i886. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



n 



miniatm-e hot-bed for the house, to get a start 

 on the season by bringing along young plants 

 eai'ly. She writes about it as follows : 



" I took several cigar-boxes, in which I 

 planted seeds of Chi'ysanthemums, Petunias, 



this, that they require heat for making progress. 

 Both of the last two classes are frequently 

 sown under glass and grown to some size hefoi'e 

 the time for planting out arrives. 

 Having now defined classes, let us advance to 



der annuals at the time most suitable for the 

 hardy sorts, and rive rrrxo. To be sure, hardy 

 annuals may be sown at intervals in succession 

 for several months after the fii-st early sowing 

 is made, but from no sowing will plants and 



The California Pi>pp\j. 



A Fine Aster Plant. The Lacinattd CItinese Pink. 



USEFUL FLOWERS THAT COME FROM SEED.— See "A Chapter on Annuals." 



Single and Double Calliopsis. 



Oxalis, Pansy, Larkspur, etc. , using sifted soil 

 that had been kept in the cellar since fall. After 

 sowing I covered each box with a woolen 

 cloth, resting it on the earth, and poured warm 

 water on the cloth. This filtered through, wet- 

 ting the soil, but not disturbing the seeds. 

 Then I kept the boxes on the water-tank of 

 the stove. Ever}- morning I took off the cloths 

 dipped in warmish water and returned them. 

 " I expected it would take ten da}'s or more 

 for the seeds to come up ; on the third morning 

 some sprouts were out ; then the cloth was dis- 

 continued. Two months more will see them in 

 thumb-pots, and these iu a discarded lai'ge tin 

 baking-pan, with some earth under and be- 

 tween them to prevent rapidly drying out. 

 After that I shall put them iu a sunny window, 

 and know I shall take more pleasure in watch- 

 ing them grow here than later ou iu the garden. " 



A Chapter on Annuals. 



The annuals ai-e well entitled to be called 

 everybody's flowers. They are inexpensive, 

 they are beautiful, they jneld returns sooner 

 after the investment than do most other kinds ; 

 while, added to this, no class is easier to manage. 



So far from annual flowers being cheap in 

 quality because cheap in price and trouble 

 to raise, we have but to ask: What flower 

 is sweeter than the Mignonette ; what ones 

 richer in color and textm-e than the Chinese 

 Pinks, Zinnias or Balsams ; Where can lovelier 

 blossoms be found than the Sweet Pea or the 

 Nasturtium afford ; a grander flowering plant 

 than is found in the improved Asters? Yet 

 these and man}- others equally fine are annuals, 

 or may be treated as such. 



Addressing itself, among othere, to many 

 new beginners in gardening, w-ho are unac- 

 quaiuted with plants, Popular Gardening 

 will say that the special characteristics of an- 

 nuals are that they owe their perpetuation, 

 iu our climate, to seeds which need to be 

 started newly every year. The plants from 

 these grow up, flower, produce a new crop 

 of seeds usually, and then die — aU in one 

 season. Annuals are brought under different 

 classes, according to their hardiness, namely 

 Hardy, Half-hardy, and Tender Annuals. 



Hardy annuals are such as may be sown in 

 the open ground at early garden-making time : 

 they are in this respect analogous to peas, let- 

 tuce, oats, wheat, etc., among the garden and 

 farm crops. Some kinds may be sown even in 

 the faU of the year to advantage. Half-hardy 

 annuals ai-e more like corn, beans and tomatoes 

 in their requirements, and should not be com- 

 mitted to the soil outdoors before "corn-plant- 

 ing time '■ — that is, when warm weather is near 

 at hand. Tender annuals are even more deli- 

 cate than the last named, being much like 

 squashes, melons, egg-plant, pepper, etc., iu 



the matter of kinds. The limits of our article 

 wiU not permit us to go into descriptions at the 

 present time. Neither is this necessary, for 

 any one of the hundreds of catalogues issued 

 by seedsmen who sell flower seeds, and which 

 can easily be procured, lay sufficient stress on 

 descriptions of kinds to answer all ordinary 

 needs. What we desire to do is to help those 

 amateurs who, in consulting a catalogue, are 

 confused by the large number of kinds offered, 

 not knowing which to choose. 



We therefore present some selections of 

 kinds, to guide, especially our inexperienced 

 readers, in choosing judiciously,referriug to the 

 dealers' catalogues for further particulars. In 

 the lists offered, each name is followed by an 

 abbreviation, which at once shows the class to 

 which it belongs, as to hardiness. The abbre- 

 viations are these: h for hardy annual, hli for 

 half-hardy annual, t for tender annual ; a star 

 (*) indicates a running vine. 



A SELECTION OF TEN "NO FAIT," ANNU.U.S FOB 

 BEGINNEHS. 



Balsam, hh, *Nasturtiuni, hh, 

 Chinese Pinks, /i, Phlox Dnimmondi, /( , 



Larkspur, h. Portulaca, ii. 



