90 LITTLE GARDENS 
spring that I had no chance of planting perennials, I have raised 
hundreds, probably I might truthfully say thousands, of hardy 
annual plants in alittle frame and in odd corners, transplanting them 
later on wherever there was space to fill. Some of the best hardy 
annuals for a little garden are Mignonette, Candytuft in many 
colours ; Sweet Alyssum and Dwarf White Alyssum ; Love in a Mist 
—variety Miss Jekyll is best ; Scarlet Flax, brilliant red blooms on 
slender wiry stems; Rose Mallow, very beautiful, rich rose pink, 
Mallow like blooms; summer flowering Chrysanthemums, shades 
of yellow and brown; Larkspur, the rose coloured sort is very 
attractive ; Nasturtiums in great variety ; Canary Creeper, Shirley 
Poppies in variety, Collinsia bicolor, purple and white flowers ; 
Godetia, Helichrysum (so called Everlasting Flower); Virginian 
Stock, and Sweet Peas. 
Half Hardy Annuals.—'I'hese are commonly sown in 
February in boxes of light soil, in a warm greenhouse ; the seedlings 
are gradually hardened off and pricked out into a bed of soil in cold 
frames, being put out in the borders in May. Half hardy annuals 
may also be sown out of doors in early May; in this case they will 
naturally come into bloom later. The practice of these two methods 
ensures a succession of bloom. Indispensable half hardy annuals are 
Phlox Drummondii, a charming little plant that blooms throughout 
a long season, having flowers of various colours ; Stocks and Asters, 
now to be had in great variety ; Salpiglossis, of rich and rare shades 
of colour; African Marigolds, bearing large handsome blooms of 
orange and yellow shades ; French Marigolds, less imposing than the 
African varieties ; and Chinese Asters, of which there are many 
very beautiful single forms. 
Biennials.—Biennials are plants that bloom in the year follow- 
ing that in which seed is sown. Hardy and half hardy annuals die 
after flowering; some of the plants commonly classed as biennials 
survive after blossoming, but it is best to discard them and raise a 
fresh stock from seed. Biennials for flowering out of doors—hardy 
biennials—are usually raised from seed sown in May, June, and 
July, either in a cold frame or on a partly shaded border. When the 
seedlings are 1 inch or 2 inches high they are transplanted, and again 
as they progress they are given still more room. In September they are 
put out in the beds or borders where they are to bloom the following 
year. Common examples of biennials are Foxglove, Sweet William, 
Canterbury Bell, Forget-me-not. 
Perennials.—Plants which have rootstocks that live on from 
year to year, throwing up fresh growths and flowering stems annually, 
are known as herbaceous perennials. Many of these are raised from 
seed sown out of doors in June and July. The Lupin and Delphi- 
nium are familiar examples. 
