BEDDING PLANTS. 



44 



BEDS. 



Ageratums, various sorts. 



Alstromerias, various sorts. 



Anagallis, various sorts. 



Antirrhinums, of all colours. 



Bouvardias, dwarf shrubby plants, scarlet, 



white, &c., scented. Obtained from cuttings 



in spring. 



Calceolarias, shrubby varieties. 

 Cerastium tomentosum. 

 Cineraria maritima, 18, grown chiefly for 



foliage. Sow under protection in December. 

 Cuphea platycentra, 12, scarlet, black, and 



white, with other varieties, from seeds or 



cuttings. 



Dahlias, dwarf varieties. 

 Delphinium formosum, and other varieties. 

 Geraniums, all varieties. 

 Echeverias, perennial succulents. 

 Heliotropum Peruvianum. 

 Lantanas, various sorts. 

 Lobelias, various sorts. 

 Lophospermums, various sorts. 

 Maurandya Barclayana. 

 Mimulus, many varieties. 

 Nasturtiums, dwarf varieties. 

 Nierembergias, all varieties. 

 CEnotheras, dwarf varieties. 

 Penstemons, of all colours. 

 Salvias, many varieties. 

 Senecio elegans, various colours. 

 Tracheliums, blue and white. 

 Tropaeolums, dwarf and double varieties, not 



climbers. 

 Verbenas, various colours. 



Bedding Plants, Treatment of, 

 in Winter Quarters. 



With cuttings of bedding plants under 

 protection during the winter it must be 

 remembered that vegetation is still going 

 on. They are still growing, though not 

 actively, or perhaps apparently, and there- 

 fore they must have light constantly, and 

 air whenever the state of the weather is 

 such as to allow of its free admission and 

 circulation. If due ventilation and circu- 

 lation of air is prevented, and the atmos- 

 phere of the house, frame, or pit is allowed 

 to get unJ'ily moist, the plants will "damp 

 off." The pots in which cuttings are placed 

 for the winter must be well drained, to 

 prevent any stagnation at and about the 

 roots. The temperature should not be 

 allowed at any time to fall below 35, and 

 in frosty weather it should be maintained 

 by gentle fire heat, which, in combination 

 with the admission of the external air, may 

 be made use of to keep the house dry, even 



in the coldest weather, the presence of the 

 heat mitigating and tempering the cold- 

 ness of the air that is admitted. 



Bedding Plants, When to take 

 cuttings of. 



As a rule, cutting of all bedding plants 

 are better taken from the middle of July to 

 the middle of August. Geraniums may be 

 rooted in the open border in July and 

 August, and in gentle heat in September, 

 in which month cuttings of ageratums, 

 calceolarias, and salvias are best taken, 

 though calceolaria cuttings will root in a 

 cold frame if placed therein even as late as 

 November. For cuttings in early spring, 

 old stocks must be placed in gentle heat 

 and induced to grow, and when sufficiently 

 large the young shoots may be taken off in 

 cuttings, to be rooted also in gentle heat. 

 Half-hardy annuals should be sown in July 

 and August, and kept under protection in 

 frames and pits during the winter. 



Beds. 



Divisions of a flower-garden formed in 

 different-shaped figures. The following are 

 some of the most pleasing varieties : 



Beds, Basket, of Ivy. These have a pretty 

 appearance on grass plots, and may be 

 made round or oval, according to fancy. 

 A frame of wicker-work should be made, 

 the shape of the bed, about one foot or 

 \\ foot high, around which, on the outside, 

 should be planted, quite thick, either the 

 large Russian, or the small-leaved and 

 variegated ivy. In a year or two, with 

 little care and attention, the wicker-work 

 will be quite covered, when the ivy must 

 be well cut in, and the earth in the basket 

 may be raised or not at pleasure. With a 

 little trouble, the ivy may be made to trail 

 over wands, and form a handle to the 

 basket. 



Beds, Cross-shaped. The various sorts of 

 crosses also form very ornamental beds, 



