320 BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS 



change was admittedly one for the better, and while retaining an 

 affection for the bright old favourites of the mid-Victorian era, 

 we readily agree that modern flower gardening is of a higher 

 artistic standard than the old. We think, however, that the Zonal 

 Geranium has not yet done all the good work of which it is 

 capable, any more than "Home, Sweet Home." There are still 

 great possibilities left in it. The old varieties which we have 

 named are still with us, and they are supported by many modern 

 sorts. It has to be remembered that large numbers of people who 

 gave up growing Zonals for summer flowering in the garden 

 retained them for blooming under glass in winter; indeed, the 

 plant progressed almost as rapidly in one direction as it receded 

 in the other. Raisers of Zonals did not find their "occupation 

 gone"; they only found that they must work in a different 

 direction. Amateurs gave up asking for Zonals with handsome 

 foliage, and for bedders, but they clamoured even more eagerly 

 than before for Zonals with large, round flowers, bright colours, and 

 good habit that would bloom throughout the winter. 



The thing that might have been expected has happened. With 

 the plants closer under their eyes in the greenhouse than they 

 were in the garden, amateurs have come to pay more attention to 

 form of flower than they used to do. The modern Zonal must 

 have a perfectly circular bloom, with the florets overlapping evenly. 

 A flower of uneven outline, and which shows gaps between the 

 petals, is not cared for. If a variety has these imperfections, 

 amateurs will not grow it, however dwarf and free flowering it 

 may be. 



Those readers who have come into flower gardening in recent 

 years, and under the influence of the modern school, may read 

 with some surprise remarks which tend to suggest that, in spite of 

 the decline of the Zonal in large flower gardens, the number of 

 varieties has increased. It most certainly has done so. There is 

 a far larger selection of sorts than there was twenty years ago. 



