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Gardening for Amateurs 



The Viola, or Tufted Pansy 



THE popular bedding Violas, or Tufted 

 Pansies. are the result of cross-breed- 

 ing between Viola cornuta. a pale 

 blue, small-flowered Pansy that grows wild 

 in Switzerland and the Pyrenees, and 

 the common garden Pansy. For general 

 use they are by far the most valuable 

 of all the Pansies, being suitable for 

 massing in beds, as edgings to borders, 

 for carpeting the surface of the ground 

 beneath taller growing plants, and even 

 for table decoration in small vases. The 

 colours are rich and very varied, while 



seedlings, particularly if the seeds are from 

 selected home-grown blooms, or have been 

 obtained from a reliable grower. It is 

 from seeds that the great majority of new 

 varieties are raised, and for this reason it 

 behoves one to sow the best seeds only ; 

 besides, good varieties are no more difficult 

 to grow than those of a poor strain. After 

 years of careful selection the seed grower is 

 able to offer packets of seeds of separate 

 colours, a very large percentage of which 

 come true. A collection of ten distinct sorts 

 may be made up as follows : white, purple, 



Showing rooted slip to be Rooted slip planted. Suitable growth from The prepared 

 detached from old plant. Line shows soil level, which to make cutting. Pansy cutting. 



for freedom of bloom and long season of 

 flowering the Tufted Pansies are surpassed 

 by no plants in our gardens. They are 

 equally at home in a small or in a large 

 garden, and thrive in most soils and posi- 

 tions. A light dry soil and hot, sunny posi- 

 tion is the least favourable to success with 

 Violas, yet with liberal supplies of water 

 and mulching with manure they can be 

 grown there satisfactorily. 



Increasing the Viola. There are three 

 ways of increasing one's stock of plants 

 by seeds, cuttings, or division of the clumps. 

 All are quite easy to accomplish. Consider- 

 able interest is attached to the raising of 



yellow, black, blue, light blue, Admiration 

 (violet), Mauve Queen, Golden Sovereign, 

 Perfection, bluish mauve. 



From Seeds. The seeds may be sown 

 any time from February to August, April 

 and May being the best months. If raised 

 in a heated greenhouse during February the 

 young plants will commence to flower in 

 July and make a good display in autumn. 

 For ordinary purposes the most satisfactory 

 practice is to sow the seeds thinly in shallow 

 boxes in a cold frame or cool greenhouse. 

 From seeds sown in this way in April the 

 young plants will be large enough to plant 

 outside on a sheltered border by July ; a 



