342 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS 



The gardener of limited means need not repine, there- 

 fore. If unable conveniently to buy a separate collec- 

 tion, let him trust his fortunes to a mixture. He may 

 mark the varieties which he likes best, and increase 

 them another year by seeds or cuttings. 



While the Snapdragons are true perennials, flourish- 

 ing for years on old ruins and in the driest crevices 

 of walls, it is both simple and adequate to treat them 

 as annuals. No small advantage of growing them thus 

 is that a supply of sturdy seedlings can be got ready 

 for planting by mid-May, and thereby come in useful 

 for planting near bulbs which are to be left in the 

 ground, and the leaves of which are fading. It is 

 unwise to cut off the bulb foliage, nor is it necessary, 

 for if the leaves are tied in a neat cluster they do their 

 work of feeding the bulbs below them, and they are 

 not conspicuous when the Snapdragons get fairly into 

 growth. 



To have the Antirrhinums ready for planting in 

 May they ought to be sown in a box of fine, moist 

 soil in January or February, and put in a warm frame 

 or greenhouse. With abundance of light and air after 

 germination, and thinning and pricking out as required, 

 they will make sturdy plants. They should be hardened 

 in a cold frame before they are planted out. Plants 

 may be raised without heat in March, and will flower 

 the same year if all go well with them, although they 

 will be later. Some growers sow seed out of doors in 

 early summer, and plant the seedlings out in autumn, 

 to bloom the following year. The distance apart should 

 be from six to eighteen inches according to the type. 



It would hardly be wise to trust to late spring 

 planting for establishing Snapdragons on walls. It 

 would be better to sow the seed in autumn, and put 



