The term " Bedding Plants " is usually applied to such half- 

 hardy subjects as Pelargoniums and Calceolarias, which are 

 planted out in beds for summer display. This, however, seems 

 to be a rather restricted meaning of the term, as the 

 hardy plants which are used for the decoration of the same 

 beds during winter and spring have as just a claim to the 

 title of " Bedding Plants " as have the summer occupants of such 

 beds, and they will therefore be included in this chapter. The 

 system of planting a series of beds with half-hardy plants for 

 summer decoration has for many years been extensively adopted 

 in this country, and there can be no doubt that to produce an 

 effective display of blossom for the longest possible time in a 

 group of beds, this system of filling them in May or June 

 with plants of the half-hardy class, followed in the autumn 

 by a distinct set of hardy bedders (bulbs, &:c.), for spring 

 decoration, must be adopted. 



Bedding plants may be divided into three groups, according 

 to the season when they are employed, viz., spring, summer, and 

 winter bedders, and these will be treated under their respective 

 headings, beginning with those used in 



Summer Bedding*. 



Preparation of Beds. — Before passing on to the plants them- 

 selves, a few words on the preparation of the beds for the 



