24 DREER'S GARDEN CALENDAR, 



FLOWER GAKDEN. 



Although to the mere economist, flowers are not indispensable or 

 directly remunerative, yet they have become so to the civilized, intelli- 

 gent, and intellectual community in which we live. The most humble 

 cottager, unless deficient in the most simple conceptions of beauty, must 

 have his flower-plot, and one or more varieties of flowers. The enthu- 

 siastic amateur is no longer content to receive his floricultural novelties 

 at second-hand, but must have them direct from the great European 

 centres of Horticulture. "We have latterly endeavored to render this 

 necessity of the amateur, importing a few seeds or plants, unnecessary, 

 by constant attention to obtain every highly recommended novelty, and 

 after testing it, to offer it with our opinion of its merits. We shall con- 

 tinue to do this, and shall endeavor to have, at the earliest day, every 

 valuable acquisition in seeds, bulbs or plants. 



Little pains are taken to have the soil of the flower-beds and borders, 

 in a friable, active state, not subject to bake. This is what renders it 

 so difficult for small flower-seeds to survive germination, and for the 

 delicate transplanted annuals to make a start. All that the flower- 

 border or beds require, is a dry bottom, with an annual supply of pre- 

 pared compost, made up of barn-yard manure, leaf-mould, or decayed 

 leaves from the woods, and such other refuse as may appear suitable to 

 enrich the heap. With different soils, special applications will be 

 necessary, as stated under the head of Esculent Garden. The Hot-bed 

 frame, as there described, will serve for the purpose of the Flower 

 Garden. The only additional requisites are flower-pruning scissors, 

 stakes for tying up plants, labels and flower-pots. 



The Lawn, which adds so much to the neatness of the Garden, may 

 be extensive or limited in size, but should always be well prepared and 

 neatly kept. Much of the beauty of the lawn is also due to the variety 

 of grass-seed sown. The usual practice has been to employ a mixture 

 of several species, which is prepared for sale. Our Lawn grass mixture 

 consists of five varieties, viz: Sweet "Vernal, Green Grass, Blue Grass, 

 'Herd Grass, and White Clover. From one and a half to two bushels is 

 the quantity generally sown to the acre. Persons who prefer a different 

 mixture, can have it made up to order. 



The flower-beds may be cut out in the lawn, and in these, bedding 

 plants from the green-house planted, as soon as the weather becomes 



