A YEAR'S GARDENING 



C. autumnale, the variety best known, bears clusters of pretty flowers 

 standing 2 or 3 inches above the ground, and may be had in several 

 colours — white, purple, reddish lilac and bi-coloured; while there 

 are many other varieties, of which C. speciosum is one of the largest 

 and most beautiful. Care should be taken to give them a suitable 

 position where the bloom will not be splashed with earth by the 

 autumn rains. A sunny, well-drained spot in the Rock Garden is 

 excellent. 



COLEUS. This plant, valued for the beauty of its foliage, is 

 usually classed as a greenhouse perennial, but in view of the diffi- 

 culty of keeping it through the winter it is better to treat it as an 

 annual and raise it from seed from year to year. Sowings should 

 be made in March — in pots rather than in pans, so as to have depth 

 of earth — in sandy loam with moist heat, but the seedlings must be 

 watered judiciously, as they are liable to damp off. The varieties 

 are not always apparent until the plants have reached a good size; 

 the strongest are those which are simply green and black, but those 

 with the more delicate tints of pink and yellow are best worth atten- 

 tion. The final pots diould be of moderate size only — ^large pots 

 induce free growth to the detriment of colour. 



COLLINSIA. A hardy annual, very pretty in the Spring Garden 

 if sown in autumn for early flowering, and also effective as a broad 

 edging to a border, where, if sown early in April, it will flower in 

 June. It is quite easy of culture and may be had in several colours 

 — ^white, blue, purple and bi-coloured. 



COLLOMIA. C. coccinea is a hardy annual, growing some 12 

 or 15 inches high, which in warm soils sows its own seed and survives 

 the winter. It blooms weU throughout the summer and its bright 

 scarlet flowers compel attention. 



COLUMBINE. See Aquilegia. 



COMMELINA. A tuberous perennial which, in light soil and 

 in a warm district, is quite hardy and grows like a weed. In cold 

 situations and on a wet soil it must be treated as half-hardy and the 

 roots raised and stored, or protected in the ground, during the winter. 

 Seed should be sown in March, in a frame, and the seedlings planted 

 out in May. C. ccelestis is the best known variety, with flowers of 

 brUhant blue, but there is also a white-blooming variety. 



CONVALLARIA MAJALIS {Lily-of-the-V alley). The prime 

 necessity for the production of a good bed of LUies-of-the- Valley is a 

 well-manured soil, soft and loamy with plenty of sand, while a shaded 



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