THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



above us as we stand beside them ; others, again, climb the wall or the hedge, and hang 

 in festoons and clusters ; some form towering spires, some have cup-like blooms, others 

 have flowers of daisy-like shape, while there are also stars and saucers, and quaint 

 flowers resembling some dragon's head. Then there are among them flowers for every 

 position and soil, flowers for sun or shade, dust-like soil, or stiffest clay. What more 

 can we want ? The choice is a wide one, wider even than can be recorded in these 

 pages ; which it is hoped, however, will be helpful and suggestive. 



There are many ways of forming a collection of good hardy flowers. The simplest of 

 all is to give an order to a reliable nurseryman for a selection, stating the position for 

 which they are required, also the width of the border, and the sum the purchaser is 

 prepared to give for the whole of the plants together. This is, in some respects, a good 

 plan for a beginner who does not wish to go to top great expense, and who has little 

 knowledge of the plants. Frequently the nurseryman is enabled to include in the 

 collection, at a reduced price, plants of which he may happen to have an unusually large 

 stock. Such selections should, it is as well to say, only be left to a dealer who is largely 

 growing this class of plants, as one who only keeps a small stock is not likely to have 

 the necessary variety, and will often send plants already possessed by the purchaser, or 

 which are too common to be much appreciated, or are inferior varieties of flowers which 

 have been considerably improved. It is a cheap plan, and this is, perhaps, its greatest 

 advantage, as a hundred or more distinct plants can be obtained for a comparatively 

 small sum. 



Another way is to send for the catalogues of nurserymen who make a speciality of 

 hardy flowers, and go over them carefully, marking such as may seem of merit. The 

 selections that will be given in this chapter are, however, recommended as giving a good 

 basis upon which a beginner should proceed, taking care to add a proportion of some of 

 the flowers now generally recognised as " florists' flowers," of which selections will be 

 found under their proper headings. For spring flowering a large proportion of bulbous 

 flowers should be included, and gladioli, autumn-flowering crocuses and meadow 

 saffrons will be found a valuable aid in the decoration of the borders or beds in autumn. 



For large gardens or borders in which masses of any flower are required, a cheap and 

 useful way of providing these is by means of raising them from seeds, unless they are 

 absolutely required for the first season, as few hardy perennials flower the first year from 

 seed. Raising from seed is also convenient and economical in the case of many new 

 plants, of which seed is frequently offered by seedsmen making a special feature of this 