Mignonette, h, Poppy, /(, 



♦Morning Glory, h, *Sweet Pea, li. 



A SELECTION FOR THOSE WHO WANT ONLY THE 

 CHOICER KINDS OF ANNUALS. 



Aster, /t/i., Phlox Dnimmondi, /j. 



Balsam, /)/), Portulaca, h, 



'Canary Bird Flower, hh, Snap Dragon, A, 

 Candytuft, h. Stocks, hh, 



*Cob0ea Scandens, t. Sweet Alyssum. k. 



Cockscomb, t. Verbena, hh, 



♦Cypress Vine, t. Zinnia, h. 



Larkspur, h, *Sweet Pea, h. 



Marigold, /(, *ScarIet Runner, t. 



Mignonette, A, *Maurandya, (, 



♦Morning Glory, h, Chinese Pinks, h, 



♦Nastm-lium, hh. Pansy, h. 



Petunia, hh. 



A SELECTION OF GOOD ANNCALS, BUT HARDLY EIJUAL 

 TO THOSE OF THE LAST LIST. 



Abronia, A, California Poppy, /t, 



Ageratum, /(, Erysimum, h, 



Calliopsis, h, Godetia, h, 



CaUirhoe, h, *Gourds, t. 



Campanula, h, *Hyaeinth Beau, (, 



Batchelors' Buttons, li, Suntiower, h, 

 CoUinsia, h. Lychnis, hh, 



DwartMomingGlorj',/1, Lupin, h, 

 Centranthus, h, Flora's'Paint Brush. /(, 



Clarkia, h, Gaillardia, hh, 



Browallia, hh. Salvia. /, 



Four O'Clocks, t, Mourning Bride, k, 



Nigella. h. Sensitive Plant, t. 



Poppy, /(. Sweet Rocket, h. 



Salpiglossis, h. Swan River Daisy, hh, 



Thunbergia, t. 



As to cultui'e we advise, in the first place, a 

 close observance of their natures and needs as 

 to hardiness. Do not, for instance, commit 

 the blunder of putting out the seed of the ten- 



flowers be so fine as from the earliest one. 



Likewise with half-hardy and tender annuals, 

 while nearly all gardeners sow some in heat to 

 get an early start, there is not near as much 

 gain in earliuess (while there is with some 

 kinds positive loss in quality) by this move over 

 that of sowing directly where they are to flower, 

 when warm weather opens, as some suppose. 



For directions on sowing see Work of Season. 



American Horticultural enterprise is being 

 recognized abroad, as may be seen by what 

 Messrs. Dickson & Co. , the great nurserymen of 

 Edinburgh, recently said in the Garden: "It 

 certainly speaks volumes for the energy, enter- 

 prise and intelligence of American fruit-grow- 

 ers that they have, Iu a comparatively short 

 time, raised hundreds of varieties, both of 

 apples and pears, which are better suited to 

 their climate than the best sorts brought from 

 countries where fruit culture has for centm-ies 

 been carried on. Fruit-growers of these islands, 

 should be stimulated by their success, to devote 

 fai- more attention to the raising of new and 

 better varieties of our oi\-n." 



Have You a Good Asparagus Bed t If not, 

 why not ! In ordinary soil, that is properly 

 worked up and manured, no crop is easier to 

 manage, none is more certain to do well. Once 

 a bed is started, it does not require renewing 

 every year like a lettuce or onion bed, or every 

 two or three years like a strawberry bed, but 

 goes on and on, yielding freely for an indefinite 

 length of time. Turn over the soil to a good 

 depth by trenching, make it rich as deep as it 

 is worked. Set the plants 20 inches apart and 

 4 inches beneath the surface. Should the soil 

 be inclined to be wet or heavy, it is better to 

 plant in raised beds. Give clean culture. 



Black Currants. Many who despise the com- 

 mon sort, w-ould think well of the variety 

 known as the Black Naples. While similar in 

 general appearance, it is larger and in every 

 way finer. Another improved .sort and the 

 largest of all is Lee's Prolific. The plants suc- 

 ceed well where any Currant succeeds. Neither 

 the Currant Worm, nor any other injurious in- 

 sect ever troubles them. The fruit is useful for 

 Jam, jelly or wine. 



The Michigan Celery-growers propose to or- 

 ganize a Celery Exchange. They shipped §25,004) 

 worth of the crispy product in 1H8,5 Well done, as 

 to the last; a genuine good move, as to the first. 



A Correspondent from vVtlanta, Ga., writes: **We 

 Ihuik the Wilson StrawbeiTy is the best for this 

 climate, after growing it alongside of both Crescent 

 and Sharple.ss." 



" Popular Gardening " insists tliat you can tell 

 whether a man is a good gardener or not by the 

 straightness of the rows he makes. 



Don't manure against the roots in planting. 



Onions nuist he put to bed early. 



Till Deep and laugh at drouths. 



