Gardening for Amateurs 



165 



saved from the named sorts, but as only a 

 small percentage come true to colour it is 

 preferable to increase these by dividing the 

 roots. As the Oriental Poppies do not 

 transplant very readily, divided plants as a 

 rule taking a year to recover, the groups 

 or clumps should not be 

 disturbed so long as they 

 flower freely, unless an 

 increase of stock is de- 

 sired. The plants delight 

 in rich soil, and repay for 

 mulching with decayed 

 manure during May and 

 for liberal supplies of water 

 and \\eak liquid manure 

 during the dry weather. 

 In addition to their value 

 for the flower borders 

 the Oriental Poppies are 

 most effective in beds or 

 along the shrubbery bor- 

 ders. To ensure a display 

 in autumn it is worth 

 \\liilf planting roots of 

 Gladiolus or Galtonia 

 (Hyacinthus) camli( an> 

 between the Poppy clumps 

 in late February or in 

 early March. 



Phlox. It is scarcely 

 possible to praise the 

 beauty of the present-day 

 race of garden Phloxes too 

 highly. There are two 

 groups, the early-flowering 

 or summer-blooming sec- 

 tion, which has been ob- 

 tained from Phlox suffru- 

 ticosa, and the late- flower- 

 ing section, known as 

 Phlox decussata varieties, 

 obtained from the two 

 American kinds, P. paniculata and P. 

 maculate. 



Soil and Position. Phloxes thrive best 

 in a rich loam, light rather than heavy. 

 Most garden soils, however, may be made 

 suitable. Plenty of wood-ashes, leaf-mould, 

 and road -scrapings should be added to 

 heavy clay soils. Trenching in autamn and 

 leaving the surface rough in winter \\ill aU> 

 improve it. The addition of cow-manure 



and turf from a meadow much improves 

 very light soils. Phloxes thrive well on 

 borders that are shaded from the sun during 

 a ]x>rtion of the day, but, providing the soil 

 is deep and good, there is no position better 

 than an open sunny border for them. They 



Double Paeonies. 



are "gross feeders." the autumn-flowering 

 v.m.'ties especially. A mulch applied in 

 June, of decayed manure and leaf-mould 

 iin\.'.|. or leaf-mould alone and weak liquid 

 in murr. is a valuable aid t<> -u 



Methods of Propagation. Se^ls. cuttings, 

 and division of the n.ot- f.-nn ready 

 means of propagation. Growing Phlox from 

 ^,-,\- i^ practised chiefly for the purp<e 



of obtaining new and improved varieties. 



