6 



THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



added to, and any that existed thirty years ago would, as a rule, present b.ut a sorry 

 figure alongside the best of the present day. 



Of miscellaneous plants grown principally under glass, special mention must be 

 made of the progress effected with amaryllises, gloxinias, clivias, bouvardias, fuchsias, 

 cannas, azaleas, hybrid rhododendrons, calceolarias, Chinese primulas, cinerarias, Persian 

 cyclamens, streptocarpuses, and violas ; with such fine-foliaged plants as crotons, 

 draca^nas, caladiums, coleuscs, and others ; while the list of elegant palms and graceful 

 ferns has also been considerably augmented. In fact, evidence of the attractive power 

 of plants and flowers is apparent almost everywhere, and is afforded in many and varied 

 ways — in the crowds, ever increasing, which cluster around the beautiful floral com- 

 binations in our public parks and gardens, or that scan the borders for the names of 

 plants and shrubs that are grown there ; in the enormous number of flower shows — 

 spring, summer, and autumn — ^whicli attract, in the aggregate, hundreds of thousands 

 of visitors ; in the formation of floral societies and their long roll of members ; in the 

 establishment of amateurs' and gardeners' associations — those are only some of the out- 

 ward and visible signs of the deep love for flowers and the strong desire for learning 

 all that can be learned about them that exists among various classes of the community. 



In the flower garden and pleasure grounds are now to be seen far more 

 beautiful conifers, trees, shrubs, and flowering plants than formerly. The reaction 

 in favour of herbaceous plants is specially noteworthy, while annuals in variety, 

 pansies, violas, dahlias, and bulbous-rooted plants are all gaining in popularity rather 

 than otherwise ; in fact, everywhere instances are to be met with of a great love for 

 some one or more of the kinds of plants named in the foregoing remarks, and in very 

 many cases unmistakable evidence has also been forthcoming that sound and trust- 

 worthy information as to the best methods of culture is much needed. What is wanted 

 is now presented in the form of a guide that (as founded on successful experience) shall 

 be helpful to various classes of flower growers, including market-gardeners, by giving 

 all requisite cultural details, sufficiently illustrated to render the work instructive. 

 This, with a series of coloured plates, should make the Flower Grower's Guide 

 acceptable to owners of gardens, large or small, as well as to professional and amateur 

 cultivators of the several plants and flowers that will be brought under treatment in its 

 pages. 



