Round the Year in the Garden 



next year's blossoming; sow in pots or boxes of sifted 

 sandy soil, placed in a greenhouse or cold frame. Pinks, 

 too, in great variety may be similarly raised from seed. 

 Gladioli, some Lilies and Montbretias may still be put 

 in the outdoor borders ; so, too, may Hyacinthus can- 

 dicans, the Cape Hyacinth ; they will be most welcome 

 in late summer. Seeds of Zinnia, Stocks and Asters, 

 Kochia, Phlox Drummondi, and other half-hardy annuals 

 ought to be sown in a frame. 



The lawn should be mown and well rolled, grass 

 seed being sown in bare places, or fresh turf laid down. 

 Some rock garden plants are often in need of a top- 

 dressing of gritty soil at this season, owing to the 

 heavy rains of winter having washed the earth away 

 from them. 



In the Greenhouse 



Bulbs and Spring Plants after Flowering. A 

 common practice in dealing with bulbs after they have 

 flowered is to neglect them, to allow them to become 

 dry at the roots, thus hastening the decay of the 

 leaves, and incidentally depriving the bulbs of nourish- 

 ment just when they most need it. When the flowers 

 of Freesia and Lachenalia are over the soil should be 

 kept moist until the leaves begin to turn yellow ; more- 

 over, they should be watered occasionally with liquid 

 manure made from yard manure or one of the many 

 patent fertilisers to be obtained. Such treatment is of 

 the greatest assistance in building up good bulbs for 

 next year's flowering. Cyclamen will soon be going 

 out of bloom, so too will Chinese Primulas ; it is the 

 custom with many gardeners to discard the old roots 

 of both these plants after the first blossoming, but 

 this is a great mistake if an abundance of bloom 

 rather than size and quality is the chief desideratum. 

 Especially is this true of Cyclamen ; one may preserve 

 the corms (as the roots are technically termed) for 



200 



