Round the Year in the Garden 



Among the Hardy Flowers 



Increasing Pinks. The orthodox method of increas- 

 ing Pinks is by means of pipings. The difference between 

 a piping and a cutting is that while the stem of the 

 latter is cut through beneath a joint, a piping is merely 

 pulled off. The shoot is held firmly with the left hand 

 while its top is given a sharp pull. Pipings, which ought 

 to be 2 or 3 inches long, form roots readily if inserted in 

 pots or boxes of sandy soil in a frame which is kept 

 closed for a few weeks. A packet of seed sown now 

 in a frame, or even out of doors, produces plants that 

 will yield a delightful display next summer. Still 

 another method of increasing Pinks, and perhaps the 

 simplest of all, is to take up the clumps in September, 

 divide them and replant the pieces, most of which will 

 be found to possess roots. 



Hardy Azaleas. There is no colouring so intense in 

 early June as that of the hardy Azaleas, and it is difficult 

 to imagine why amateurs do not plant them more fre- 

 quently. The variety of shades represented by their 

 blossoms is remarkable, and ranges from white through 

 pink to crimson, and from pale yellow to deep orange. If 

 grouped in an open spot among trees they are seen to the 

 best advantage, for the surrounding greenery forms a 

 perfect setting to their brilliant colours. The hardy 

 Azaleas are of simple cultivation and thrive in ordinary 

 soil, though the addition of a little peat to the ground at 

 planting time is advisable. Like Rhododendrons, they 

 appreciate a mulch of rotted manure or leaves in spring 

 or early summer. Their only real objection is to soil 

 containing lime. These shrubs have a second period of 

 beauty in autumn, when the leaves become richly tinted 

 and glow brightly in the mist of an October afternoon. 

 Little pruning is required. If a bush is of awkward shape 

 the offending branches may be shortened immediately the 

 flowers are over ; otherwise no attention in this direction is 

 needed beyond cutting out dead, weak, or obviously useless 



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