DELPHINIUM DIANTHUS 237 



DELPHINIUM 



Hardy perennial 



NEARLY all the perennial varieties may be raised from seed, and 

 where large numbers are required this is the best method of obtain- 

 ing them. They make handsome border flowers, and D. ccelestinum 

 is without a rival for its delicately beautiful shade of blue. Sow in 

 drills in the open ground in March, and do not allow the seedlings 

 to become crowded. If mixed seed has been sown, it will not be 

 wise to thin out all the weakly plants, or it may happen that only 

 one colour will remain. Transplant to final positions when strong 

 enough to bear removal. One stake behind each plant will suffice to 

 support the flowers during the first season, but in the second year three 

 neat sticks placed in a triangle are advisable. The first flowers will be 

 over by midsummer, and if the stalks are promptly cut down instead of 

 being allowed to seed, there will be a second display later in the year. 



The scarlet variety (D. nudicaule) is rather more delicate than 

 the others, and it is wise to raise the plants in well-drained seed-pans, 

 and to take care of them through the first winter in a cold frame ; 

 indeed, in a heavy soil there is a risk of losing them in any winter 

 which is both cold and wet. It is not necessary to employ pots, but 

 immediately after flowering take them up and store in a mixture of 

 peat and cocoa-nut fibre until the following April, when they can be 

 returned to the open ground. 



As slugs are exceedingly partial to Delphiniums, the crowns should 

 be examined in spring, and the seed-beds may be dressed with soot 

 and surrounded with ashes to save the seedlings from injury. 



DIANTHUS 



Pink. Hardy biennial 



MANY varieties of Dianthus claim attention for their elegant forms 

 and splendour of colouring. They have been so wonderfully improved 

 by scientific growers that they almost supersede the old garden Pinks, 

 and have the great advantage of coming true from seed. JD. Heddewigii 

 (Japan Pink) and its varieties, D. chinensis (Indian Pink) and D. 

 imperialis, make interesting and sumptuous beds, and may all be 

 flowered the first year from sowings made in heat in February. Imme- 



