76 
THE AMATEUR’S FLOWER GARDEN. 
indigo, grey, and rosy-flowering varieties in request every¬ 
where for marginal lines and edgings; the very perfection of 
bedding plants, which, any one may grow with but a trifling 
exhibition of skill and patience, with, the aid of a glass struc¬ 
ture of some kind or other, it scarcely matters how rough and 
simple. We have before now made a good edging of lobelias 
without taking a cutting or sowing a seed, for we have found 
self-sown plants in myriads, in pots of geraniums, and on 
beds of earth in the greenhouses, and even on brick walls and 
planks under glass everywhere ; and have left them alone 
until wanted, and then, on some mild, cloudy day, have trans¬ 
ferred them to the open ground, and left them to settle ac¬ 
counts with the weather and take their chance for weal or woe. 
The best plan to adopt for securing a good stock is to raise 
the plants from cuttings, selecting for the purpose the best 
varieties obtainable. In the first place, plant out a few of the 
selected sorts, at the end of May, in some out-of-the-way 
place, and let them grow and flower as they like. About the 
middle of July, cut them down pretty close to the ground, 
and they will soon after bristle with new tender shoots. These 
must not be allowed to flower, but, as soon as they have at¬ 
tained a length of about two inches, take them off, and dibble 
them into a bed of sandy soil, in a frame, or under hand¬ 
glasses or propagating-boxes, and keep them shaded and 
sprinkled until they have made roots. If they run up quickly 
to flower, nip out the flower-buds to keep them stocky and 
strong. Take up early, and pot carefully, and keep near the 
glass all winter, never allowing them to flower. In February 
these will supply cuttings in great quantity, and any one w r ho 
can strike a cutting may make a good plant of every one of 
them. To raise them from seed is a still simpler matter, and 
if the seed has been carefully saved, the plants will be tole¬ 
rably uniform in character, and will be good enough for large 
gardens, where a few spurious plants in a mass will not be 
noticed ; but seedlings are not to be depended on for highly- 
finished work. Sow the seed in pans or boxes of fine rich sandy 
soil, covering it with a mere dust of peat or finely-sifted leaf- 
mould. The seed need not be sown until March, as the 
plants grow rapidly when they have made a fair start. Lobe¬ 
lias should not be planted out in flower, or with the flower- 
buds visible. It is best to cut the tops off the plants a week 
before planting, which will promote a bushy growth, and 
