310 SATURDAY IN MY GARDEN 



spring will provide a display of bloom in the greenhouse during 

 winter. 



VERBENAS, The verbena, like the carnation, is essentially a 

 plant that lends itself to propagation by means of the process 

 known as layering, as may be seen by a glance at Diagram 51. 

 The long shoots may easily be bent downwards and be placed 

 lengthwise along the ground. All that is then required is that 

 they should be pegged down with phis, such as those depicted hi 

 Figure 8 of the diagram. 



Before the layering is begun it is necessary to fork up the ground 

 round the plants and to top-dress it with a shallow layer of fine 

 new soil. The stem which it is intended to layer should then be 

 placed flat on the surface of the soil and be pegged down in two 

 or three places. New leaves will speedily make their appearance, 

 as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1. The lower section 

 of the diagram shows the method of layering border plants, 

 spreading them out neatly and evenly so as to give plenty of room 

 for the development of new roots and shoots. 



When these have been produced and have become well estab- 

 lished they may be detached, by cutting with a sharp knife, from 

 the parent plant. The young plants should then be dibbled in 

 boxes of fine soil, and be placed in a cold frame until the approach 

 of wintry weather, say, about the middle of October. The hardier 

 the growth during the earlier stages of their existence the better 

 will their constitution become, and the less likelihood will there be 

 of damping off or an attack of mildew when the time comes for 

 transferring them to warmer quarters during the winter months. 

 A frame which can be heated to keep out the frost is an ideal place 

 for wintering verbenas. It is enough to maintain a temperature 

 of 45. Excessive coddling would only prove fatal. 



Verbenas may also be propagated by means of cuttings. These 

 can be taken in July and August, and they will thrive in a frame 

 or under a bell glass in the open if young, strong, healthy shoots 

 without flower-buds are selected for the purpose. 



EVERGREEN SHRUBS. The methods of making cuttings from 

 the shoots of a few representative evergreen shrubs are depicted 



