WHO'S WHO AMONG THE ANNUALS 199 



best, but once in a while my heart gets the better of my reason and 

 I feed him up a bit, but alas, right away he loses his head and 

 sprawls all over the place, his upstanding carriage gone and his 

 great blossoms fit to burst. I cannot imagine a garden without 

 Marigolds, from the great lemon and orange Africans to the deb- 

 onair little French fellows in brown and gold which are so neat and 

 tidy and shining along the edges of the borders. They may be 

 started under glass or sown out of doors where they are to grow. 

 Matthiola, h. h. a., eighteen to twenty-four inches. Stock, Gilly- 

 flower. 



Lovely in form and foliage, colour and fragrance are the Ten 

 Weeks Stocks. Next to Snapdragons I think they are the best of 

 annuals for planting among perennials. There are various forms 

 offered, all of which are good; and the colours, buff, white, blush, 

 pink, rose, crimson, mauve, and purple are all pretty, but my own 

 choice is for double Stocks in the pale shades, white, buff, and tender 

 pink. Seeds may be planted out of doors when all danger of frost 

 is past, but it is more satisfactory to start them under glass and set 

 the young plants out in May. 



Matthiola bicornis is the Night-scented Stock, a shy, inconspicu- 

 ous little plant about a foot high, which withholds its fine perfume 

 from the day but pours it forth to the night. It is pleasant to have 

 a few patches of this stock about the garden for the sake of its 

 sweetness. 

 Nemesia, twelve to eighteen inches. 



These are charming flowers showing jewel-like colours and having 

 a long period of bloom. N. strumosa, Sutton's variety, is the finest 

 strain. Blue Gem is a dwarfer sort with lovely sky-blue flowers. 

 In our climate Nemesias are started in flats or frames in March to 

 give them a good start ahead of dry weather. When set out in the 

 garden they will need five or six inches between them, and if the 

 central shoot is nipped off, a bushy, branching growth will follow. 

 A rich loam with the addition of a little wood ashes is the best soil 

 for them. 

 Nemophila insignis, h. a., three to four inches. Love Grove. 



A truly lovely little flower, sky-blue with a shining white eye. It 

 will do well anywhere in good soil, but in partial shade and soil, a 



