CHAPTEE X 



SEPrEMBER 



Sowing Sweet Peas — ^Autumn-sown annuals — Dahlias — Worthless 

 kinds — Staking — Planting the rock-garden — Growing small 

 plants in a wall — The old wall — Dry-walling — How built — 

 How planted — Hyssop — A destructive storm — Berries of Water- 

 elder — Beginning ground-work. 



In the second week of September we sow Sweet Peas in 



shallow trenches. The flowers from these are larger 



and stronger and come in six weeks earlier than from 



those sown in the spring ; they come too at a time when 



they are especially valuable for cutting. Many other 



hardy Annuals are best sown now. Some indeed, such 



as the lovely Collinsia verna and the large white Iberis, 



only do well if autumn-sown. Among others, some of 



the most desirable are Nemophila, Platystemon, Love- 



in-a-Mist, Larkspurs, Pot Marigold, Virginian Stock, 



and the delightful Venus's Navel- wort (Oinphcdodes lini- 



folia). I always think this daintily beautiful plant is 



undeservedly neglected, for how seldom does one see 



it. It is full of the most charming refinement, with 



its milk-white bloom and grey-blue leaf and neiit, 



habit of growth. Any one who has never before tried 



Annuals autumn-sown would be astonished at their 



m 



