204 



Gardening for Amateurs 



are required, allow the stem to grow un- 

 checked until the necessary height is 

 reached ; but to grow bush or pyramid 

 specimens pinch off the top while the 

 plants are still in small pots. Fuchsias 



Marking out a circular bed by means of 

 pegs and a line. 



A "square" used for mark- 

 ing out flower beds 



If the sides of the 

 " square " are in 

 the ratio of 3, 4, 

 5, as shown, the 

 angle formed by 

 the two shorter 

 sides is a right 

 angle. 



Peg used 

 in centre 

 of circu- 

 lar bed. 



A piece of wood shaped in this fashion will provide a 

 scalloped margin. 



A striking effect is given by an edging of this kind. It 

 is easily obtained by a piece of wood of proper shape. 



MARKING OUT FLOWER BEDS. 



should be gradually hardened off in cold 

 frames during May for planting out early 

 in June. 



Geranium (Zonal Pelargonium). This 

 popular bedding plant is easily increased by 

 cuttings taken during August and Sep- 

 tember. These should have two or three 

 pairs of leaves, and usually root more 



readily if allowed to lie about on a bench 

 for two or three hours before being inserted 

 in soil. They then become partially wilted. 

 It should be understood that this advice 

 does not apply to other kinds of cuttings. 

 Several may be inserted in 

 5-inch pots, or a large num- 

 ber in boxes filled with 

 light, sandy soil. Water 

 them with a can to which 

 a fine rose is affixed, and 

 place in a frame to root. 

 Keep the atmosphere fairly 

 close at first, and shade 

 from bright sunshine. Give 

 water only when the soil 

 becomes really dry, or the 

 cuttings will probably damp 

 off. Even if the soil gets so 

 dry that the cuttings droop 

 a little, that is preferable 

 to keeping it always moist. 

 Geranium cuttings will also 

 root out in the open, but 

 must be removed to a place 

 of safety when frost threat- 

 ens. During the winter keep 

 them in a house with a 

 minimum temperature of 45, 

 and an atmosphere as dry 

 as possible. Early in the 

 new year pot the cuttings 

 separately in 2 \ -inch pots, 

 and grow them in a green- 

 house, finally hardening them 

 off in cold frames during 

 May. Old plants can also 

 be potted up from the beds 

 when the stock is short, 

 and these frequently produce 

 a further supply of cut- 

 tings in the new year. Ivy- 

 leaved Geraniums are treated 

 in the same way, but to ob- 

 tain strong, bushy plants of 

 these by June it is necessary to pot them 

 on into 5-inch pots in March. 



Heliotrope. Named varieties are in- 

 creased by cuttings about 3 inches long, 

 taken in August or September. Insert them 

 around the edge of 2J-inch pots filled with 

 sandy soil, water them, and place in a 

 slightly heated pit to root. They will also 



