334 FLOWERS ALL THE YEAR ROUND 



There is, however, no danger at all in sowing in pans placed in a cool 

 frame. The plants should be potted immediately they are large 

 enough to handle. The flowering from this sowing will be rather 

 late, but not too late for a good show of bloom. 



ZINNIA. The double varieties are now grown almost to the ex- 

 clusion of single flowers. The former are so incomparably superior, 

 that they are judged by the severe rules of the florist. It is useless 

 to start this plant too early. Towards the end of the month a com- 

 mencement will be made by experienced growers, but the comparative 

 novice will be wise to wait until the beginning of April. Sow in pots 

 filled with a compost of leaf-mould, loam, and sand, and be quite sure 

 there is effectual drainage. Plunge the pots in a temperature of 

 about 60. 



APRIL 



MANY half-hardy flowers, such as Acrodinium roseum, Convolvulus 

 major, Linum rubrum, and others, which at an earlier period can only 

 be sown with safety under protection, may now be consigned to the 

 open ground without the least misgiving. This fact is of immense 

 value to owners of gardens that are destitute of glass, for it enables 

 them to grow a large number of flowers which would otherwise be 

 impracticable. Of course, the flowering will be a little later than from 

 plants raised earlier in heat, but the difference will not be very con- 

 spicuous after all. 



ANNUALS, HARDY, which were not sown last month, should be got 

 in during the first half of this, and Coreopsis, Helichrysum, Hibiscus, 

 Leptosiphon, Mathiola, Mignonette, Sanvitalia, and Sunflower, will 

 do quite as well now as from sowings in March. 



ASTER. When the seedlings attain the third leaf, they should be 

 pricked off round the edges of 6o-sized pots ; later on, put them 

 singly into small pots, from which the transfer to the open ground 

 will not cause a perceptible check. As the plants do not thrive in a 

 close atmosphere, it is important to give air freely on every suitable 

 occasion, or they cannot be maintained in a healthy growing condi- 

 tion. A second sowing should be made about the middle of the 

 month, following the routine already advised. A sowing in drills on 

 a carefully prepared bed in the open ground is also desirable, and in 

 some seasons it may produce the most valuable plants of the year. 

 Asters come so true from seed that the bed may be arranged in any 



