AFTER THOUGHTS ' 287 



winter. You see that plants grown from early sowing 

 divide their blooming between the last of the present 

 year and the first of the next one. I would aim to 

 prevent this by not sowing seed before July. It is very 

 much the same with Hollyhocks, and other plants of 

 that class, which have been sown early in the season. 

 They don't get along quite far enough to bloom the 

 first year, yet they pass that stage which ought to take 

 them to the close of the first season's growth. I would 

 not advise sowing seed of any perennials before July 

 or August if I wanted them to do their best next season. 



When plants are received from the florist do not 

 remove the paper or moss in which the roots are packed, 

 at once, and leave the soil exposed until you get ready 

 to pot them, but sprinkle them thoroughly, just as you 

 take them from the box. Don't be afraid of giving too 

 much water. Then let them stand for an hour or two. 

 They will freshen up wonderfully in that time, and the 

 soil will not be likely to crumble away from the roots 

 when you remove the wrapping. 



By all means have a "cut-and-come-again" corner. 

 A place for all the odds and ends of the garden and the 

 plants which overflow the window. You will find such 

 a place one of the most delightful spots in or about the 

 garden. It will give you as much pleasure to visit it as 

 it does to make an informal call on a friend with whom 

 you are not expected to stand on ceremony. There 

 everything is delightfully free and easy — no stiff, prim 

 arrangements of beds, no suggestion of "company 

 manners," or being on dress parade. When you want 

 a nosegay for your friend, or some flowers for the 

 house, there is where you will go to look for them first, 

 and there is where you will always be most likely to 



