Round the Year in the Garden 



treatment after the flowers have faded. Dead blooms 

 ought to be removed to prevent the formation of seeds, 

 and any pruning that is necessary to preserve the sym- 

 metry of the bush should be done now. The plants must 

 be encouraged to grow freely, and this is best accomplished 

 by placing them in a warm, moist greenhouse for 

 a month or so. About the middle of June they may 

 be placed out of doors ; there they remain until Septem- 

 ber, when they are brought into the greenhouse. If 

 repotting is necessary, it should be done as soon as 

 the flowers have faded; the best soil to use is peat, 

 in which sand is mixed freely. Potting must be very 

 firm, and a wooden rammer is required for the purpose. 

 Azaleas need very careful watering; if allowed to get 

 dry, or if water is given so frequently as to render the 

 soil sodden, they soon become unhealthy. 



The Herbaceous Calceolaria. There are few more 

 handsome flowers for the greenhouse in spring and early 

 summer than the herbaceous Calceolaria ; its require- 

 ments are simple, and there is no great difficulty in 

 growing it, though some care and attention are needed. 

 Now is the time to sow seeds ; these are very small 

 and must be sown thinly in pots or boxes of sifted soil. 

 No covering is needed except that given by a slight 

 scattering of sand. The seeds germinate best in a cool, 

 shaded frame. When the seedlings are ready to trans- 

 plant they should be put singly in small pots, and 

 when well rooted should be given another shift into 

 4-inch wide pots. They will remain in those throughout 

 the winter, and in early spring are finally placed in pots 

 7 or 8 inches in diameter. The Calceolaria needs perfectly 

 cool treatment and shade from sunshine, together with 

 careful watering. A temperature of 45 in winter is 

 quite high enough. 



Many of the little plants raised from seed or cuttings 

 in spring, such as Primula, Perpetual Carnation, and 

 others, must be transplanted or repotted as becomes 



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