ANNUALS AND BIENNIALS 109 



in most cases on the time of sowing and subsequent 

 culture a statement not so obvious as it may seem at 

 first sight, because they are sometimes contrary in their 

 ways, and may, if they are in sulky mood, pass over a whole 

 season. 



A houseful of Wallflowers in midwinter, some in flower and 

 some coming on, would be no mean success to attain. The 

 full red-brown of Harbinger and the clear yellow of Belvoir 

 Castle, which are amongst the earliest to bloom, are at all 

 times beautiful, and other later well-known varieties, to be 

 found in every seed list, will give intermediate shades never 

 out of harmony with each other. Wallflowers are really 

 perennial in duration, though not very long-lived, but as they 

 flower within a few months of sowing, they are commonly 

 treated as annuals. For very early winter the first sowing is 

 best made in April, and a second may follow three weeks 

 later. Where there is a bit of garden ground the young plants 

 may be pricked out 3 in. apart in rows with not less than 6 in. 

 between the rows. Later on, when they begin to require 

 more room, every second plant may be transferred to a new 

 row, allowing 6 in. between each of them. Here they may 

 remain until October, when they can be potted in 5-in. pots 

 for flowering in the greenhouse. Where there is no garden, 

 boxes or zinc trays may be made to serve the purpose. In 

 either case care must be taken to keep the plants weeded and 

 watered in dry weather. Wallflowers are hardy things never 

 more so than when grown on the scanty foot-hold of a 

 crumbling wall, their natural home. Cultivation in rich soil 

 tends to make them less hardy, and the shelter of glass, there- 

 fore, is very welcome in severe and especially in windy 

 weather, and will also hasten the flowering time. Double 

 German Wallflowers are very popular and handsome with 

 their quaint purple and Primrose tints, but they are more 

 tender and not so fragrant as the smaller-flowered common 



