60 Hardy Plants for Cottage Gardens 
require unusual conditions such as Gentiana crinaia, the beau- 
tiful blue fringed gentian, that is not native to my vicinity. 
It is a biennial, and requires a moist sandy place for its seeds 
to germinate. I have experimented with it by a partly shaded 
brook, where it is damp, but not wet. I cleared places and 
covered them with sand upon which I have strewn the seed. 
So far I have failed to get any result, but I shall try it a few 
years longer before giving it up. 
To return to seeds; they are as individual as the plants 
themselves. Some like the Eremurus, iris, rose, Dictamnus, 
Bocconia, Romneya, Incarvillea, Clematis Jackmanni, the 
flava lily, Hyacinthus candicans and perennial phlox take 
from six months to a year to germinate. A few have a hard 
husk which has to be filed to admit moisture, as the Japanese 
morning-glory; the Abronia is enclosed in a papery shell im- 
pervious to moisture which must be removed if it is to germi- 
nate promptly. Some must be planted with the eye down; 
some, like the Portulaca, cannot be sown until June; certain 
annuals are better to be sown in the autumn, and again in the 
spring to insure a long succession of bloom. Some are better 
to be kept from one to three years before planted. I subjoin 
a list of perennials and annuals that you may trust to sow 
their own seeds, and plants derived from self-sown seeds are 
much hardier than those raised in the usual way. 
SELF-SOWING PERENNIALS 
Agrostemma coronaria Chrysanthemum maximum 
Anchusa Clematis 
Asperula hexaphylla Columbine 
Candytuft, Per. Daisy, Ox-eye 
Canterbury bells Daisy, Paris 
Centaurea montana Daisy, Yellow (Rudbeckia) 
Cardinal flower Feverfew 
