4 
The Flow er Garden 
OPERATIONS FOR MARCH. » 
March is the month in which to prepare — 
space to themselves, otherwise when they 
and plant bulbs. Many gardeners prefer 
bulbs to any other variety of flowers, lar- 
gely owing to the fact that they are not 
so subject to the depredations of snails and 
slugs. There is much to be said in favor of 
this. Bulbs are not free from disappoint- 
ments, but they are in no measure so liable 
to disappoint as are annuals and biennials. 
Few things are more disheartening than to 
find a nice little lot of seedlings eaten up at 
one night’s debauch by slugs. — 
: DaFrropits 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
os March 1, 190 _ 
are good anywhere in the beds or borders, 
and in pots, too. As cut flowers they are 
most satisfactory, blooming up to the last 
bud, the flowers keep well, and have a 
beautiful perfume. Now is the time to 
plant, and it will be well to give them a 
die off above the ground the bulbs are 
liable to interfere with after operations in 
the beds. aS 
We have written a good deal about the 
Gladiolus, and are bound to say that it — 
promises to rival the Daffodil in popular- 
ity. The chief reason being that Gladioii 
can be planted every month in the year, 
and thus maintain continuous blooming. 
In this respect it has a distinct advantage 
_ over its rival. The two flowers are so oppo- 
: a _ NARCISSUS “MADAME DE GRAAFE.” 
are the most popular bulbs and the mosti 
highly favored in the matter of special cul- 
ture. To those who would plant Daffodils, 
we must advise that the choice of bulbs had 
better be left to practical growers. The 
nurseryman is generally the best practical 
guide. He will not only be pleased to sell 
the bulbs, but also to talk about them, and 
give instructions upon how to plant and 
cultivate. Their names are legion, bui 
they are botanically divided into three 
groups, viz., Magni coronate (large 
crowns), Medii coronate (medium crowns), 
and Parvi coronate (small crowns). No 
gardener can go wrong in planting Daffo- 
dils. They are mosb adaptable plants to’ 
climate and soil, and will accept anything 
but too much manuring. A good many 
failures arise throught overfeeding. They 
Pally 
site in their form and colorings that com- 
parison is out of the question. The beau- 
tiful points of delicacy and tinting of the 
Daffodil will never be superseded by the 
bold colorings, or even the tintings of the 
Gladiolus, but the latter has many points 
in its favor. Specialists are producing 
such a tremendous variety and range of 
coloring in the Gladiolus that it is bound 
to become popular. In cutting for deco- 
rative purposes it is almost without a rival 
in effectiveness, where bold designs are re- 
quired: They can be planted this month. 
Hyacinths still retain a strong favor. 
amongst growers who know them, but in 
popularity they have been outrivalled. It 
must be remembered when planting that 
they are deep rooted, gross feeders, and 
will take plenty of water. They require to 
be taken up after the tops have died out. 
Other bulbs that will all repay planting 
are Amaryllids, Irises, Liliums, Tulips, 
-Ranunculi, Anemones,- Snowflakes, Babi- 
anas, Iscias, Tritonias, Scillas, Agapanthus, 
Alliums, and Watsonias. How deep ta 
plant bulbs is a question always asked by — 
the amateur. No hard and fast rule can be 
‘laid down, but if we say three times the 
depth of the bulb the planter will not ge 
far wrong. . er eb 
eo Harpy ANNUALS _ 
can be sown this month for early spring, 
and amongst the seeds for choice we cam 
name French and Shirley, Poppies, Lupins, 
Phlox, Lobelia, Nemophila, Stocks, Del- 
phinium, Cornflowers, Coreopsis, Candy- 
tuft, and Gaillardia. Sweet Peas are great 
favorites with the Americans, and should. 
be be more highly favored with us. Sown 
in the autumn, they grow stronger than 
the spring sowing. A succession of planting 
will keep the flowers blooming for a long 
period. = 
Herbaceous plants can be propagated, 
and cuttings taken from Petunias, Fuch-. 
sias, and Verbenas. 
and Polyanthuses can be taken up and 
divided. 
The fork should be kept going in remak- 
ing beds, plants tied up, seed pods gathex~ 
ed, and withered blooms cut off. In fact, 
during March month a good deal of tidying 
up generally will keep the gardener welk 
employed. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
CULTURAL NOTES. 
Now that the plants are all in the pots 
in which they are to flower, except perhaps 
the latest-batch that are to give us the last 
crop of flowers, provision must be made 
for getting them into their summer quar- 
ters without delay. Usually at potting 
time they are stood close together in ® 
sheltered corner until all are potted. By 
that time the forwardest will have become 
nicely established in the large pots, and 
will be ready to undergo the usual routine 
of summer management. Where several 
hundred plants are cultivated for the pra- 
duction of large blooms and a large batch 
for cutting from in addition to a goodly 
Violets, Primroses; 
-S 
number for providing late flowers, a large A 
space must be provided for them during 
their summer season. The best site should 
be set apart for those plants that are to 
produce blooms for exhibition, as plants 
that are immature in growth cannot pro- 
duce the finest flowers. If the growth of 
the plants has been gross during the sum—~ 
mer, with large leaves and thick fleshy 
stems devoid of woody tissues, we know 
that the requirements of the plants have 
not been all that was necessary during the 
growing season. Too liberal use of manure _ 
in the potting soil and loose potting may 
have much to do with this state of things. 
but an unsuitable position for growth dur- 
ing the summer may have even more to da 
with the unsatisfactory condition plants 
are found in at the time stated. A position. 
sheltered from the south-west and in the 
_ full blaze of the midday sun, and as long 
as it can be obtained during other parts _ 
