ANNUALS 31 



in early spring should be sown in August and September. 

 Some annuals benefit by being transplanted, others again 

 should be sown where they are to remain. In any case 

 the soil should be carefully prepared, and the seed sown 

 thinly, as explained in the chapter on seed-sowing. 

 When the seedlings appear they should be vigorously 

 thinned, so as to allow each plant space for individual 

 healthy development. In good soil a single plant of 

 Mignonette, for instance, will cover a piece of ground 

 a foot in diameter. Often one sees a dozen crowded 

 and starved plants trying to grow on this area. An 

 important thing to remember in order to extend the 

 flowering period over as many months as possible is to 

 go over the beds every day or two, and cut off all 

 flowers that have withered or are about to wither, 

 before the seed pods have had time to develop. For 

 the object of the plant is to produce seeds, and so to 

 perpetuate its kind, and as long as this end is frustrated 

 it will make repeated efforts to produce more flowers. 



It is an excellent rule not to sow all one's seeds at 

 one time, but to sow at intervals so as to produce a more 

 continuous display. Thus, whilst most kinds may be 

 sown early in March to bloom in June and July, others 

 may be sown at intervals right on to the beginning of 

 June, thus yielding successive displays of bloom right on 

 to October. Among the dwarf annuals especially suited 

 for bedding purposes are Sweet Alyssum, which has 

 white sweet-scented flowers ; Nemophila, which bears 

 flowers of a brilliant blue ; Candytuft or Iberis, with 

 colours varying between white, pink, and purple ; and 

 Mignonette, with its unique fragrance. Taller plants are 

 the so-called China Asters, which, by the way, are half 

 hardy, and therefore need to be sown under glass in 

 early March and planted out in May, although in mild 

 seasons seed may be successfully sown in the open air 

 towards the end of April ; Dwarf Nasturtiums, of many 



