180 



PRACTICE OF GARDENII^G. 



Bulbs, such as some species of amaryllis, that require 

 to be grown in pots, may be treated as has been before 

 recommended for hyacinths, except that they must be 

 allowed to commence growing naturally, and not be stimu- 

 lated by being plunged into some light soil. They must 

 be abundantly watered during the growing and flowering 

 season, but the quantity of water applied to them should 

 be gradually diminished after their flowers have faded, 

 ultimately withholding it entirely, and removing the bulbs 

 from the soil, to be kept dry till the autumn, when they 

 must be again planted. If the bulbs are not thus annually 

 removed from the soil, and the offsets detached, they will 

 never flower in perfection, and frequently will not flower 

 at all. 



A good deal of variety and pleasure may be created by 

 suspending one or two potted plants, of trailing habits, 

 from the ceiling of a living-room, near the window. The 

 Saxifraga oppositifolia, with its pendulous runners, on 

 which are numerous tufts of leaves and roots, is both 

 curious and beautiful, and singularly adapted for such 

 treatment. The ivy -leaved geranium is equally charac- 

 teristic and good. Several of the fig-marigolds, with 

 slender drooping stems, will likewise look well in such a 

 position. Any low-growing climber, if left untrained, will 

 be singularly effective ; and the pretty trailing verbenas 

 will appear quite at home. The last plant we shall men- 

 tion, and one of the best for the purpose, is the elegant 

 little ivy-leaved toadflax, (Linaria Cymbalaria,) often 

 found on old walls and ruins, but fully worthy of cultiva- 

 tion, as it is nearly always in bloom. 



Having thus briefly stated a few of the principles upon 

 which the successful cultivation of most flowers that re- 

 quire to be kept in pots, and to which a glass structure is 

 not essential, depends, it only remains to observe, that the 

 window of a room in which plants are kept, should always, 

 if possible, face the south, south-east, or south-west, and 

 the nearer its aspect approaches to these points, the 

 greater success will be attained in the cultivation of any 

 plant. It is also necessary to remark, that, when plants 

 in pots are placed in the open air, there should always 

 be some boards, slates, tiles, coal-ashes, or other similar 



