JUNE 121 



week in June. Among red Geraniums, nothing is so fine 

 and satisfactory as Henry Jacoby ; it is a very steady 

 bloomer, and has a fine rich colour. When you are 

 planting out your Geraniums and cuttings, do not forget 

 that some must be kept back in their pots and given 

 constant care and attention all through the summer for 

 late autumn and winter flowering in the greenhouse. We 

 keep our plants for winter in a cold frame through the 

 summer, and carefully pick off the flower-buds. Raspail 

 is an excellent double variety for winter picking. One 

 the nurserymen call ' Raspail Improved ' is perhaps what 

 it professes to be, though I do not see very much 

 difference. It is because I live in London in the winter 

 that I so much recommend double Geraniums, as the 

 flowers of the single kind require to be gummed before 

 they are packed. If not, they arrive only a little heap of 

 scarlet petals in the paper, beautiful and lovely, but quite 

 useless for putting into water. 



My old books taught me to take an interest in Cactuses, 

 which in the early part of the century were much grown. 

 They are very easy of cultivation, and well worth growing 

 for those who spend June and July in their gardens. 

 A succession must be aimed at, as the drawback is that 

 the blooms only last a short time. The old Cereus 

 speciosissimus surpasses in beauty and splendour any 

 garden plant I know, with its brilliant scarlet petals shot 

 with the richest purple and its handsome white tassel 

 of stamens. Another beautiful flower is the large white 

 night-flowering Cereus ; and if brought, when just about to 

 bloom, into the hall or sitting-room, its delicious perfume 

 pervades the whole house for twenty-four hours, if not for 

 longer. Although Cactuses are very easy to cultivate, yet 

 what they require they must have, or they do not flower 

 at all, and then gardeners throw them away. Wholesome 

 neglect is better than too much misdirected care ; they 



