88 THE FLORIST AND 



handy. " r _fhe soil where the edgings are to go, should be first dug up, then 

 trodden and beaten firm, carefully levelled or graded on the surface, a face 

 cut with the spade on the proposed line ; small, well-rooted plants of box 

 employed and placed level with each other against the face, and the soil 

 carefully filled in. Every one can lay a box edging, but few can do it well. 

 Now is the time to get in a good stock of perennial herbaceous plants for 

 the borders. The "massing" system of growing one kind of plant in sepa- 

 rate beds for gorgeousness of display, has caused this tribe to be less culti- 

 vated now than they formerly were ; and annuals are mainly depended on 

 for a supply of blossom for the summer.' But few things can compare with 

 the grandeur and beauty of the many improved varieties of Hollyhock, Co- 

 lumbine, Phlox, or Campanula, or even of that "old fogy," the Fraxinella 

 or similar plants. Of the half hardy plants used for bedding out, the ama- 

 teur will see in time that he has a good stock of all desired things on hand, 

 and especially of Petunias, which he will find amongst the very best plants 

 to keep his flower garden gay from May to November. Any Chrysanthe- 

 mums that have been under protection during winter should be planted out 

 in the richest part of the borders ; they will produce strong shoots there for 

 affording cuttings next month. If they be desired to flower finely in the 

 open ground, a moderately dry situation should be selected for them, a 

 damp one will give you fine foliage but few flowers. Carnations, Pinks, 

 Polyanthuses, Antirrhinums, and other hardy things kept slightly protected 

 through the winter, should also be planted out as soon as the hard frosts are 

 pretty well gone. The earlier they are out the finer they will flower. A 

 very beautiful tribe of plants, the Hepatica has become very scarce the 

 last few years, principally through being kept in the full sun. Their beau- 

 tiful single and double flowers, of nearly all colors, are amongst the first to 

 cheer us after the winter's departure. The double and single varieties of 

 the Primrose are also in the same category. They thrive best a little ne- 

 glected, in some dry, cool, and shaded part of the garden, with a very little 

 leaf soil occasionally, as the only manure they receive. I should also like 

 to see the hardy kinds of Azalea and Rhododendron far more generally cul- 

 tivated. They are certainly at the head of ornaments for the shrubbery. 

 Now is the time to see to these things. If the convenience of a frame can 

 be had, a few tender annuals may be sown by the end of the month ; such 

 as globe Amaranthuses, Thunbergias, Balsams, and so on ; but although 

 these flower earlier, they will not without much care do so well as those 

 sown in the open ground in May. 



Greenhouse. — If Azaleas have been kept under the most favorable cir- 

 cumstances — that is, in a house with a western aspect, kept but just above 



