94 Hardy Plants for Cottage Gardens 
mentioned, have been added where required, one can raise 
every variety of plant suited to temperate regions. In the 
Appendix I have given the particular kind of soil recom- 
mended for the plants named, and it is worth while to give this 
subject serious consideration. 
There are various methods of propagating plants—the 
commonest is from seed; yet I have shown in my chapter on 
Seeds, and also in the cultural conditions given in the Appen- 
dix, that it is not enough to plant a seed in good soil and 
water it. Certain seeds are more exacting than this, and it 
is well to give attention to the time of year when it is best 
to sow them; also the length of time they retain vitality. 
It is not prudent to plant perennial seeds in a cold northern 
climate as late as August or the first of September; for if they 
come up promptly the little seedlings will not grow large 
enough to establish themselves before winter. It is a waste 
of time and seed to try it. Either plant them later, so that 
they may lie dormant until spring, or wait until spring, unless 
you have a cold frame, and can give them attention through 
the winter. Seeds that take six months to germinate may 
be planted in September or October. 
Further, the amateur may not realize it, but the price of 
seeds bears a close relation to his probable success with them. 
Five-cent packages will prove an excellent training-school for 
one, as they represent prolific sure seeders that will grow if 
you but throw them out of a window. The ten-cent ones 
will survive many ignorances; the fifteen-cent ones require 
specific knowledge, while the twenty-five and fifty-cent kinds 
are a pure gamble, being seeds of costly hybrid varieties that 
are apt to revert, or new acquisitions that may not be entirely 
acclimated to our difficult climatic conditions. Do not sow 
the whole package at once; seeds have been known not to 
come up, and a second and even third trial are often neces- 
