150 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



should be given a warm, sunny position, or the flowers do 

 not open well. 



Another effective plant is Cacalia coccinea, the Tassel Flower. 

 This grows about a foot in height, and has flowers like a double 

 Daisy on slender stems. The foliage is very luxuriant and of 

 a nice green shade. It is a plant that is always noticed by 

 reason of its very bright colour. Then come 



The Candytufts, which are so free-flowering and sweet- 

 scented. There is the White Spiral, which grows about a 

 foot high, and also lilac, purple, carmine, crimson and cardinal, 

 which are somewhat dwarfer. All are very beautiful, and 

 should be sown in good-sized patches of one colour. Pick 

 the faded flowers off, and stir the soil occasionally to promote 

 new growth. 



Dimorphotheca aurantiaca is a decided acquisition. The 

 colour is a rich orange, with a black disc, and the flowers are 

 little affected by the weather, although the plant is at its best 

 when warm and sunny, and the flowers also open better. The 

 various coloured hybrids should also be included. Another 

 pretty plant is lonopsidium acaule, the Violet Cress, a tiny thing 

 covered with little lilac-coloured blossoms. It is admirable 

 for sowing in narrow crevices between the stones, and should 

 be kept moist at the root, or it is apt to shrivel up. It does 

 not grow more than 2 inches high, and does not spread like 

 many dwarf plants. Then come the Linarias or Toadflax, 

 indispensable little plants. Aurea reticulata is crimson and 

 gold, and bipartita splendens is purple and light blue. Both grow 

 about a foot high, and should be sown thinly and not thinned 

 out too much as they are very slender in growth. The blooms 

 are very small and something like a miniature Antirrhinum. 



Dwarf Nasturtium deserves a place, and is another plant 

 that flowers better in soil that is not too rich, and also in a 

 dry season. Two or three sowings should be made to prolong 

 the season. The flowers are all shades of yellow, crimson, 

 scarlet and rose, and some are spotted and veined with deeper 

 markings. Some have golden foliage and others are silver 

 variegated, which produce a fine effect even if they never 

 flower. The next that claims attention is the Nemophila, a 

 most attractive plant when in bloom. The colours are very 

 pleasing and dainty. Insignis is a Cambridge blue ; /. alba, 

 white ; maculata, white, with purple blotch ; and atroccerulea, 

 bright blue, with small spots. They all grow from 3 inches to 

 6 inches high, and are very hardy. Two or three sowings at 

 intervals should be made, as the plants do not last so long as 

 some annuals. They may also be sown in autumn to bloom 



