should be dug every second 

 or third year after the foliage has died down. 

 After cleaning and dividing the clumps, store 

 in a cool, airy, dry place until plantmg time. 



Fuchsia. Blooming plants may be grown 

 from seed in about a year. Cuttings are 

 more frequently used, since they are always 

 obtainable and are very easy to root. The 

 plants will do well in any soil and in the 

 ordinary temperature of the living-room. 

 'Cuttings rooted in early spring should 

 produce blossoming plants by Thanksgiving 

 Day, and cuttings taken in September should 

 bloom before spring. After blooming, the 

 plants are generally thrown away, but they 

 may be made to bloom agam after a rest, 

 during which the plants must be kept in cool 

 quarters and watered sparingly. 



FuNKiA. Plant roots in deep, rich, moist 

 soil in spring. The large-leaved kinds do 

 best in partial shade, where the soil is very 

 moist. The plants may be allowed to 

 remain for years, during which time they 

 generally improve. Some species produce 

 seed freely. If seedlings are needed, the 

 seed should be sown as soon as ripe. 



Gaillardia. Sow the seeds in midwinter 

 under glass, and when about an inch tall 

 transplant to two-inch pots and, if necessary, 

 to a larger size before transplanting in the 

 garden, where they should stand about 

 fifteen inches apart in light, rich soil in an 

 open, sunny situation. The seeds are very 

 slow to germinate. 



Galanthus. See Snowdrop. 



Galtonia. See Hyacinth, Summer. 



Gas-plant {Dictamnus). Sow seeds as 

 soon as ripe in the autumn, covering them 

 an inch deep in a nursery bed, where the 

 plants may remain until two years old. The 

 seedlings should be thinned to six inches in 

 the row and be undisturbed, since they do 

 not bear transplanting well. Select for 

 permanent quarters a fairly rich, rather 

 heavy soil, and a situation in which the plants 

 may remain undisturbed. 



Geranium. Transplant plants from the 

 garden in autumn, allowing plenty of room 

 in the pot, saving as much root as possible 

 and cutting back the top severely. The 

 firm green parts removed may be used as 

 cuttings. They easily strike root and are 

 of easiest management. They need only 

 ordinary soil, and if kept growing vigorously 

 should bloom for months. A greater amount 

 of bloom is produced by allowing the plants 

 to become pot-bound after they have reached 



blooming age. Plants which have been gro-\A-n 

 from cuttings taken in winter, and which are 

 in three or four-inch pots, may be set in the 

 garden after danger of frost has passed. Allow 

 nine inches for the smallest bedding varieties 

 and eighteen inches for the large ones. 



GiLiA. Sow the seed in the autumn where 

 the plants are to remain, because they do not 

 bear transplanting well, unless the operation 

 is done while the plants are very small. The 

 bed should be covered with a light mulch of 

 leaves or straw, which mtist be removed in 

 spring. They do best in rather light soil, and, 

 according to kind, should stand from six to 

 twelve inches apart. 



GiLLiFLowER. See Stock. 



Gladiolus. Plant the corms two inches 

 deep in heavy soils and four inches in light. 

 Successional planting should commence with 

 the smallest corms as soon as the soil can be 

 worked, and end with large corms planted 

 about midsummer. If confined to beds, the 

 first-planted bulbs may be set twelve inches 

 apart, the later-planted ones set in the 

 intervals; six inches apart is close enough. 

 In late autumn dig, dry, clean and store the 

 corms in a cool, dark, dry, airy place. Seeds 

 are often used to produce new varieties. They 

 are sown thickly in spring, a few radish or 

 turnip seeds being planted with them to mark 

 the rows. No flowers can be expected the 

 first season from seeds. Even the second 

 season some corms will fail. These should be 

 saved for a third year's planting, because they 

 often produce superior flowers. 



Globeflower {TroUiiis). Sow in a mild 

 hotbed or greenhouse in early spring; trans- 

 plant to small pots or fiats when about two 

 inches tall, and when the weather becomes 

 settled set in ordinary garden soil in a sunny 

 place. Seed may also be planted where the 

 plants are to remain. Allow about a foot 

 between plants. 



Glory of the Snow (Chioiiodoxa) . Plant 

 the bulbs three inches deep in any friable 

 soil that will supply plenty of moisture until 

 the tops have completed their growth. Light 

 is also essential. Dig and divide the plants 

 every third year if in beds, but if in lawns 

 let them die out, which they may be expected 

 to do in a few years more. When conditions 

 are favourable, however, the numerous seeds 

 will replenish the ground. The seeds should 

 be sown in a coldframe in which they should 

 germinate the following winter and produce 

 little bulbs in the spring. These may then 

 be planted where needed or grown another 

 year in nursery beds. 



Gloxinia. For the propagation of choice 

 varieties or colours, cuttings of leaves and 

 stems are employed, the former preferred. 

 Seeds are usually more satisfactory for ordi- 

 nary purposes. They should be sown during 

 midwinter, carefully watered, transplanted 



