FLOWER CULTURE. 



179 



FLOWER CULTURE. 



declines late in the autumn months, 

 though tulips, and carnations, and auri- 

 culas, and ranunculus, and hyacinths, &c. 

 &c., are at rest, chrysanthemums and dah- 

 lias are in their glory ; and these continue 

 to enliven our gardens till an envying frost 

 cuts them off. At all seasons of the year 

 there is something to be done with florists 1 

 flowers, and the reader will find notices of 

 them under each head. Instructions also 

 for the management of a winter flower 

 garden will be found on page 569, for 

 those possessed of a greenhouse. 



Flower Culture. 



Preparation of Ground. Broadly speak- 

 ing, there is not so much difference in the 

 routine to be followed in the culture of 

 different kinds of flowers as may be 

 imagined by those who are unaccustomed to 

 garden work. The preparation of the soil 

 by mechanical means is in all cases the 

 same ; if this were not so, and if every 

 kind of flower that grows required different 

 treatment, it would be necessary for every 

 amateur or grower, in a small way, to con- 

 fine his attention to two or three special 

 sorts, or to give up gardening altogether, 

 and leave it to those who had time, leisure, 

 money, and space to deal with it in its 

 entirety. Happily, however, this is not 

 the case, for generally plants are grouped 

 into large sections or classes, and the plants 

 that belong to each section will grow 

 together, under the same conditions, sub- 

 ject only to some slight modifications that 

 are produced by artificial means. That is 

 to say, when the soil has been well prepared 

 for the reception of plants by digging, 

 trenching, draining, when and where 

 necessary, all that can be done is to 

 modify it for the plants which ate to be 

 grown in it by the addition of manures, 

 natural and artificial, sand, lime, &c., and 

 thus bring it as nearly as possible to the 

 conditions under which plants ^row and 



flourish in their native habitats, or under 

 which e> xnerience has shown that thev thrive 

 and flourish in the greatest luxuriance. 



Classification of Flowering Plants* If, 

 then, we regard the culture of flowers from 

 this point of view, namely, that as regards 

 the management of each great class the 

 system to be pursued is the same for all, 

 and that it is only in some special cases 

 that any departure from the general routine 

 is necessary, it is manifest that our labours 

 will be greatly simplified, and that we shall 

 be better able to turn them to good account 

 when we find and feel that we have to deal 

 with plants broadly and in masses, special 

 treatment being reserved for a few indi- 

 vidual sorts only. A few moments' con- 

 sideration will help us to see how easy it is 

 to arrive at the culture of plants in classes, 

 by looking at their nature and terms of 

 existence. First of all, flowering plants 

 grown in gardens no reference is now 

 being made to shrubs, which have been 

 dealt with in the preceding chapter are 

 (i) ANNUALS, (2) BIENNIALS, and (3) 

 PERENNIALS. To one or other of these 

 three great classes every plant must belong. 



Culture influenced by Character and 

 Class. We must look, then, at the culture 

 of plants, first of all, with reference to their 

 character and as belonging to the class to 

 which each belongs. We know that some 

 plants are possessed of greater powers of 

 endurance and vitality than others, and 

 thus it is that ANNUALS are regarded as 

 being ranked in two divisions, Hardy and 

 Half-hardy; BIENNIALS admitting of the 

 same separation. Passing on to PER- 

 ENNIALS, we know that there are two 

 sorts, namely, those which are visible above 

 ground, even during the hardest winter, 

 and which do not die down to the ground 

 in autumn and throw up fresh flower stalks 

 in the spring, and those which die down 

 after flowering to grow again when the 

 time of rest is ovpr, and Nature call'; oo 



