252 THE FLOWER-GARDEN, [chap. viii. 
of scarlet flowers; and having told him the 
colour, she would give herself no further 
trouble. Now the kind of scarlet flower to 
be used, depends entirely on the position of 
the bed, and the kinds of flowers used in the 
other beds. If these flowers have been 
dwarfs, and trained so as entirely to cover 
the ground, the scarlet flower used, should 
be the verbena melindres, (or chamdrifolia 
as it is now called,) or some of its varieties, 
and each stem should be pegged down close 
to the ground. Thus treated, and supplied 
with abundance of water, being grown in 
rich light soil, on a porous subsoil or well 
drained, the verbena will soon become a 
splendid mass of scarlet, almost too dazzling 
for the eye to bear, unless it be relieved by 
grass walks between the beds. If, on the con¬ 
trary, the bed in question had been planted 
with one of the scarlet lobelias, or even 
scarlet geraniums, the effect would have been 
quite different, from the taller growth of the 
plants, and the greater proportion of leaves 
to their flowers. Where geraniums are 
grown to produce an effect in beds, the 
plants should be kept bushy while in the 
