456 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March|17, 190C. 
flNTS FOR f|MATEURS. 
Hardy Annual Flowers.—Sometime ago a promise 
was made to a correspondent that hints would be fur¬ 
nished on what to grow in the section of flowering 
plants treated as annuals. Memory may recall the sug¬ 
gestions made some weeks ago to have the land deeply 
worked and otherwise prepared for the reception of 
vegetable seeds. The same thing applies, of course, 
to flower seeds. After one has prepared the 
bed or border, the other work which follows 
with the growth of the seedlings and plants is 
of a recreative and dainty nature, furnishing 
pleasurable occupation for the lady of the house. 
How "pally" and forlorn our summer gardens 
would be without the hardy flowers, and especially 
the annuals. Not all of them though, but the large 
marjoricy. And who would forego his fragrant 
Mignonette or glowing blanket of Tropaeolums and 
the half hardy Phlox Drummondii ? The work of 
tending the lowly plants from seed sowing to the 
flowering is briefly planned as follows:—Thinning 
the seedlings to a proper distance apart, usually but 
a few inches : staking, weeding, and watering, which 
is advisable in droughty weather where time 
and the means are at one’s disposal, and last, 
though of course, as usual, not least to be 
heeded, is the precaution to pluck off or otherwise 
remove withered blossoms. Only those who persis¬ 
tently attend to the removal of the ovaries or seed- 
containing organs of plants realise how much more 
prolonged are the flowering abilities of the annuals. 
The expense laid out in the first instance for a few 
seeds is surely a thousand times repaid to anyone by 
the healthy pleasure that is extracted by cultivating 
them throughout their growth. Most hobbies of a 
kindred nature demand a short while’s chained 
application before a warm love, that inner charge of 
quaint and tender regard generates within one to¬ 
ward the object which we learn to understand and 
in which hides a hundred associated points not seen 
by the foreign vision, but only intimate to us 
because of trained acquaintance. It is so with the 
love for tending flowers. Most folks care in a way 
for flowers, for if they did not they would find their 
live's love a rather restricted quantity ; but it is 
with a new and altered regard that the amateur cul¬ 
tivator views them. I am perhaps exhaustive to a 
wearisome extent on this item in " The Pleasures cf 
Life," but those who love best and strongest are 
most persistent and anxious to entice all others to 
participate in that which they find is fraught with 
sweetness—and life is cankerous enough. 
Open air sowings may be made in borders early 
next month, and successional sowings continued till 
its close. Some of these hardy annuals are Agera- 
tum, in the varieties Imperial Dwarf Blue, Imperial 
Dwarf White, and Little Dorrit. Towards the close 
of the season some of the plants can be lifted and 
potted up for cuttings the following spring. The 
bushiest plants generally come from cuttings just as 
with Lobelia. 
Amblyopsis setigera is a sweet-scented Composite, 
like a Helenium. Prickly Poppies (Argemone) are 
pretty annuals and easy to grow. Arnebia cornuta 
is fairly well known. A sunny position should be 
selected for it. The medium sized flowers are yellow, 
being spotted with black spots. The Swan River 
Daisy may be regarded as hardy if sown on a warm 
border after the middle of April. It is a pretty 
Daisy-like flower, though not really a Daisy. The 
varieties of Calliopsis, or Coreopsis, as you care to 
call them, are so pretty and withal easy to grow, 
that their use is strongly to be recommended. For 
window boxes or borders in all manner of positions 
they may be regarded as indispensable decorators. 
C.Burridgei, C. bicolor, C. coronata, and some others 
are very sweet flowering Composites. The annual 
Candytufts (Iberis) are commonest in cottagers’ gar¬ 
dens, where they are used as edging lines around the 
little plots. 
Collinsia bicolor is a very useful hardy annual 
which has flowers of purple and white, blooms very 
freely, and grows about i ft. or so high. 
