232 General Notices. 



said of the orange erysimum ; its color renders it invaluable when grown in 

 clumps for general effect, but how miserable it looks when found in a small 

 mixed flower-bed ! In growing annuals, therefore, their size and habits 

 should be diligently studied, as well as the extent of the garden which they 

 are intended to adorn. If this rule is neglected, amateurs will be disap- 

 pointed when they purchase seeds which may have been justly commended. 

 When grown and in flower, it may be true they are individually beautiful, 

 but they may not be in keeping with objects around them. Great care 

 should, therefore, be used in selection, if the time and money of the ama- 

 teur are not to be wasted. 



For small gardens, shrubby and compact greenhouse plants which do well 

 in the open ground in our summers, are much to be preferred to many annu- 

 als. Pelargoniums, fuchsias, calceolarias, verbenas, petunias, &c., may 

 be preserved with ease through the winter, and by careful management may 

 be turned out in May and June in a blooming condition. Every observer of 

 gardens must see the vast superiority in point of beauty and finish which 

 these exotics possess over most annuals. If, then, you are limited for room, 

 select only those annual flowers which grow compactly, and which continue 

 long in bloom. The mesembryanthemums are admirable in these respects, 

 but they require more sun than we generally get in England. However, 

 I cannot recommend the sorts to be preferred, since tastes so much differ. 

 Some seedsmen send out catalogues, which give the heights, times of flow- 

 ering, colors, &c., of all the seeds they sell ; and the amateur will do well 

 to use one. That published by Carter, of Holborn, is admirably arranged, 

 and I only discharge a debt of gratitude when I confess how serviceable it 

 has often been to myself. 



Annuals should have plenty of room for the development of their peculi- 

 arities. They are generally planted too closely, and thus their beauty is 

 not seen. As to the method of raising them, I would decidedly recommend 

 a seed-bed for most varieties, in preference to sowing them where they are 

 to remain. Many sorts are too tender for early sowing. Then insects tor- 

 ment you ; for if your stock is dispersed through the borders, you cannot 

 keep your eye on the scattered portions as you can when it is together in a 

 bed. Besides, transplanting is, in most cases, an advantage, and secures 

 greater vigor to the plant, provided it is properly done. Raise your seeds, 

 then, on a gentle hot-bed, and when they are developed in strong plants, 

 remove them to their destined quarters. When you are anxious to have 

 them flower early, or where the seedlings are impatient of removal, it is a 

 good plan to pot them when only half an inch high into small pots, two or 

 three in a pot. You can then get them forward in a frame, and turn them 

 out when frosts are over, without the plants receiving the slightest check. 



There is an annual, the beauty of which cannot be too highly spoken of, 

 I mean the phlox drummondi. Its habit of growth makes it very desirable 

 for small gardens, as it is compact, and may be pegged down with advan- 

 tage. Its varied shades of crimson are truly gorgeous when seen in masses. 

 It continues in flower very late, and a slight frost will not much injure it. 

 Sow the seed now. Six-penny-worth will stock alarge garden. By adopting 



