ANNUALS AND BIENNIALS. 45 



to other garden plants. Then the kixuriance of growth and the 

 plentiful supply of flowers pav-us amply for the extra care. 



It is a great mistake to think they will grow in any kind of soil. 

 The majority enjoy a good, rich, loose, open soil, and most of them 

 are great lovers of sunlight ; therefore they should be given position 

 where they can get plenty of light. 



In nature we find that most of the annuals are sown in the fall 

 and in Europe many of them are sown in gardens at that time in 

 warm sheltered spots where they will bloom early in the summer. 

 Very few of our very hardiest annuals will survive our severe winters 

 in this part of New England in the open ground. I have tried 

 quite a number of them but the results were unsatisfactory. Many 

 of them will stand until Christmas or thereabouts, and after that 

 they disappear. The alternate freezing and thawing seem to do 

 the injury. 



For spring bedding we raise quite a number of kinds and winter 

 them in cold frames. The seeds are sown in August and the young- 

 plants are set out in the beds whenever the frost is out of the ground 

 in spring. 



There are several ways of raising or growing these plants but the 

 time when the display of blossoms is wanted must to some extent 

 determine the time to sow the seeds. If they are recpiired for early 

 decoration in the garden they may be sown in the greenhouse as 

 early as March or April. The seeds are sown in pots or boxes which 

 are filled with moderately light, fine soil. The covering of the seed 

 is of importance as some kinds when covered too much never ger- 

 minate. 



Very small seeds such as Begonias, Torenias, and such like need 

 hardly any covering. Large seeds should be covered more heavily, 

 a good rule being to cover seed to the depth of their diameter. 



When the seeds have germinated and the seedlings are large 

 enough to handle they should be pricked oif into boxes of moderately 

 fine soil, after this they are shaded for a few days during the hottest 

 part of the day. In a short time they are large enough to be boxed 

 off or else potted off singly into small pots. Very soon they are 

 large enough to be put into cold frames where they are hardened off 

 to plant and put out of doors. 



Where there are manv kinds of annuals raised in this wav in 



