LIST OF FLOWERS 



and is useful for the Rock Garden when given a sheltered nook in 

 chalky soil. 



CYTISUS {Broom). This beautiful flowering shrub is well worth 

 cultivation and is most useful for clothing rough banks of dry or poor 

 ground where many other plants would soon perish. Its rich yellow 

 blossoms give a fine effect of colour, and by using plants of various 

 kinds of Broom' a succession of bloom may be obtained from early 

 spring to late autumn. Although yeUow is predominant there are 

 other colours of Broom to be had, such as the White Spanish Broom 

 (C Albus), the Purple Broom (C. furfur eus), and the crimson-brown 

 of Andre's Broom. Many kinds will grow freely from seed, even 

 when scattered at random, but in that case it is well to give some 

 care to the protection of the seedlings in their early growth. 



DAFFODIL. See Narcissus. 



DAHLIA. The introduction of the Single and Cactus-flowered 

 varieties has considerably widened and strengthened the amateur 

 gardener's interest in Dahlias, while the now prevalent custom of 

 raising plants from seed has given a further incentive to cultivation. 

 Seed sown in February will quickly develop into seedlings which will 

 flower as early as plants grown from tubers, and apart from the interest 

 in the process of raising one's own plants from seed there is always 

 the probability of obtaining some unexpected novelty. The seed 

 should be sown thinly in pans filled with ordinary compost and be 

 covered with a light sprinkling of earth, and as soon as the seedlings 

 are about an inch high they should be potted off and kept in moderate 

 heat until they begin to grow vigorously, when they should be shifted 

 into larger pots and gradually hardened for transfer into the open. 

 Before planting in final position advantage should be taken of any 

 moist and genial weather to place the pots in the open in some 

 sheltered situation as a means of acclimatising the young plants, 

 and the soil in which they are to be placed must be rich and good, 

 for Dahlias are voracious feeders and the profusion of bloom depends 

 upon their being well nourished. Dahlias are so useful as cut flowers 

 and lend themselves so readily for indoor decoration that it is worth 

 while to bear in mind that the early morning, while the dew is yet 

 upon them, is the best time for cutting them, as, indeed, it is for all 

 flowers; they maintain their freshness much longer than those cut 

 later. 



DAISY. See Bellis Pkeennis. 



DATURA. Included in this family are several plants which are 



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