240 MY GARDEN. 



made by the unfortunate inmates or by the gardener I have never 

 been informed ; but certainly these devices come under the category 

 of horticultural monomanias. 



ANNUALS. 



" The seed, selected wisely, plump and smooth 

 And glossy, he commits to pots of size 

 Diminutive, well fill'd with well-prepared 

 And fruitful soil, that has been treasured long 

 And drank no moisture from the dripping clouds."- COWPER. 



There are many flowers the seed of which is sown in spring ; when 

 the plant grows, the flower dies down and has to be renewed the next 

 year ; many of these may be used to decorate a garden. Care must 

 be taken in the growing of annuals, for if the seed is sown too thickly 

 the plants are spoiled, and take even the appearance, especially in a 

 state of decay, of ugly weeds. To be beautiful each plant should stand 

 alone: thus one nemophila makes a charming plant, one mignonette 

 will measure two feet across, a single sweet-pea will form an exquisite 

 bush ; therefore every kind of annual, even to the smallest Virginian 

 Stock, should stand singly, and have abundance of space. 



FIG. 476. Nemophila. FIG. 477. Early Sweet-pea. 



The Virginian Stock (Malcolmia maritima), and a variety of a rose 

 colour, may be used to give colour to the garden in early spring. 

 At the same season of the year the Nemophilas (fig. 476) of which 

 there are several varieties are very beautiful in the borders; for this 

 purpose, the seed should be sown in autumn, in fact, it is frequently 

 self-sown. 



