17 

 FEBRUARY. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



The operations during this month are principally 

 of a routine character. Attend to the watering, 

 rolling, and mowing of lawns ; clip box and other 

 edgings ; pay particular attention to the training of 

 all kinds of creepers, thinning out such as have a 

 tendency to become matted. Gather such seeds as 

 are required as soon as they are sufficiently ripe ; 

 remove all dead flowers and everything that has a 

 tendency to give the garden an untidy appearance. 

 Tie up all platts coming into flower as they require 

 it. Bedding plants should be propagated for stock ; 

 for Geraniums, ripe, hard shoots make the best plants; 

 Fuchsias come best from the points of young, grow- 

 ing shoots ; Calceolarias should be struck under a 

 hand or bell glass, in a shady situation ; Herbaceous 

 Plants may also be struck in quantities to keep over 

 Winter in frames. Keep Dahlias and Hollyhocks 

 well fastened; and put* stakes to Chrysanthemums 

 before their heads get heavy, as a protection against 

 storms. Give the latter plenty of water, with occa- 

 sional doses of strong liquid manure. Pansies may 

 be sown, as may also most hardy annuals, to stand 

 over Winter for early blooming next Spring. Some 

 seed should be saved for a second sowing in March, 

 as in the event of protracted warm weather some 

 of the first sown may bloom this season. The sorts 

 to sow now are Calliopsis, Clarkia, Collinsia, Godetia, 

 Larkspur, Lupine, Nemophila, French Poppy, Dwarf 

 Schizanthus, Ten-week-stock, Gilia, Iberis, Sile,ne, 



