Gardening in California 



leaf-mold and half light loam with enough sand to keep the 

 compost open, the soil barely covering the seeds. The seeds 

 being very fine, the soil for covering them should be sifted 

 through a fine sieve. Place the pots or boxes where they have a 

 little bottom heat; when the young seedlings are large enough 

 to be handled, prick them out three inches apart in boxes and 

 return them to a place with the same temperature for two weeks, 

 when they may be placed in a cold frame and gradually hardened 

 off, then placed out of doors until April or May, when they should 

 be planted where they are to flower. 



The Lobelia Cardinalis type may also be raised from seeds, 

 but they are generally increased by dividing the roots. This 

 should be done in February or March. 



LUPINUS. 



This hardy genus contains about eighty species, most of them 

 American and many being natives of the Pacific Coast. The 

 perennial species form handsome specimens in the shrubbery 

 borders, and the annual species are beautiful in the wild garden or 

 for planting in the flower-borders. Lupins delight in a light 

 sandy soil, thriving even in the most barren sands. 



Their propagation consists simply of sowing the seeds where 

 they are to flower and raking the ground on which the seeds have 

 been sown. The best season for planting the seeds is in October 

 or immediately after the first rains. 



The shrubby blue-flowered Lupinus chamosonis and the yel- 

 low Lupinus arboreus form handsome bushes from three to six 

 feet tall and as much through the branches. They are very free- 

 flowering; the annual species, such as Lupinus bicolor, form 

 beautiful masses or beds. The herbaceous species are best when 

 grown in partial shade, in the uncultivated copse, in hedge-rows 

 or along the banks of streams. They require no artificial 

 irrigation. 



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