30 FA3IILl.lIt GAULEX FLOWEUS. 



helichrysums will fare Ladl}', whatever )'ou may do. 

 iVevertheless you can secure for them the sunshine 

 tliey recjuire by having the ]>lants forward in time to 

 eiijiiv the summer sun for niaking their Howers ; for if 

 they are l)ut growing' in suunner and making flower- 

 buds in autumn, the frosts may put a stop tij the 

 busmess before y^jn have secured so much as one bunch 

 lif the coveted flowers. 



To do justice to these plants the seed should be sown 

 early in spring, and the plants forwarded under glass, so 

 as to be strong for planting out in May ; then they will 

 produce their flowers Ijefore the summer is gone^ and they 

 will have the brightness of colour that only sunshine can 

 gi\c. Better stdl is the jjractice of sowing in August 

 or Sejitemljcr, and wintering the plants in a frame or 

 pit, whei'c they will be safe against frost. Then, being 

 somewhat matured when ])lanted out in April or Ma\', a 

 Hue croj> uf Howers may be cx[)ceted. It happens, how- 

 ever, that these lo\crs uf sunshine do nut suifer from an 

 occasional light tuui-h uf frust, and therefurc in the West 

 of England they ;vould often come through the winter 

 safely in the open gmuud, and make a grand bloom in the 

 following summer. 



It should be understood that a rich, moist soil, and a 

 sheltered, shady situation, are promotive uf death rather 

 than life tu these plants. A dr)' sandy or stony soil, and 

 tlie most complete exposure, will suit them verv well^ pro- 

 dded the winds are mit so strong as to blow them out of 

 the ground. We often see them making a miserable 

 Idoum, the Huwers few and colourless, when closelv mixed 

 u|i with utiier plants ; audit is in the nature (if a surprise 

 to see a great batch in an open spot uu a seed farm^ where 