Cosmos, which resembles Calliopsis, is also a sub¬ 
ject which anyone who is careful, can grow, and 
which furnishes pretty flowers for the border or for 
cutting. Chrysanthemum carinatum and its varia¬ 
tions may either be sown in boxes and reared before 
being planted out in groups in the hardy plant 
borders, or given the less preferable treatment of 
open air sowing. With such showy and rather 
handsome annuals it is worth the while to be at 
some pains with them. The same remarks apply to 
other subjects that I have noticed, only that some 
are more capable of the " despatch " treatment than 
others. And many growers who are otherwise 
anxious enough to do the plants justice, have not 
convenience at the time of year. We will run 
through a few more names of notably useful annuals. 
Of those that may not be so well known to the 
reader a smaller quantity may be ordered until a 
trial has been made. By so doing, some of the 
lesser known yet worthy subjects will be found out 
to be included among the favourites. It is all the 
more interesting, too, in having a batch of " new " 
plants to watch and rear. 
The Cornflowers in their various colours are all 
sweet; so are the Californian Poppies (Esch- 
scholtzia), among which new colours are being 
evolved. The former, of course, are 2 ft. in height, 
while the latter are useful and very bright edging 
plants. The various forms and colours of the 
Gaillardias should by no means be missing from the 
garden. In beds by themselves few things are finer. 
The Shirley Poppies, and Phlox Drummondi add 
other indispensables; Salpiglossis, Godetias, 
Impatiens, Roylei, a large and fast growing plant, 
found all over the land, and not very select, though 
it has some points of merit. The annual Larkspurs 
are suitable for sunny borders, and do not go more 
than 2 ft. in height. 
Linum grandiflorum rubrum is pretty generally 
known. Whoever does not know it might make a 
trial sowing of it this spring, and if the little plant 
does not satisfy the grower, then blame me. The 
annual Lupins for the back of the border are 
reckoned as almost necessary. They are very fine 
indeed. Malope trifida grandiflora, Lavatera, white 
and red, Leptosiphon aureus, are plants the two 
former of which should be sown in the middle of the 
border, the latter towards the edge. 
African, Scotch, and French Marigolds are re¬ 
garded by some up-in-the-world folks as too common 
for their garden. Well, they are welcome to their 
opinions. But, to grow a real, good batch of French 
Marigolds demands some care. They are favourites 
with cottagers, by whom Marigold classes are made 
at the local shows. The Scotch Marigold is a sturdy 
plant, and one which will flourish wily-nily. No 
plant, no hardy annual plant is more useful for sow¬ 
ing in the patchy front or back-gardens in our large 
cities and towns. It makes a wonderfully brave 
show in such places. The Night-scented Stock 
(Mathiola) is another very popular plant. The flowers 
are yellow, the plant attaining to a foot in height. 
Mignonette, of course, it is needless to praise, the 
only point is that it is not largely enough grown. 
Various sowings should be made. Allow the seed¬ 
lings plenty of room (9 ins. apart) in a rich, moist 
soil and an open position, so as to furnish specimen 
and lasting plants. 
The Tom-Thumb Tropaeolums, otherwise, but 
erroneously, called Nasturtiums, are suitable for poor 
soil or rich soil, shade or sunshine alike. An open, 
sunny border gives them fullest justice to show off 
their gloriously bright scarlet, crimson, and yellow 
flowers. I strongly advise the sowing of large 
batches in open spaces by themselves. Only by so 
doing will their great beauty and soft fragrance be 
properly brought out. The leaves and flowers when 
eaten have slightly laxative powers. 
Nemophila insignis, like Linum grandiflorum 
rubrum, is one of the first-water gems. Indeed, the 
Nemophila would form a brilliant blue front row, 
while the Linum could answer as a second 
border row to make an effective contrast with its 
rich ruby flowers. 
The Giant Prince’s Feather is well known, and 
rightly deserves to be favoured. Senecio elegans, as 
dwarf plants, and the annual miniature Sunflowers, 
with black disc and yellow petals, are likewise 
named for selection. The Sunflowers are sure of 
appreciation, for few hardy annuals are more useful 
or pretty. 
