Flower Garden 



( 348 ) 



Forcing 



are well-known examples but they are really 

 reversions to an ancestral form. There was a time 

 when all flowers were green. The development of 

 c.iilour in the flower is a big and interesting subject. 

 From Nature's standpoint it is simply a means 

 to an end, and the end is fertilisation. Flowers 

 fertilised by insects have conspicuous colouring. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



The position chosen for the flower garden should 

 be within easy access of the dwelling house, should 

 have either a south, south-west, or west aspect, 

 and should be sheltered as much as possible from 

 cold north or easterly winds. Good drainage is 

 Essential to the successful cultivation of flowers, 

 therefore when this is not accomplished naturally 

 earthenware drains should be laid some 3' to 4' 

 below the surface, and allowed to fall towards a 

 ditch or trap at the lowest part of the garden. 

 The garden should, as a general rule, be fairly 

 level, with a slight slope, if possible, to the sun. 

 Raised banks, where such do not exist naturally, 

 should be added in suitable positions. A goodly 

 proportion of lawn should be allotted to every 

 flower garden,' as nothing enhances the floral 

 display so much. Wherever possible, beds should 

 be constructed either around the edges of lawns 

 or cut out on their surface, and if they are some- 

 what raised above the surrounding level the 

 appearance of their occupants will be improved. 

 An herbaceous border, wherein may be grown a 

 great variety of beautiful hardy perennial plants, 

 supplemented in their season by hardy and half- 

 hardy annuals aud biennials, should be formed. 



Bedding falls naturally into three groups, viz. 

 spring bedding, when the display is obtained 

 principally from bulbous plants, such as Hyacinths, 

 Tulips, and Narcissi, carpeted with low-growing 

 Arabises, Alyssums, Thymes, and Sedums, together 

 with Polyanthuses, Primroses, Double Daisies, 

 Forget-me-nots, and Wallflowers ; summer bedding, 

 when almost all the ordinary occupants of our 

 greenhouses and stoves may be utilised, together 

 with "Geraniums," Fuchsias, Calceolarias, To- 

 baccos, Lobelias, Carnations, Petunias, Stocks, 

 Asters, and the thousand and one plants then 

 readily obtainable ; and finally, the all too little 

 practised winter bedding, when dwarf-growing 

 evergreen shrubs and Conifers, Heaths, Thymes, 

 Sedums, Veronicas, etc., may be freely employed 

 to give the beds a bright appearance during 

 the dullest, dreariest months of the year. 



Vases placed on either side of a flight of steps, 

 at ends of walks, or around the dwelling house, 

 will admit of the display of flowers and trailing 

 plants. It should always be remembered, as a 

 golden rule of gardening, that the early removal of 

 decaying flowers, with the consequent prevention 

 of seed formation, tends to prolong the blooming. 



FLOWER POTS. 



Flower pots are generally sold by what is known 

 as the " cast," which was the old name given to the 

 number of pots evolved from a given quantity of 

 clay, whether that number were GO to 100, or 

 resolved into a single giant pot termed a No. 1. 



Floivervng Ash (gee Fraxinus Ornv*). 

 Flower of the H'is f W'.nd (see Ksplnjrantli.es). 

 Flower of Tigris (see Tigridia Pammia). 

 1? loitering liox (see Vaccinium Vitis Idcra). 

 Flojvering Currant (see Ribes san/jmnenm). 

 flowering 2lush (see Butomm wmbellatus). 



A smaller size than the last, called " Thimbles," 

 and an intermediate size between 4's ami :'-'>, 

 called 40's, are also extensively used, the latter 

 being a useful size for plants employed to fill vases 

 in dwelling rooms. 



Pots deeper in proportion to their width are 

 made for bulbous plants, such as Liliums, which 

 are better suited by this style of pot. Others are 

 perforated at the sides for growing Orchids and 

 epiphytal plants generally, while double pots are 

 occasionally met with whose mission is to protect 

 tender roots from undue scorching by summer's sun, 

 or freezing by winter's cold. 



FLUES. 



Prior to the introduction of hot water for heating 

 purposes, flues of brick were generally employed for 

 furnishing the necessary warmth to stoves and green- 

 houses. A few are still to be met with, even in 

 good gardens, yet they have so generally fallen 

 into disuse as to call for no special mention at the 

 present day. 



Where the heat from a kitchen stove is utilised 

 for warming a small glasshouse, it may be con- 

 veniently conducted through a pipe of earthenware 

 such as is used for drainage purposes, taking care 

 that the joints are well made. 



Flues in an ordinary greenhouse stove or boiler 

 should be regularly cleansed of soot or dust with a 

 wire flue brush and an iron hoe attached to a 

 flexible handle, using pieces of petroleum-soaked 

 paper to burn in the flues for the purpose of testing 

 their cleanliness. 



FONTANESIA. 



Hardy, bushy shrubs (ord. Oleacese) with small, 

 sub-evergreen, Privet-like leaves. Propagation, by 

 cuttings of half-ripe shoots inserted in sandy soil 

 in a close case during July and August. Soil, light 

 sandy loam. 



Principal Species : 

 Fortuuei, 6' to 8', Jy., philliraeoides, 6' to8',,Ty., 



yel., wh. yel., wh. 



longifolia. 



FORCING. 



A term applied when artificial means are resorted 

 to for the production of flowers, fruits, or vegetables 



Flilggea (see Opliiopoyon). 



Fly (see Aphides). 



Fly Orchis (see Ophrys~). 



Flymort (see Mywnthus). 



Foam Flower (see Tiarella cordifolia). 



Fcetataxus (see Torreya). 



