ANNUALS 



33 



annuals are also several of our most beautiful climbing 

 plants for the decoration of fences and arches. The 

 Japanese Hop is one of the most rampant of these climb- 

 ing plants, and will quickly cover an arch or arbour. 

 Then again we have the climbing Nasturtium, the grace- 

 ful Canary Creeper, and the convolvulus-like Morning 

 Glory or Ipomea, which latter is tender and must be 

 sown over a hot bed in February and gradually hardened 

 off in April. The scarlet-flowered Tropaoleum lobhianum 

 is another valuable climber for a sunny situation. But 

 of all annual plants perhaps the most valuable is the 

 Sweet Pea. No flowers are more easy to grow, and 

 none yields a greater reward. Most people make the 

 mistake of sowing their seed much too thickly. Sweet 

 Peas need plenty of space, and not less than five or six 

 inches must be allowed from seed to seed. The ground 

 which is to be devoted to this plant should be deeply 

 dug in the autumn, and well manured. It should be 

 left rough during the winter in order to sweeten the 

 soil. The seed is usually sown in April, about two 

 inches deep, the soil, which had been dug the previous 

 autumn, as just described, being further enriched by 

 placing a layer of old manure about eighteen inches 

 below the surface. Stake the young plants early — that 

 is, soon after they are above ground. In order to obtain 

 earlier flowers old sods of turf should be turned upside 

 down, and in February the seeds should be inserted in 

 the soil about five or six inches apart, and placed in a 

 cool glasshouse or cool frame. These will be fit to 

 plant out in April. The ground they are to occupy 

 should have holes dug out about two feet in depth, of 

 the size of the turves, and at the bottom of each hole a 

 spadeful of manure should be placed. On this should 

 be laid some good garden soil, and on this again the 

 turves, which should come to within an inch of the 

 surface of the ground. A little fine earth should then 

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