Larkspurs 
and 
Sweet Peas. 
The sketch illustrates a striking effect of the blue variety 
—used boldly the whole length of a sloping border—and the 
vigorous way in which this Larkspur grows and flowers well 
into the autumn. Of Snapdragons, which are invariably culti- 
vated in the manner of half hardy annuals, the tall growing 
kinds are in every way superior to the dwarf ones. Good 
self colours, such as Go/den Chamois, Rose, Rosy Morn, Cottage 
Maid, are preferable to the bicolours and fancies. In Scotland 
these grow four to six feet in height. The intermediate varieties 
are useful for massing, but the Tom Thumb varieties, which 
by some folks are favoured above the others, are scarcely worthy 
of a place in the garden. 
Naturally, annuals are largely dependent for their effect on 
the way in which they are employed. The Sweet Pea, for 
instance, if cultivated as a garden plant to produce the greatest 
beauty possible, should be selected in colours and set as a hedge 
beside a long grass walk. The sketch shows a skilful employ- 
ment of them in a long border of annuals. The short hedges— 
each one formed by a different variety of Sweet Pea—are set 
across the bed, and divide it into a séries of cosy compartments, 
which are very convenient for growing patches of other 
annuals, such as the single Aster Chinensis. It is becoming usual 
to plant Sweet Peas in round masses, as single pillars or pyra- 
mids, but none of these give as good an effect as a hedge. 
The common Marigold may, according to management, be a 
mere weed or a desirable garden flower. A mass of Orange 
King, intermixed with early raised seedlings of sky-blue Del- 
phiniums, or of Verbena venosa, Salvia patens, or S. Horminum, 
produces a splendid autumn effect. French Marigolds of all 
kinds, African Marigolds (which should be grown in reserve 
64 
