332 FLOWERS ALL THE YEAR ROUND 



MARVEL OF PERU. The treatment prescribed for Balsam will suit 

 this plant also. In the first year it will grow to a considerable size, 

 but will not, as a rule, attain to its full dimensions until the second 

 season. It is a half-hardy perennial, and when saved through the 

 winter will need protection from frost. 



MIGNONETTE finds a welcome in every English garden ; and to 

 add to its attractiveness, there are now yellow, red, and white varieties, 

 in addition to such forms as dwarf, pyramidal, and spiral. Mignonette 

 can be grown without the least difficulty ; indeed, it will reproduce 

 itself from seed shed in the previous year. Nevertheless, it is true 

 that in the majority of gardens justice is seldom done to it, for the 

 simple reason that there is not sufficient faith in its capabilities. 

 Each plant will cover a space of at least one foot, and we have seen 

 specimens a yard across, bristling with flower spikes, and fragrant as 

 only Mignonette can be. The soil for it should be made firm, just 

 as an Onion bed is treated. Except for this one point, the culture 

 of a hardy annual is all that is necessary. Mignonette does not well 

 bear transplanting, but otherwise it is very accommodating. It may 

 be grown as a tree, and kept for a number of years by removing the 

 seed-pods in their young state, but it is more satisfactory and less 

 troublesome to raise plants annually. Mignonette is frequently taken 

 off by fly as fast as it appears above ground. Soot and wood ashes 

 applied in good time are the best remedies ; but a second sowing may 

 be necessary, and it should be made immediately the mischief can be 

 discovered. 



PENTSTEMON. The treatment recommended for the perennial 

 section of Lobelias will exactly suit this flower. 



PHLOX DRUMMONDII. There is still time to sow. Established 

 seedlings should be gradually hardened by free access of air, until 

 they are ready for the open ground. 



PHLOX, PERENNIAL, is easily raised from seed, and flowered in the 

 first year. Sow in shallow boxes in the early part of this month, and 

 place them in moderate heat. Transplant the seedlings when ready, 

 gradually harden, and plant out in rich soil one foot apart, or put 

 them into vacant places in the shrubbery. Help them with water if 

 necessary. 



POPPIES do not well bear transplanting, especially from light soils, 

 and therefore, as a rule, it is advisable to sow where the plants are 

 intended to bloom. All the varieties make conspicuous lines and 

 clumps among shrubs ; and this is especially the case with the huge 

 flowers of the double class. Sow in March and April, and commence 



