362 
GARDENING FOR CHILDREN. 
produce very fine varieties. I have selected 
for you some of the most distinct colours. 
You had better sow the seeds of each sort 
Double Bee- Larkspur. 
together in one place, and afterwards plant 
out the seedlings into the borders, in groups 
of about three. They want little attention, 
provided they are kept clear of weeds, and 
are planted in a moderately good soil. 
wall-flower. [See p. 357.] 
The Wall-flower is one of the earliest, the 
most fragrant, and therefore the most welcome, 
of our Spring flowers. You should sow them 
in July and August, in a spot where they may 
grow for a few weeks without being disturbed, 
and afterwards plant them out where they 
are to bloom the next year ; or else transplant 
them, while they are young, to a nursery- 
bed, where they may grow stronger, and be, 
late in the Autumn, removed to their final 
destination. When these have bloomed, they 
may be thrown away, and the supply kept up 
by later sown ones ; for, although biennials 
can be occasionally kept over their second 
year by means of cuttings, yet they seldom 
prove handsome or healthy. Double- flowered 
varieties are propagated by cuttings planted 
in April or May. 
CANTERBURY BELL. [See p. 357.] 
This is a showy, erect plant, bearing a 
number of very large bell-shaped flowers, 
which are of different shades of blue or 
purple, and sometimes white. Some varieties 
bear double flowers, but they are not so hand- 
some as the single. The seeds may be sown 
in July, and the plants should be put out 
singly for blooming. 
DOUBLE BEE-LARKSPUR. 
A noble plant, growing three feet high and 
upwards, and bearing a long-branched spike 
of the most intensely vivid blue flowers, which 
are of dazzling richness. 
Of this I shall give you a plant each, and a 
stately appearance it will make when it has 
been established a season. This will not bear 
seeds, so that you will be only able to propa- 
gate it by dividing its root. 
HEPATICA. 
This is a pretty plant for the front of your 
bed ; it is not more than six inches high, and 
throws up a mass of flowers in February or 
early in March ; the leaves appear later. This 
is the single blue variety, but there are others, 
white and pink, both single and double. 
Hepatica. 
Some useful observations on weeds are 
also well worth the attention of our little 
gardeners. 
THE BINDWEED, 
A species of wild convolvulus, is a very trou- 
blesome weed : it has long creeping roots, or 
rather underground stems, which are very 
brittle, and most tenacious oflife. The stems 
