78 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
pressed with other work. But at the same time, the result to be 
obtaiued is worthy of a strong eftbrt, and I am sure there is 
neither an employer nor a gardener but would strain a point to secure 
it, if they have any love for spring flowers, and if they only know 
how good a display may be made with these hardy and, as some 
will say, simple subjects. 
Amongst the most useful plants for spring decoration, I will first 
name the blue and white Forget-me-nots, as they are perfectly hardy, 
easy to manage, and, above all, very showy. The best way to make 
sure of them is to buy some strong dumps in summer, and part and 
plant in the kitchen-garden for next season’s flowering. They should 
be planted in a rich soil three inches apart, and kept shaded and 
moist for a fortnight. They will make fine large tufts by the end of 
October, and as soon as the summer bedders are over, they may be 
removed to the beds where they are to flower, always providing 
that the beds have been well dug up first. It is astonishing what a 
nice eflfect these have when arranged with taste, as, for instance, one 
bed may be planted in lines, blue and white alternately ; then 
another bed may have a centre of white aud the remainder of blue. 
Then, again, the last arrangement may be reversed, with a blue 
centre and a white body, or the whole body of a bed may be fiUed 
with blue or white, and edged with the other colour, as the case 
may be. I find the best way to manage these subjects, when I raise 
them from seed, is not to depend upon yearly plants, but to sow the 
summer previously, on some outside spot, and let them flower 
where they were sown. I cut away the flower-stems, and divide, 
and plant out in August, as above advised. Plants so secured are 
not only stronger but they flower earlier, which is a consideration of 
some moment. 
The Pansy must come next on the list for a really useful and 
easy subject to deal with for spring flowers. There is no concealing 
the fact that those which are called the Cliveden Pansies are the 
best for this purpose, and those who wish to shine in this depart- 
ment cannot well do without them, for their colours are so distinct 
that they enable any one who possesses them to effect a much better 
combination of colours than could be otherwise done ; nevertheless, 
all but the more choice-named pansies will flower sufficiently early 
to produce a brilliant display from the beginning of April onwards ; 
and where plants are not be had or cannot be purchased, a shilling 
packet of good mixed seed will serve the purpose. If it is sown 
thinly in July on a rich loamy soil, and kept shaded and watered in 
dry weather, the plants will be sufficiently advanced to transfer to 
the beds by the end of October. These will commence to flow'er, if 
we have mild weather, in March, and continue to do so throughout 
the mouth of May, if required, and allowed to remain. 
Then comes the Daisy, either for separate bed or lines ; or it 
may be used as edgings to some taller-growing subjects ; but the 
colours should not be mixed. These, like most of the subjects for 
early flowering, require to be planted rather thickly to be effective. 
It is a good plan to buy a lot in flower, so as to secure brilliant 
colours and keep up the stock by dividing every summer. 
