Annual Flowers. 105 



T^vM a y d a y' tms l atter circumstance is a stronger argu- 

 ment than to any one else, in favor of annual flowers. On the 

 other hand, the seeds of annual flowers cost a mere trifle ; 

 the expense of stirring the soil, sowing them, and thinning 

 them when they come up, is also very little ; while the effect 

 produced is as great, or greater, than that of most bulbs, and 

 most perennials. The flower of a choice hyacinth, the bulb 

 of which will cost a dollar or two before planting, is not much 

 more beautiful than that of a double larkspur, which may be 

 reared to perfection in three months, from a seed, a hundred or 

 two of which may be had for sixpence. Annual flowers are 

 therefore, above all others, suitable for the gardens of residen- 

 ces which are hired for not more than a year ; while they are 

 equally fit for decorating all other gardens whatever, and 

 peculiarly so for those which are defective in soil, situation, or 

 exposure to the sun. In one of the numbers of " Paxton's 

 Magazine of Botany" the leading botanical periodical of 

 England, the editor, who is the chief manager of the gardens 

 of the Duke of Devonshire, observes, " Considered as the prin- 

 cipal ornaments of the flower garden throughout the most 

 delightful period of the year, and during a considerable por- 

 tion of it as the most interesting features in the green house, 

 annual plants have great claims to our attention, and should be 

 very extensively cultivated in every pleasure-garden. But the 

 vast number and variety of sorts that are now known in our 

 collections, the whole of which it is impossible to introduce 

 into even the most extensive gardens, renders necessary a 

 judicious selection of the best kinds, in order to compensate for 

 any deficiency in number or variety by the superior beauty of 

 those which are admitted." It is a common error, then, to 

 suppose that all that is necessary to make a showy flower 

 garden is to sow the ground with a great many kinds of 

 flower seeds. A few of the most brilliant and ornamental 

 kinds, so arranged as to harmonize in their colors and habits 

 of growth, cultivated with care, and trained and pruned into 

 regular and compact shapes, will produce more effect than 

 three or four times the number sown injudiciously, and after- 

 wards neglected. On looking into most flower gardens, it will be 

 found that the annuals are crowded together, each tuft having 



