28 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



of leaves to ensure a clear stem for insertion in the soil, and dibble them 

 in a shallow box of light soil, in well-drained pots, or in a cold frame. 

 Put a hand-light over the cuttings if they are rooted in the open ground, 

 and plant out in the autumn. Some growers layer them much in the 

 same way as the Carnation is increased. Another simple way is, in the 

 autumn when the clumps have become matted, to simply part them 

 and replant the best portions (see illustrations). The best laced pinks 

 are : Boiard, Clara, Emerald, Empress of India, Eurydice, Harry Hooper, 

 Modesty, The Rector. The single pinks are very sweetly scented and 

 prettily coloured ; they are easily raised from seed sown in a shallow 

 box filled with light soil. Place it in a cold frame. 



Poppies, Oriental. During recent years considerable attention has 

 been given to the beautiful large herbaceous or Oriental Poppies. These 

 are noble plants for the border and are varieties of Papaver orientale. 

 As they are very deep rooting, the soil for them must be deeply culti- 

 vated and well manured, and the plants must be given plenty of room 

 to develop. For the front part of the herbaceous or mixed border they 

 are excellent. When once planted they are best left undisturbed for 

 several years. These Poppies may be increased by seeds sown in the 

 open garden as soon as ripe, or by division of the old plants in autumn 

 and spring. The type has large, scarlet flowers, but there are a number 

 of varieties with beautiful salmon-pink blossoms, and others of varying 

 shades of pink and rose. The following are all good : Jenny Mawson, 

 soft pink ; Blush Queen, pale pink ; Princess Victoria Louise, salmon- 

 rose ; Royal Scarlet ; Silver Queen, silver-pink. 



Poppies, Iceland, are varieties of Papaver nudicaule, and very beauti- 

 ful they are for rockwork, beds, or the front parts of the herbaceous border. 

 Although perennials they are best treated as biennials ; i.e. the seed is 

 sown outdoors about June and the plants thus raised flower the following 

 year, from May till August. If possible sow the seed where the plants 

 are to flower, as they do not transplant easily. Well-drained soil is 

 essential for Iceland Poppies. They are ideal flowers for cutting, and 

 there are many beautiful shades of colour among them. Seeds of sepa- 

 rate or mixed colours can be purchased. Brick red, yellow, orange, 

 pink, and white are the most popular shades. Height 18 inches to 

 2 feet. 



Poppies, Shirley. This fragile and prettily coloured annual race 

 deserves a paragraph to itself. It will interest gardeners to know 

 the origin of this dainty race. They were raised by the Rev. Mr. 

 Wilks, Vicar of Shirley, near Croydon, and secretary of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society hence the name. Mr. Wilks says : " My name may 

 have become known throughout the world as secretary of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society, but my Shirley Poppies are even more widely 

 known, and that far more deservedly, for there is no country under the 

 sun (except perhaps Patagonia and Thibet) to which I have not sent 

 seeds gratuitously, and I am told that in the streets of Yokohama and 

 of Rio, of Vancouver and of Melbourne, of Paris, Shanghai, and Berlin, 

 of Cairo, Philadelphia, and Madrid, Shirley Poppies are freely advertised 



