56 
FORMATION AND MANAGEMENT OF FLOWER GARDENS. 
the time of planting with double snowdrops, 
which will flower in January. In February 
the bed may be planted over thinly with 
Clarhia pulchella, sown in September, kept 
in a frame to flower in April and May. 
In May the place of the ranunculus, which 
are to be taken to the reserve garden, is to 
be occupied by Gladiolus natalensis (orange 
mottled), which, if potted in springand brought 
forward in the frames, will flower finely in 
July and August. This bed may have an 
edging of mignonette, planted out in March, 
and a succession crop sown at the same 
time. 
No. 19 is to be planted in October with 
patches nine inches apart of Anemone hortensis 
(rosy-purple) ; it will flower in April and 
May ; the bed may be edged with snowdrops, 
as in No. 18. In February, fill between the 
plants with Godetia rubicunda (rosy), sown in 
September, to bloom in May and June. In 
May, as soon as the anemones are out of 
flower, they must be removed, and their place 
taken by Tigridia pavonia, planted in pots in 
February, and brought forward in a frame ; 
these will bloom from June to September. 
The bed may be edged with mignonette as in 
No. 18. 
No. 20 is to be occupied by ranunculus 
(Yellow turban), planted as in No. 18, and 
edged in the same way with snowdrops, the 
latter blooming in January, and the former in 
May. In February, the bed is to be planted 
between the ranunculus, with Collinsia bicolor 
(white and lilac), sown in August, in pots, and 
got forward in the frames ; this will bloom in 
March and April. In May the bed is to be 
planted in place of the ranunculus with Gladio- 
lus floribundus (pink), potted in spring, and 
brought forward in frames to flower in June 
and July. The bed may be edged with 
mignonette, as in No. 18. 
No. 21 is to be planted in October with 
patches of Anemone apennina (blue), at nine 
inches apart ; this blooms in March and April ; 
it may be edged with snowdrops, which flower 
in January. In February it may be planted 
with stocks (scarlet ten weeks), raised in pots 
in August, and kept in frames ; these flower 
in April and May. In May, the anemone3 
are replaced by Gladiolus cardinalis, potted 
in spring, and brought forward in frames, so 
as to flower in June and July. The bed may 
be edged with mignonette, as No. 18. 
No. 22 is planted in October, at nine inches 
apart, with strong plants of hepaticas (double 
and single blue alternately) ; these bloom in 
February and March. It may be intermixed 
or edged at the time of planting with Scilla 
bifolia rubra (pink), which blooms in March 
and April. In May, it may be planted with 
verbena (purple variety — Emma), raised from 
cuttings in August, and kept in frames, and 
grown on so as to be nearly or quite in bloom; 
these keep flowering till October, or till 
destroyed by frost. 
No. 23 is planted in October with Winter 
aconite (yellow), intermixed or edged with 
Cyclamen coum (red), the former bloom- 
ing in January and February, the latter in 
March. Early in May, verbenas (lilac variety 
— Lovely Rambler) may be planted out as 
in No. 22. 
No. 24 is planted in October with hepa- 
ticas (double and single red), intermixed with 
Scilla bifolia or avicena (both blue), the former 
blooming in February and March, the latter 
in March and April. In May, the bed may be 
planted with verbenas (scarlet variety — Melin- 
dres major), as in No. 22. 
No. 25 is to be filled in October with 
double snowdrops (white), intermixed with 
Hyacinthus amethystinus (blue), the former 
blooming in January, and the latter in April. 
In May the beds may be filled with verbenas 
(crimson variety — Tweedieana), planted as in 
No. 22. 
In November and December, which are 
thus unprovided with flowers, the liveliness 
of the flower-garden is in some measure 
kept up by plunging small evergreens in 
pots, between the bulbs. A selection of 
choice kinds of evergreens, including the 
different variegated plants, and accompanied 
by others with various coloured berries, forms 
a very good substitute for flowers at that 
season. 
There are two or three general remarks in 
connexion with this system of planting flower- 
gardens, which it may be desirable to make. 
In the first place, where it is recommended to 
plant out any of the plants in February, this 
is presuming on the recurrence of fine weather, 
and the planting out should only be done 
under such circumstances ; in addition to 
which, if it becomes very cold afterwards, 
some protection at night must be afforded. 
Another point is, that all the plants brought 
from the greenhouses, or frames, to the flower- 
garden, must be perfectly ;< hardened off," as 
it is termed ; that is, they must by degrees 
have been so perfectly inured to exposure as 
to be able to bear it without injury, before 
they are risked in the garden. Another point 
is, that the different kinds of plants must not 
be allowed to spoil each other by being 
crowded ; where they are getting too thick 
they must be thinned, as far as may be neces- 
sary, the less important crop being sacrificed 
to the better. In general, the batch of annuals 
planted in February, are to be regarded as the 
make-up crop. Especially at the edges of the 
beds, if any shoots are growing beyond the 
proper bounds, they must be cut in, so that 