The foregoing, then, is very representative of the 
hardy annuals at our command. By a judicious 
selection made to accord with the area of garden, the 
good and bad points of it, for the growth of this or 
that, and by taking reasonable care through the 
summer, every little garden could be made an Eden 
fr^m June till November,— Beacon. 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
"Amateurs' Page " on the top of their letters. 
Plants after Forcing.— M. N.: Your Spiraeas and 
forced hard-wooded plants should be placed by 
gradual transitions from warm to cool houses. 
They should receive quite as much attention in after 
growth as during the period in which they are in 
use. In the summer time they should be placed in 
an open place out of doors, not, however, in a position 
where they will be scorched up. The bulbs should 
be placed out against a wall, to be planted out later 
on. 
Easily grown outdoor Climbers. — S.S. : Sow 
outdoors, in May, an inch deep in the soil, Canary 
Creeper (Tropaeolum canariense), Tropaeolum 
majus, and seeds of Scarlet Runner Bean. Other 
very pretty perennials for your special purpose 
would be the Flame Flower (Tropaeolum speciosum) f 
Convolvulus major, and Clematis Jackmannii. 
Forced Bulbs for Stony Ground.— N. L. ; Your 
best plan, if the land you wish to plant up is too 
stony to admit of digging, is to place a heavy dress¬ 
ing of soil, say one foot or more deep, over the sur¬ 
face. The bulbs may be planted as the layer of soil 
is placed on, and more bulbs and soil can be added 
as time and material admit. 
Pointing up Shrubbery.— B. Johnson ; Could we 
but guarantee the weather, the pruning and re¬ 
arrangement of any part of our outdoor borders 
might well be done. At present the weather per¬ 
mits of the work you wish to undertake, and we 
would advise its being done. Prune out only enough 
from the Laurels, &c., to allow of light and air 
entering. The shrubbery borders should be pointed 
over, and certainly, if your soil is light, do not 
hesitate to mulch everything heavily. 
" Vegetable Ivory."— IV. Tullock : The trinkets and 
ornaments you saw, and which were made from the 
substance termed vegetable ivory, are commonly on 
sale. The " ivory ” is obtained from the very hard 
kernel in the nuts of a Palm tree (Phytelephas 
macrocarpa), which grows abundantly in parts of 
Peru and New Grenada, South America. 
Calceolaria Burbidgei.— Henry Jackson : Coming 
into bloom, as it does, at the present time, this tall 
growing, Salvia-leaved, yellow Calceolaria is a 
welcome greenhouse plant. It is easily raised from 
cuttings, which may be taken from firm young wood 
after the flowering period. Grow it on in a cool 
house, and pot as required. Keep the shoots as 
firm as possible. Its height is 3 ft. or more. 
Protecting Carnations.— H. Osman: To prevent 
rabbits from doing harm, run fine meshed wire net¬ 
ting around the beds. Herring netting may be placed 
over the top to ward off the sparrows. 
Removing Protective Material.— H. Osman : The 
handlights and panes of glass or other slight pro- 
tectives previously placed over your rarer alpines 
should only be removed on clear, mild days. Foggy 
weather must still be guarded against. 
Lilium Harrisii.— Jas. Gloag : We can suggest no 
remedy for the leaf disease. Keep the plants grow¬ 
ing vigorously, and supply them liberally with 
water. Later on they may be fed with weak appli¬ 
cations of manure water. Cut off the points which 
show the complaint. A brisk temperature will help 
the growth of the plants.. 
Arundinaria gracilis.— R. Patterson : Pieces of the 
old stem when inserted among warm, moist fibre, or 
in pots, soon take root, whence they can be potted 
up. Another means of increase is by division. The 
old plants can be cut back and started to growth by 
placing them in heat. 
Propagating Selaginella.— B. M. : To renew an 
edging of Selaginella, take pieces of shoots 2 to 
3 in. long, and after having loosened or renewed the 
