44 THE GARDENER'S COMPANION 



soot and lime. If you sow seed in early spring 

 under glass, you will have nice young plants com- 

 ing into flower in August, which prove very useful 

 in filling in gaps in the borders. D. grandiflorum 

 is a quite distinct plant, and a very useful one ; this 

 does not flower in spikes, but is a branching plant 

 twelve to eighteen inches high, dark blue or white. 

 Both are very pretty, and come into bloom a little 

 later than the tall ones, and last a long time ; they 

 are best treated as annuals, and raised under glass 

 in February. 



D. cardinale is a very beautiful variety with 

 scarlet flowers on branching stems usually about 

 three feet high, but I have had them as much as 

 five feet. It is not a very easily grown plant, as 

 the slugs are even more fond of it than they are of 

 the blue ! All Delphiniums should be moved in 

 early spring, when the shoots are just above ground, 

 or else immediately after flowering, but not in the 

 autumn. Delphiniums prefer a deep soil, but not 

 clay. 



Geum. Geum coccineum is a very useful plant 

 in the border, as it flowers for the whole summer, 

 never making a great blaze of colour, but always 

 providing a nice glint of scarlet. They grow easily 



