GENERAL DISCUSSION ON TENDER FLOWERS. 



OPENED BY WILLIAM N. CRAIG, NORTH EASTON, MASS. 



Saturday, March 3, 1906. 



A general discussion of the subject of tender flowers was held 

 today at Horticultural Hall. It was opened by William N. Craig 

 who spoke as follows : 



The subject assigned me today is much too big for a single morn- 

 ing's discussion. I propose to speak but little of that vast army of 

 plants known as greenhouse subjects, but rather to devote my 

 remarks to annuals, a class known and esteemed and which is with- 

 in the reach of anyone possessing a garden. These may be divided 

 into three classes: First, Hardy Annuals, which can be soAvn and 

 flowered in the open air; Second, Half Hardy Annuals, which 

 require to be started under glass and later transferred to the open ; 

 and Third, Tender Annuals, which rec|uire greenhouse culture all 

 the time. The two first named classes will be chiefly referred to, 

 for their popularity with the great army of flower lovers is unques- 

 tioned. 



Annuals, with the possible exception of nasturtiums, prefer 

 ground which has been deeply dug and liberally manured. To be 

 effective they should be used in masses rather than dotted about 

 as individual plants. While some can be relied upon to provide 

 a fine floral display all summer long until cut down by frost, others 

 are more fleeting and, as in the case of poppies, must be replaced 

 by late sown annuals or else bad gaps will be apparent. A little 

 judicious selection will, however, insure a constant supply of bloom. 



Sweet peas are by long odds the most popular of all hardy annuals. 

 The immense improvement in them is mainly due to the life work 

 of that most painstaking specialist, the late Henry Eckford of Eno-- 

 land, who has completely revolutionized this flower, and whose 

 name will ever be held in grateful remembrance for the great work 

 he has done in this field. 



