SOME HOMELY FLOWERS 



bag) is put, and the tub is filled with water. Two 

 or three times a week the Zinnias are watered with 

 the brown liquid, and what vigour is put into the 

 stems, what lustre is given to the leaves, and what 

 size and colour to the blossoms ! The greatest 

 enemy of the Zinnia is the slug ; the juicy leaves seem 

 to have an especial attraction for this nightly marauder, 

 and to allow him to work his will upon the Zinnia foliage 

 is to ruin the plants. A scattering of lime and soot, or a 

 little Vaporite or Kilogrub dug into the soil, usually 

 suffices to ensure a whole-leaved plant, especially if a 

 search is occasionally made with a lantern. Seeds are 

 sown in March as with the Stocks and Asters, and the 

 seedlings are put out in May about 18 inches apart. 



Wallflowers are essentially homely flowers. What an 

 exquisite fragrance pervades the garden when they are 

 in full bloom ! Unluckily, some of us have not gardens 

 big enough to grow all the flowers we should like to do, 

 and I must confess that sometimes I forego the Wall- 

 flowers, possibly because I can always enjoy them in 

 somebody else's garden. But my regret is never keener 

 than when I am possessed with the joy of some other 

 man's Wallflowers, and reflect that I have none at 

 home. There is this great advantage about them ; one 

 pulls them up when they have blossomed without any 

 qualms of conscience, since one knows their day is done. 

 An annual supply of plants is easily raised by sowing a 

 packet of seed on a half-shady border in May or June. 



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