ON ANNUALS AND BIENNIALS. 



215 



cannot possibly be anything more unsightly in an otherwise 

 neat and well-kept garden than that of seeing a number of thick 

 rough stakes about the border. When stakes are used they 

 ought to be placed so as to be as little seen as possible ; the 

 stakes themselves should also be neat in appearance, and pre- 

 ferably green-painted ones, so that if it is impossible to hide 

 them, they will not strike the eye as unsightly objects. Another 

 thing to avoid in staking is that of placing a single stake 

 in the centre of a group of annuals, or, in fact, any other 

 plants, and binding the whole lot to it in a bundle, much after 

 the same fashion as a sheaf of corn. If one stake only is 

 used, the plants should be looped up lightly to it, not bound 

 up tightly, as though the owner were afraid of them running 

 away. Staking is an operation which must be attended to in 

 good time, as when once the plants get beaten down by wind or 

 rain, it is no easy matter to stake them so that they may again 

 appear neat and tidy. For graceful, loose-growing subjects, such 

 as Gypsophilas, Coreopsis, &c, it is best to use twiggy branches, 

 placing them around and amongst the plants in good time, so 

 that when the plants have grown to their full size, the supports 

 will be hidden amongst the foliage. 



If the foregoing operations are promptly attended to, together 

 with those of weeding and watering, these lovely plants will well 

 repay the cultivator for his pains by a display of flowers which 

 ought to convince even the most fastidious of observers that 

 annuals are worthy of a place in every British garden. 



The following is a selection of hardy kinds : 



Adonis aestivalis (Fig. no), often 

 known as Adonis Flos, the Pheasant's 

 Eye, is a compact free-flowering little 

 plant, 1 ft. in ^ height, producing its 

 beautiful crimson-scarlet flowers in June 

 and July ; it forms a very effective 

 border plant, and is quite easy of 

 cultivation. 



Agrostemma cceli-rosa (Rose of 

 Heaven), often referred to Lychnis, is 

 a free-flowering and exceedingly pretty 

 plant, ift. high, the flowers varying in 

 colour, some being white, others rose, 

 whilst others again have a tinge of 

 purple in them. It flowers in July. This 



is sometimes given under the name of Fig. no.— Adonis 



Eudianthe cceli-rosa. aestivalis. 



