LIL Y-OF-THE- VALLEY — MO ON-FL WEBS 381 



Lily-of-the-valley. — A perfectly hardy little perennial, bearing 

 racemes of small, white, bell-shaped flowers in early spring; and also 

 much forced by florists. 



For ordinary cultivation, sods or mats of roots may be dug from 

 any place in which the plant is colonized. Usually it thrives best in 

 partial shade; and the leaves make an attractive mat on the north side 

 of a building, or other shady place, in which grass will not grow. The 

 plants will take care of themselves year after year. Better results 

 maybe expected from good commercial roots. The "pips" may be 

 planted any time from November on, from 3 to 6 inches apart. 



For forcing indoors, imported roots or "pips" are used, as the plants 

 are grown for this particular purpose in parts of Europe. These roots 

 may be planted in pots, and treated as recommended for winter-flower- 

 ing bulbs (p. 345). Florists force them in greater heat, however, often 

 giving them a bottom heat of 80° or 90°; but skill and experience are 

 required in order to attain uniformly good results in this case. 



Mignonette. — Probably no flower is more generally grown for its 

 fragrance than the mignonette. It is a half-hardy annual, thriving 

 either in the open or under glass. 



The mignonette needs a cool soil, only moderately rich, shade part 

 of the day, and careful attention to cutting the flower-stalks before the 

 seeds are ripe. If a sowing be made in late April, followed by a second 

 sowing in early July, the season may be extended until severe frosts. 

 There are few flowers that will prove as disappointing if the simple 

 treatment it needs is omitted. Height, 1 to 2 feet. 



It may be sown in pots late in summer and be had in the house in 

 winter. 



Moon-flowers are species of the morning-glory family that open 

 their flowers at night. A well-grown plant trained over a porch trellis, 

 or allowed to grow at random over a low tree or shrub, is a striking ob- 

 ject when in full flower at dusk or through a moonlit evening. In the 

 Southern states (where it is much grown) the moon-flower is a peren- 

 nial, but even when well protected does not survive the winters in the 

 North. 



Cuttings usually give best results in the Northern states, as the 



