GREENHOUSE AND HOTHOUSE FLOWERS 161 



districts thrive out of doors; but they are not safe in the open 

 air in exposed places. Even if they were, it is quite certain that 

 they would be largely grown under glass. Their comparative 

 hardiness will attract the attention of the owner of an unheated 

 house, who will find them very useful. He can buy them fully 

 set with flower buds if he likes, for Belgian florists export them 

 to this country in immense quantities during the spring, and the 

 prices are low. They are generally standards that is, plants with 

 a head of foliage and flowers surmounting a clear stem, so that 

 they are suitable for mixing with bulbs in a greenhouse. They 

 enjoy a peaty soil. If kept through the summer they can be 

 stood on a bed of ashes in a suitable corner of the garden. 



Balsams are old-fashioned flowers, which have not developed 

 very much in modern times, the attention of florists having been 

 concentrated on other things, notably Begonias and Carnations. 

 But they are quite good enough, even as the old florists left them 

 to us, to be grown, and it is no small thing in their favour, from 

 the point of view of the amateur who has only an unheated 

 house, that they are annuals, can be flowered from seed in a few 

 weeks, and after blooming need not be preserved. The person 

 who wants Balsams should look up a seed catalogue in spring, 

 and he will probably find two or three strains of double Balsams 

 offered, including Camellia-flowered, and this one will suit his 

 purpose admirably. A packet is not likely to cost more than 

 sixpence, and a number of plants can be raised from it by sowing 

 an inch apart in fine, moist soil in a pot, pan, or box. Balsams 

 are among the easiest of plants to grow, and if watered when 

 required, and given plenty of air, they will grow up strong and 

 sturdy. They will develop a thick, succulent stem, on which 

 double flowers as large as crown pieces, and very brightly 

 coloured, will stud themselves closely. Short side shoots will 

 form on strong, healthy plants ; and these, too, will be clothed 

 in flowers. 



