60 Hardy Plants for Cottage Gardens 



require unusual conditions such as Gentiana crinala, the beau- 

 tiful blue fringed gentian, that is not native to my vicinity. 

 It is a biennial, and requires a moist sandy place for its seeds 

 to germinate. I have experimented with it by a partly shaded 

 brook, where it is damp, but not wet. I cleared places and 

 covered them with sand upon which I have strewn the seed. 

 So far I have failed to get any result, but I shall try it a few 

 years longer before giving it up. 



To return to seeds; they are as individual as the plants 

 themselves. Some like the Eremurus, iris, rose, Dictamnus, 

 Bocconia, Romneya, Incarvillea, Clematis Jackmanni, the 

 flava lily, Hyacinthus candicans and perennial phlox take 

 from six months to a year to germinate. A few have a hard 

 husk which has to be filed to admit moisture, as the Japanese 

 morning-glory; the Abronia is enclosed in a papery shell im- 

 pervious to moisture which must be removed if it is to germi- 

 nate promptly. Some must be planted with the eye down; 

 some, like the Portulaca, cannot be sown until June; certain 

 annuals are better to be sown in the autumn, and again in the 

 spring to insure a long succession of bloom. Some are better 

 to be kept from one to three years before planted. I subjoin 

 a list of perennials and annuals that you may trust to sow 

 their own seeds, and plants derived from self-sown seeds are 

 much hardier than those raised in the usual way. 



SELF-SOWING PERENNIALS 



Agrostemma coronaria Chrysanthemum maximum 



Anchusa Clematis 



Asperula hexaphylla Columbine 



Candytuft, Per. Daisy, Ox-eye 



Canterbury bells Daisy, Paris 



Centaurea montana Daisy, Yellow (Rudbeckia) 



Cardinal flower Feverfew 



