GROUPS OF GARDEN FLOWERS 23 



sunny, open position, removing them to a cold pit or frame in November, 

 and exposing them fully in fine weather. Protect from severe frost 

 with mats, and keep the soil in the pots on the dry side during winter. 

 Assist with weak liquid manure-water in spring and plant them out in a 

 bed or border in deeply-dug, well-enriched soil at the beginning of April. 

 Mulch and keep the roots moist and they will grow into dense plants, 

 and present a gorgeous appearance throughout June, July, and August. 

 A portion of the plants may be potted into 4 J or 6-inch pots and allowed 

 to bloom there. If kept in a quite cool temperature they will flower 

 profusely and make a brave show in the greenhouse or conservatory in 

 May and June. Seed may also be sown in gentle heat in March or 

 April, and the plants treated as advised for the Ten-Week Stock. The 

 colours of the flowers are crimson, scarlet, white, and purple. 



Giant orBrompton Stocks have the finest spikes of bloom, often from 

 fifteen to eighteen inches in length, and very massive ; the plants being 

 quite hardy may be grown by those who do not possess a frame. Sow the 

 seed in fine soil in a cool sheltered place out of doors early in June, 

 prick out the young plants when large enough and plant them in their 

 final quarters in August. They must have a sheltered nook or corner, 

 and be planted in rich loamy soil. Give them plenty of room, and if 

 the winter is not exceptionally severe they will make a brave show 

 in May. 



Solomon's Seal. This graceful plant is always welcome. It de- 

 lights in partly shaded garden borders, in nooks amongst shrubs, and 

 the edges of woodland. It may be grouped with the poet's Daffodil 

 and such wood-loving plants as Lily of the Valley. Solomon's Seal has a 

 way of growth and a kind of beauty that are entirely its own. The 

 stem rises nearly upright and then bends over in a flattened arch that 

 admirably displays the clusters of greenish-white bell-flowers that spring 

 from the axils of the leaves. It is quite one of the best plants to put 

 in shady corners. 



Sunflowers. The Sunflower is as familiar in the garden as the 

 crimson Pseony or clove Carnation. A child can grow a Sunflower, 

 because it only wants soil of some kind and sunshine. There are two 

 distinct groups, annual and perennial. The annual Sunflower is Helian- 

 thus annuus, of which there are many forms, some with huge double 

 flowers, others of the same dimensions but single, and a few quite 

 dwarf in comparison, the bright apple-green leaved, yellow-flowered H. 

 cucumerifolius as an example. But one of the prettiest of all annual 

 Sunflowers is called Primrose or Primrose Dame ; the flower is not over 

 large or coarse, and the plant is not more than three, or in strong soils 

 three and a half feet high, its colour is clear primrose yellow, set off 

 with an almost black centre. A group of this is charming, there is such 

 a soft, refined contrast between the centre and outer florets. 



For the quite small garden and larger places to form free graceful 

 groups of colour in the autumn the perennial Sunflowers are of most 

 value, and several varieties have been raised of recent years. This 

 group is conspicuous for its graceful growth, tall willowy stems of yellow 

 flowers ; and they are so robust that the roots run here and there and 



