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Gardening for Amateurs 



effectively employed with the tall Darwin 

 and late-flowering Cottage Tulips. A selec- 

 tion of distinct colours should include 

 Vulcan, velvety -crimson brown, dwarf habit ; 

 Blood Red ; Cloth of Gold ; Eastern Queen, 

 salmon red ; Faerie Queen, pale citron ; 

 Ellen Willmott, ruby ; Phoenix, chestnut- 

 brown ; Purple Queen, ruby- violet ; Fire 

 King, orange red, very rich ; Ivory White, 

 the nearest approach to a white Wallflower. 



Dianthus barbatus (Sweet William). 

 This, which is so much loved and grown in 

 gardens, is the progeny of a wild European 

 plant, Dianthus barbatus. It has been 

 much improved during recent years, not only 

 in the size of the flowers, but by the intro- 

 duction of several new shades of colour. 

 A beautiful salmon-pink and scarlet are 

 noteworthy. A long season of growth is 

 necessary to secure large plants, so the 

 seeds are sown during April. A packet of 

 mixed seeds of Sweet William will yield a 

 rich and varied selection of colours from 

 pure white to deepest crimson, including 

 pink, carmine, cerise, salmon, scarlet, rose, 

 etc. Florists have succeeded in fixing a 

 number of the most distinct colours ; seeds of 

 these are sold in separate packets and come 

 true. A few of the best are Diadem or 

 Pheasant's Eye, crimson, with a distinct 

 white eye ; Giant White ; Pink Beauty ; 

 Scarlet Beauty ; Nigricans, a variety with 

 dark red or purple foliage and crimson 

 flowers ; Auricula-eyed, flowers with a clear 

 white eye surrounded by some other rich 

 colour; and flore pleno, a strain of double 

 Sweet Williams in mixed colours. The 

 flowering season is June and July. 



Dianthus Ghinensis (Chinese or Indian 

 Pink). The varieties of this are very showy 

 garden plants of dwarf habit, usually less 

 than 1 foot in height. Having richly coloured 

 flowers in numerous shades, and lasting in 

 flower throughout the summer, the Chinese 

 Pinks are worthy of far more attention than 

 we give them. Sow the seeds thinly in 

 shallow boxes filled with light sandy soil 

 during July or August in a cold frame where 

 they may be kept until it is time to plant 

 out the seedlings in April. The plants 

 should have a sunny position and light, rich 

 soil. They are very showy in flower beds 

 and in groups along the front of a sunny 



border ; the blooms are also useful for 

 cutting. There are two distinct types of 

 the Chinese Pink, D. Chinensis Heddewigii 

 and D. Chinensis laciniatus. The numerous 

 varieties in these two sections provide a 

 wide selection of brilliant colours. Seeds 

 may be purchased separately or in mixture of 

 elegantly fringed single and double flowers. 

 The following form a useful selection of 

 sorts for a garden of moderate size : Hedde- 

 wigii kinds : Diadem or Diadematus, prettily 

 laced double flowers in numerous rich colours ; 

 Fireball, double scarlet; Crimson Belle; 

 Purity, double white ; Pink Beauty, double 

 pale pink. Laciniatus kinds : the Mikado, 

 single and semi-double flowers in numerous 

 colours, rather taller in growth than the 

 other Chinese Pinks ; Salmon Queen, single 

 salmon-pink ; Scarlet Queen ; The Bride, 

 white, rosy -purple eye ; and Snowdrift, 

 double pure white. 



The Chinese Pinks may also be grown 

 as annuals if seed is sown in a heated green- 

 house or on a hot-bed during February. 

 The seedlings are transplanted into boxes 

 when an inch or so high, and grown under 

 glass until the end of May. Those grown 

 as biennials, however, generally make the 

 best show. 



Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove). One of 

 the greatest charms of the Foxglove is that 

 it will grow almost anywhere. In sunny 

 positions, in partial shade or shady nooks 

 we find the plants thriving and flowering 

 freely. When once introduced to a garden 

 the Foxglove can usually be relied on to seed 

 freely ; self-sown seedlings come up year 

 after year in the borders. If these cluster 

 too thickly or are in wrong positions, they 

 may be taken up and transplanted elsewhere. 

 In the wild garden, the shrubbery borders, 

 and in the woodland the Foxglove is surpassed 

 by no other flower. The question of what 

 to plant on a shady north border in a town 

 or suburban garden often arises, and one 

 of the best plants for the purpose is the 

 Foxglove. The prevailing colour of the 

 flowers of the wild Foxglove is rosy-purple, 

 but the florist has given us a variety of 

 beautiful shades, the spotting or blotches 

 being especially charming ; rosy-red, rose, 

 pink, yellow or cream, and white flowers are 

 all represented. The variety monstrosa or 



