THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
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planting anything. Nearly all plants will bear the heat of the sun 
if the roots are cool and moist ; but if it be, as in most cases with 
which we are acquainted, that the soil is of a light, gravelly texture, 
there are some things which will not grow during the summer — at 
least not without a continued use of the watering-pot ; but as this 
entails considerable labour, it is worth while to know what can be 
grown wholly or partly without it. Such situations are decidedly 
favourable for spring flowering bulbs, which flower at a time when 
the ground is sufficiently moist to support them, and the porous 
soil and hot sun will ripen the bulbs, and the moisture soon drain- 
ing through the ground, will prevent them rotting ; but during the 
summer months, scarlet geraniums, with a small amount of moisture, 
will preserve as creditable an appearance as anything, and will yield 
abundance of gay blossoms, where calceolarias would be burnt up, 
Pinks, cloves, etc., it would be almost useless to attempt to grow, 
but many of the evergreen herbaceous plants will thrive there, as 
the Sedums, for instance ; but, of course, much depends upon the 
season, whether it be a wet or dry one. 
Bedding plants give a splendid effect to a little garden, and they 
are subjects on which a greater share of skill and taste are employed 
in blending and harmonizing the colours than on any other class of 
plants. The following comprise what are usually grown for the 
purpose: — Calceolarias, yellow, brown, etc.; Cuphea platycentra, 
scarlet; Ageratum, blue; Anagallis, blue and red; Gaillardia, 
various ; Gazania, yellow ; Scarlet geraniums ; Heliotrope, lilac ; 
Lantanas, various ; Lobelias, blue and white ; Salvias, blue and 
scarlet ; Senecio, crimson ; Petunias, various ; Verbenas, various. 
Of these, the Anagallis and Lobelias are very dwarf j Ageratums, 
Lantanas, and Salvias grow from two to three feet in height ; and 
Hollyhocks, Dahlias, and Marvel of Peru grow still taller, and are 
only suitable where there is plenty of room. The time of planting 
out, all excepting Hollyhocks, is about the latter end of May ; nor 
is it at all safe to trust them out before, as late seasons have proved. 
Hollyhocks are hardy, and may be treated as hardy biennials, or the 
offsets may be taken from old plants in the spring and planted 
where they are to flower. Dahlias are perennials, and make tube- 
rous roots, which are taken up from the ground when the plants 
have done flowering and are cut down. The roots are then stowed 
away in a dry cellar or other convenient place, or] buried in a dry 
situation beyond the reach of frost till the following April, when 
they are planted in a warm situation to break, when they are taken 
up and divided with an old knife or some such instrument, leaving one 
shoot to each piece of root, which plant where they are to flower. It 
is not safe to trust them for any length of time after planting without 
sticks to support them, as they are very brittle. The above mode 
of propagating the dahlia is most readily performed, and answers as 
well as any other, but where there is a hotbed a larger quantity of 
plants may be obtained from one root by potting it and plunging it 
in heat, and cutting off and striking each shoot as soon as large 
enough. Mirabilis or Marvel of Peru may be treated precisely in 
the same manner as dahlias. The ordinary bedding plants are half 
February. 
