Round the Year in the Garden 



nserted in autumn are well rooted and their tops may 

 now be taken off as fresh cuttings. 



Sowing Larkspur and Lupin. Among hardy plants 

 of which seeds may be sown now to produce flowering 

 plants this year Delphinium (perennial Larkspur) and 

 Lupin hold high place. Lupins grow most rapidly and 

 will be in bloom in August, if not before; Delphiniums 

 are not so accommodating, but small flower-spikes may 

 be expected in late summer and quite good ones next 

 year. Seeds of first-class sorts in mixture may be 

 obtained, and some of the seedlings will prove as fine 

 as named varieties. The charming pale mauve Scabious 

 (Scabiosa caucasica) will bloom in late summer from 

 seeds sown now in warmth, so, too, will that lovely 

 golden -yellow flower Coreopsis grandiflora (which is 

 unsurpassed both for border display and for cutting) 

 if grown quickly and given liberal treatment. I have 

 never been able to induce Border Carnations to flower 

 the first year from seed, but by sowing now splendid 

 plants are obtained by autumn, and the following 

 summer they yield sheaves of blossom in all sorts of 

 bewitching colours. Really good seed must be secured, 

 then the percentage of single flowers will be small and 

 the double blossoms of excellent quality. 



I believe most amateurs who grow Carnations from 

 seed fail to get good results because they sow too late ; 

 February and March are the best months. The details 

 of cultivation are much the same in the early stages for 

 all these plants. A temperature of 60 is best, though 

 rather less warmth will suffice. Shallow pans or boxes 

 are more suitable than pots, since they offer a greater 

 surface and less depth ; they should be drained with 

 crocks for about one-quarter of their depth, filled with 

 sifted sandy soil, and moistened by immersion to the rim 

 in a bowl of water some hours before the seed is sown. 

 It is unwise to sow the seeds thickly ; otherwise the seed- 

 lings become drawn and weakly and spoil each other. A 



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