FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



37 



=?;lower 



* 



ARDEN. 



I 





C \1VIPANI L \ L \I 1 M H \ 



GiLIA InCOLOR 



Flower Seeds and their Management. 



yi LOWERS are indispensable for beautifying our gar- 

 W dens and homes, and exert in a quiet manner a reiin- 

 ^j ing and joyous inflnence. Yet it is often the case that 

 too little pains are taken to have them. The soil of 

 the flower-beds and borders shonld be made friable ; fail- 

 ure to do this is what renders it so difficult for small tlower- 

 seed to survive germination, and delicate transphmted an- 

 nuals to make a start. The tlower-borders or beds require 

 an annual supply of prepared compost, made of manure, 

 sods, leaves, etc., which should be put in a heap, and 

 turned over two or three times during the season to hasten 

 decay and thoroughly mix the insjredients. Before using, 

 riddle through a coarse sieve. The hot-bed, etc., as de- 

 scribed under the head of "The Vegetable Garden," will 

 serve for the purpose of the Flower Garden. 



ASMIN5UALS. 



Annuals are plants that arrive at perfection, bloom, 

 produce seed, and die the first season. Hardy Annuals 

 can be sown in the borders from April to June. Half- 

 Hardy and Tender Annuals can be sown in March 

 and April in shallow boxes, etc., and placed on a hot-bed ; 

 when the i)lants are large enough, transplant in a cool 

 frame near the glass to harden. In May, when the weather 

 has become favorable, transplant in the borders ; the seed 

 may be sown in the open ground in May and June. 



Many annuals are very desirable for the greenhonse for 

 winter-blooming, and ninst be sown in July or August. 

 Of these the most important are Browallia, Candytuft, 

 German Stocks, Lobelia, Mignonette, Schizanthus, Sweet 

 Alyssum, and Dwarf Nasturtiums. Many varieties, as 

 well as the above, may be sown in the fall and winter for 

 blooming early in the spring, such as Acroclinium, Agera- 

 tum. Antirrhinum, Geranium, Dianthus, Linum, Mimulus, 

 Myiisotis, Pansy. Petunias, Phlox Drummondi, Salpiglos- 

 sis, Salvia, Verbena, Vinca, and others which will be fonnd 

 in our full and complete list of the best leading varieties. 



BSENiMJALS. 



Biennials are those that last two seasons; some of the 

 varieties bloom the first year, and remain over winter, 

 flowering again the second year and then die; a slight 

 protection of leaves or coarse manure will be found bene- 

 ficial. 



For summer and autumn flowering the seed shonld be 

 sown in March and April, and treated the same as half- 

 hardy annuals. Hardy kinds can be sown from April to 

 September in the open border, and transplanted where 

 tiiey are intended to bloom the following year. 



The following are among the most desirable: Cam- 

 panula, Foxglove, Hollyhock, Larkspur, Pinks, Sweet 

 William, Wallflower, etc. 



PERENNIALS. 



Perennials do not flower until the second year, and 

 the hardy varieties remain in the ground from year to 



year, and improve by age, forming large clumps or bushes, 

 which are completelj' covered with their attractive flow- 

 ers. They should be planted in the borders or beds where 

 they are intended to remain permanentl)'. 



The seed maybe sown early in the spring with Annuals, 

 or later in the summer in a cool and partially shaded 

 situation, and when large enough transplant where de- 

 sired. 



Directions for Sowing and Management of Flowes* 

 Seeds. 



Provided the soil is in a proiier state, flower seeds may- 

 be sown in the open border in the months of April and 

 May; the best criterion is the state of the soil. The seeds 

 should be sown as soon as the soil becomes dry and easily 

 crumbled, after the s))ring frosts have disappeared. Car-e 

 should be taken not to sow in a crowded border, as light 

 and air are indispensable. They may also be sown in pre- 

 pared beds of light, rich soil, and transplanted into the 

 garden. The former is the more simple method, but not 

 always satisfactory, as, during the interval between the 

 sowing of the seed and the period of blooming, the ground 

 occupied is not attractive. The most satisfactory way i.s 

 to sow all fine seeds under glass in a greenhouse, hot-bed, 

 or in the house, exposed to a southern aspect, as the 

 changes of climate, heavy rains, and drying winds, with a 

 hot sun, render the surface of the soil unfit for the germ- 

 ination of small seeds. As to the depth to which seeds 

 should be covered, the best general rule is to cover fuie 

 and light seeds very lightly, just enough to protect them 

 from the sun ; and in extremely dry weather a sprinkling 

 of damp moss is very useful. With very fine seeds it is 

 best to sow on the surface, and press them slightly into the 

 soil. We are convinced that one of the most frequent 

 causes of failure is in sowing the seeds too deep, and seeds- 

 men are unjustly censured, when the fault lies altogether 

 in the bad management of the cultivator. 



The period of sowing has also much to do with the suc- 

 cess or failure ; as a rule, we find the winter months, even 

 with all the appliances a skillful gardener can give, the 

 most unsatisfactory ; instances of which have come under 

 our observation during our long exjjerience in floriculture, 

 especially with certain kinds of seeds. Being desirous of 

 raising a stock of plants of Wigandia during the winter for 

 onr spring sales, we made repeated sowings, but failed in 

 every instance; the same seed sown in mid-summer pro- 

 duced a ])lentifnl ci'op of plants. Apple Geranium seed 

 sown in the fall furnished but a few plants, while seeds 

 that dropped from the seed jilants in June lay until the 

 next summer on the benches before they germinated, sub- 

 jected to the heat and watering necessary to the )ilants 

 that were placed thereon. Other gardeners have related 

 the same experience, where they found plants growing 

 beautifully on the compost heap, from seed thrown out 

 of the seed-pans after waiting patiently several months. 



For sowing seeds, shallow boxes 2 to 3 inches dee]), with 

 open seams at the bottom, so that the water can drain 



