SUBURBAN RESIDENCES. 113 



Another reason agaiiist intermixing permanent bulbs with perennials is, that 

 the moisture required during summer to keep the fibrous-rooted plants in 

 vigorous growth, has a tendency to rot the bulbs, they being at that time in a 

 dormant state, and, in their native habitats, comparatively dry ; almost all 

 bulbs being natives of countries which have alternate seasons of drought and 

 moisture, and flowering only in the latter. The best florists' bulbs to intermix 

 with perennials are the different varieties of the common hyacinth, the crocus, 

 the tulip, and the narcissus. 



1 72. Planting with showy green-house plants, which are common and cheap. 

 — According to this mode of planting, pelargoniums, fuchsias, verbenas, calceo- 

 larias, &c., are purchased in May or June, and planted in the ground, where 

 they are left to grow till killed by frost in October or November. If bought 

 in large quantities when young, these plants may be had at Zs. or 4*. per 

 dozen. 



173. Planting with hicnnials and annuals, to he followed by green-house 

 plants. — The flowers of these gardens may consist solely of biennials, which 

 require to be sown every two years ; or of annuals, which must be sown every 

 year; or there may be a mixture of these two kinds. The advantage of 

 biennials is, that they are generally plants of great bulk (such as the holly- 

 hock, which is one of the most splendid of biennial plants), and, consequently, 

 few are required for a considerable space ; and the disadvantages are, that the 

 first year of their growth no blossoms are produced ; unless, indeed, they are 

 transplanted fiom a reserve ground, in which case they never flower so 

 strongly as when allowed to remain where they are sown, unless a pit about a 

 foot or 18 in. square is prepared for them and filled with rich soil. Their 

 large size renders them, in general, unfit for small front gardens, unless we 

 except an occasional hollyhock, Canterbury bell, French honeysuckle, marvel 

 of Peru, &c. ; or unless the occupier should prefer temporary bulk and show, 

 to permanent and more minute beauty and variety. The advantage of 

 annuals is, that they occasion little trouble in cultivating the ground; because, 

 as the greater part cease flowering at the commencement of frost, they may 

 be then removed ; and the ground, being dug, will require nothing further to 

 be done to it till February, when a fresh supply of annuals may be sown ; or 

 till March, when, if annual plants are purchased from a commercial gardener, 

 or brought from a reserve garden, they may be planted. The disadvantages 

 of using annuals are, that the ground is naked during winter, and that there 

 are among them no early spring flowers ; with the exception of the Califor- 

 nian kinds, such as Calli6psis, CoUinsJa, Gilia, Clarkk, Eschscholtziff, Nem6- 

 phila, and others, which, if sown in September, will stand our ordinary winters, 

 and flower in May. Other disadvantages of annuals for a small garden are, 

 that many of the common kinds are rampant, straggling, weedy-looking 

 plants, especially when sown in patches, and not thinned out ; and that there 

 are but few of them, such as the mignonette, which continue in flower all the 

 summer. Some, indeed, as the China aster, require the whole summer for 

 their growth, and only come into flower in the autumn. Annuals, therefore, 

 are not well adapted for making a perpetual display in a very limited spot of 

 ground; though many of them, especially the dwarf and trailing kinds, such 

 as Eschscholtzza, Clarkia, Gilia, Nemophila, /^nagallis, &c., make a very 

 splendid show during the time that they are in flower. 



174. The hack garden may be laid out in beds of flowers or grass, as shown 



I 



