THE PARTERRE GARDEN. 



817 



"beds extending over twenty or thirty square 

 vards by such means would be absurd. Sow- 

 ing in pots in the reserve-garden, however, is 

 absolutely necessary, so as to have a supply of 

 plants just coming into bloom, or nearly so, 

 to fill up such portions of the parterres as have 

 failed from some cause or other, or to ^ replace 

 early bulbs, or autumn-sown annuals which have 

 completed their season of flowering. Upon the 

 whole, tempering the soil to suit the annuals, 

 and sowing moderately thin, and thinning after- 

 wards, is the true way to secure a fine bloom 

 through the summer months. To insure an 

 early spring display the seeds should be sown 

 in autumn, and, where needed, protected slightly 

 during the intensity of winter, transplanting 

 them early in spring. Most of the best of the 

 Californian annuals submit to this mode of 

 treatment, and indeed flower fully as well _ as 

 such as are sown in spring to flower during 

 summer. For a late bloom, many of the same, 

 if sown as late as June or the beginning of July, 

 will flower from the end of August till Novem- 

 ber. To insure a display of hardy annuals 

 throughout the season, sow early in March, mid- 

 dle of April, end of June, or beginning of July, 

 and for an early spring bloom about the begin- 

 ning of October. Half-hardy annuals, such as 

 stocks, should not be sown in the open ground 

 till the beginning of May, and of those which 

 are rather tender, Petunia, Phlox Drummondi, 

 &c, should be sown in pots or boxes, under 

 glass, and transplanted about the end of May. 

 All annuals that will submit to it (and most of 

 them will do so) are improved in habit by 

 transplanting, because it checks their over-luxu- 

 riance of growth, and causes them to flower in 

 greater profusion. The blooming season of an- 

 nuals, as well as the duration of their existence, 

 may be considerably prolonged if the flowers are 

 cut off as they begin to decay. Thus the com- 

 mon mignonette may be continued for two or 

 three years, if prevented from forming its seed, 

 and by regularly pinching back a portion of its 

 shoots. Half-hardy annuals should be sown on 

 a gentle hotbed in March and April, afterwards 

 transplanted into another mild hotbed, and 

 finally planted in the parterres about the end of 

 May or beginning of June. Tender or green- 

 house annuals require to be constantly grown 

 in heat for the most part ; a few of them, how- 

 ever, such as the balsam, may be planted out in 

 warm gardens about the end of June, and will 

 flower in very tolerable perfection. 



The after-culture of annuals consists in thin- 

 ning out the plants, or pruning their branches 

 when they overgrow their prescribed bounds. 

 This is a matter seldom thought of, as is also 

 that of cutting off the decaying flower-stalks, so 

 as to prevent the plants from seeding. We pre- 

 fer low-growing annuals for our smallest par- 

 terres, because they require no supports ; where, 

 however, the parterre or group is pretty large, 

 plants of various heights should be employed, 

 the tallest always towards the middle and the 

 lowest next the margin, attention at the same 

 time being paid to the proper arrangement of 

 the colours. Whether the rows are placed in 

 circles, straight lines, curves, or zigzags, each 



line should be distinct in itself, and these bands 

 should never be allowed to touch the edging, or 

 the row next to it. Much may be done in se- 

 curing these distinctive lines, and preventing the 

 plants from running into each other, by sticking 

 in small branches of beech or birch, or any other 

 deciduous tree, along both sides of the lines of 

 plants where these exceed 9 inches or a foot 

 in height, but they must be so regulated that 

 the plants shall completely hide them. Such 

 supports are necessary also when clumps are cut 

 out on grass, to prevent the plants from touch- 

 ing the grass, and to confine them, so that the 

 proper outline, whatever it may be, shall be pre- 

 served. Even where annuals are sown in masses, 

 each occupying an entire bed, it is well to intro- 

 duce such supports, to keep the lower branches 

 from falling down, and so preventing a free 

 circulation of air between the plants throughout. 

 Few annuals require pegging down, as abun- 

 dance of them are of a trailing habit naturally. 



SELECT LIST OF HARDY ANNUALS FOR 

 PARTERRES. 



Ageratum ccelestinum, pale blue ; odoratum, 

 lilac, 18 inches — both may also be continued 

 by cuttings. Alyssum calycinum, white, 12 

 inches ; Anagallis ccerulea, blue ; carnea, flesh- 

 coloured ; indica, purple ; latifolia, blue ; grandi- 

 flora,red,6 inches: maybe, like Ageratum, treated 

 as annuals, sown in March, in a warm frame, 

 and also continued by cuttings. Asters, China 

 and German, from 12 to 24 inches, of various 

 colours. Bartonia aurea, 18 inches, yellow. 

 Brachycoma iberidifolia, 12 inches, blue, and 

 also a white variety. Calandrinia ascendens, 

 6 inches, dark crimson ; glandulosa, 12 inches, 

 red ; grandiflora, 12 inches, rose lilac ; speciosa, 

 18 inches, maroon. Calendula officinalis flo. 

 pleno, 15 inches, orange ; stellata, 24 inches, 

 yellow. Campanula Loreyi, 9 inches, dark blue ; 

 pentagona, 9 inches, blush purple ; stricta, 9 

 inches, blue. Centaurea cyanus major 18 

 inches, blue ; depressa, 18 inches, bright 

 blue. Centranthus macrosiphon, 18 inches, 

 scarlet. Chrysanthemum carinatum, 15 inches, 

 white, yellow, and purple. Choenostoma fasti- 

 giatum, 9 inches, pink ; polyanthum, 9 inches, 

 lilac ; viscosum, 9 inches, brown. Clarkia 

 pulchella, 18 inches, reddish purple ; flo. alba, 

 18 inches, white. Clintonia pulchella, 6 inches, 

 blue, white, and yellow. Collinsia bicolor, 12 

 inches, purple and white ; grandiflora, 9 inches, 

 blue and purple. Collomia coccinea, 9 inches, 

 scarlet; grandiflora, 12 inches, buff. Convol- 

 vulus tricolor, 12 inches, blue and white ; var. 

 atroviolacea, dark purple. Delphinium (Rocket 

 Larkspur), 18 inches, various ; consolida 

 (branching), 24 inches. Dianthus sinensis, 12 

 inches, various. Erysimum Perowskianum, 24 

 inches, dark orange. Eschsckoltzia crocea, 

 orange; californica, yellow — both 15 inches. 

 Eucharidium grandiflorum, 12 inches, dark 

 crimson ; concinnum, 18 inches, reddish. Gilia 

 tricolor, 18 inches, lilac and purple. Godetia 

 tenella, 18 inches, purple. Gramnanthes genti- 

 anoides, 6 inches, deep orange ; var. flora 

 lutea, yellow. Heliophila arabioides, 9 inches, 

 blue. Hemimeris incisifolia, 24 inches, scarlet. 



