440 



Gardening for Amateurs 



heated greenhouse during March or early 



Lavatera (Mallow). These are very 

 showy annuals for beds and borders, growing 



Photo: Sutton Cr Sons. ^ofyr^nt. 



Summer Cypress (Kochia trichophylla). 



about 3 feet high. Cut with long stems, 

 Mallows should be much more used for 

 indoor decoration, being admirably adapted 

 for large vases. The seedlings may be raised 

 under glass, but as they do not transplant 

 very readily it is preferable to sow the seeds 

 thinly in the open border or beds where the 

 plants are to flower. The last week in March 

 and the first week in April is a good time. 

 Mallows delight in rich deep soil ; the plants 

 must not be crowded ; in good ground 

 18 inches apart is not too much space to 

 give them. The common Mallow is Lavatera 

 trimestris, with rosy-purple flowers, but since 

 the introduction of rosea splendens, a 

 beautiful sort with rosy-pink flowers, the 

 former is not nearly so much grown. A 

 counterpart of this with white flowers is 

 named alba splendens ; Loveliness has rosy- 

 red flowers. 



Layia elegans. This is a pretty Cali- 

 fornian annual with large yellow blooms 

 prettily edged with white ; it grows 1 foot 

 high. There is also a white variety, L. 

 elegans var. alba. The seeds are best sown 



towards the end of March where the plants 

 are to flower, in groups along the front of 

 the mixed flower border or shrubbery. 



Leptosiphon. Botanically this is in- 

 cluded under Gilia, but for garden purposes 

 it is distinct. Growing only a few inches 

 high, the Leptosiphons are suitable for the 

 rock garden or as an edging for beds and 

 borders. Sow the seeds early in April 

 where the plants are to flower. L. andro- 

 saceus, lilac - purple, var. albus, white ; 

 roseus, bright rose ; aureus, orange-yellow ; 

 and hybridus, a mixed strain containing a 

 pleasing variety of colours, are all free- 

 flowering and useful sorts to grow. 



Leptosyne Stillmani. This is a very 

 pretty annual with golden-yellow flowers 



Photo : Sutton & Sons. Copyright. 



White Toadflax (Linaria). 



those of Coreopsis. It 

 inches high, and may be 

 had in flower in six or seven weeks from the 

 date of sowing. The flowers are bright and 



somewhat like 

 grows about 18 



