FLOWERS ALL THE YEAR ROUND 



FROM SEEDS AND ROOTS 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 



BEFORE proceeding to the duties which belong to the several 

 months of the year, it may be worth while to consider some of 

 the points which constitute the alphabet of pot culture. To grow 

 any plant in a pot is an artificial proceeding, and the conditions for its 

 sustenance and health have to be provided. Among these conditions 

 are temperature and accommodation. Now, it is useless to attempt 

 to grow flowers which require heat if that requirement cannot be met. 

 And it is equally useless to pot many more plants than the space will 

 accommodate when they attain their full size. A limited number, 

 well grown, will produce a greater wealth of bloom, of finer quality, 

 than many plants which are feeble through lack of space for develop- 

 ment. Nevertheless, there are numerous varieties raised in heat in 

 the early months of the year which can be grown and flowered in the 

 most satisfactory manner, without any kind of artificial aid, from 

 sowings made in the open ground during April and May. The 

 flowering will be somewhat later than from plants brought forward 

 under glass ; but as they receive no check from the very commence- 

 ment, they will not be greatly behind their nursed relations ; and 

 they may even excel them in robust beauty, if they are treated 

 intelligently and with a generous hand. 



GOOD SOIL for pot plants is not always obtainable at a reasonable 

 cost, and sometimes the materials at hand must be made to serve the 

 purpose. Still it is a well-known fact, that in proportion to the 

 skill and experience of the cultivator will be his desire to secure a 

 supply of loam, peat, and leaf-mould. Those who are capable of 



