HARDY ANNUALS.] HOETIOUL T U K E tock. Sphenogyno speciosa : half-hardy, 1 ft., orange-yellow, with black ring around the disk. Tagetes signata : half-hardy, 1J ft., golden yellow; continuous blooming, with elegant foliage. The French and African marigolds, favourites of some, are allied to this. Tropajolum aduncum (Canary Creeper) : halt hardy, 10 ft., yellow, fringed ; an elegant climber. Viscaria coeli rosa : hardy, 1J ft., rosy-purple with pale centre ; pretty. Visearia oculata cardinally : hardy, 1 ft., rosy-crimson ; very brilliant. Wait/.ia aurea : half-hardy, 1 ft., golden yellow ; a showy everlasting. Xeranthemum annuum llore-pleno : hardy, 2ft, lilac-purple ; floriferous. The following annuals are entitled to separate notice : Jhina 31. The China Aster (Callistephua chinensis). The groups of asters Lster. are very numerous ; but some of the best for ornamental gardening are the chrysanthemum-flowered, the pseony-flowered, the crown or cockade, and the globe-quilled, of each of which there are from six to it dozen distinct colours. What are called crown asters have a white centre and dark crimson or purple circumference, and are very beautiful. The colours range from white and blush through pink and rose to crimson, and from lilac through blue to purple, in various shades. These should be sown early in April in pans, in a gentle heat, the young plants being quickly transferred to a cool pit, and there pricked out in rich soil as soon as large enough, and ew.ntually planted out in the garden in May or June, in soil which lias been well worked and copiously manured, where they grow from 8 to 18 inches high, and flower in great beauty towards the end of summer. They also make very handsome pot plants for the con servatory. 62. The Stock (Matthiola annua). These also are much varied both in respect to habit and colour, and of some of the forms as many as two dozen colours are cultivated, some of which are very beautiful. The Ten-week and the large-flowered German are both favourite strains. The fragrance of these ilowers renders them universal favourites. They should be treated much the same as asters for autumn-blooniing plants, but for early blooming require to be sown about August, and wintered in pots in a cold frame, for which purpose the Intermediate Stock is the best adapted (see Uicnnials, par. 41). They grow from 1 to 2 feet high, according to the variety. .utirrlii- 33. The Snapdragon (Antirrhinum inajus), which grows about urn. -2 feet high, should be sown in February in a warm pit ; prick off in pots, and subsequently into boxes, drawing off into a cool frame when established, and planting out in May or June. They are not true annuals, but may be treated as such. .Chinese 34. The Chinese or Indian Pink (Dianthus chinensis, and its ink. varieties Heddewigii and laciuiatus) and several allied forms, which grow from 6 inches to a foot high, are very richly coloured, and highly varied in marking. Sow in pits in gentle heat, in March, transferring them quickly after germination to a cool pit, that they may not get drawn or leggy ; they may be planted out in May. They will also flower later on in favourable seasons, if sown out doors early in April. inrk- 35. The Larkspur affords two distinct types, the Rocket Lark- Our. spur (Delphinium Ajacis), which varies from a foot to a foot and a half, and the branching Larkspur (D. Consolida), growing 3 feet high, of each of which there are various colours, double and single. The candelabrum form of the latter is very handsome. Sow in March in the open border where they are to flower. lilox 36. The Phlox DrummonrMi, a spreading plant about a foot high, rum- of which there are now many varieties of colour, is one of the most
- -|ondii. beautiful of all annuals, and very prolific of blossom. Sow in the
places where it is to flower, in April, in good firm soil, fveet 37. The Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is indispensable in every KU garden, especially Painted Lady (white and rose) and the improved forms called Invincible Scarlet and Invincible Black. Sow in rows or patches in February, and again in March, in good rich soil. The plants grow 3 to 4 feet high, and require stakes to support the stems. astur- 38. The Nasturtium (Tropseolum majus), in its dwarf form known iin. as Tom Thumb (T. m. nanurn), is an excellent bedding or border flower, growing about a foot high, each plant forming a dense patch full of flowers, and blooming on for a considerable period if kept growing. The scarlet, the yellow, and the rose-coloured are very attractive. Sow in April in the beds or borders ; and again in May for a succession. nnia. 39. The Zinnia, elecjans, of which both single and double] forms are cultivated, grows about 2 feet high, and produces flowers of various colours, the double ones being about the size of asters, and very handsome. The colours include white, yellow, orange, scarlet, crimson, and purple. It is half-hardy, and should be sown and treated much the same as the aster. irdy 40. HARDY BIENNIALS. Biennials live as undeveloped plants .nnials. through one winter period. They require to be sown in the summer months, about June or July, in order to get established before winter ; they should be pricked out as soon as large enough, and should have ample space so as to become hardy and stocky. They should be planted in good soil, but not of too stimulating a char acter. Those that are perfectly hardy are best planted where they are to flower in good time during autumn/ This transplanting acts as a kind of check, which is rather beneficial than otherwise. Of those that are liable to suffer injury in winter, as the Brompton and Queen Stocks, a portion should be potted and wintered in cold frames ventilated as freely as the weather will permit. The number of biennials is not large, but a few very desirable garden plants, such as the following, occur amongst them : Agrosternma coronaria (Rose Campion) : hardy, Ij ft., bright rose-purple or rose and white. .Beta Cicla variegata : hardy, 2 ft., beautifully coloured leaves and midribs, crimson, golden, <te. Campanula Medium (Canterbury Bell): hardy, 2 ft, blue, white, rose, &c. The double-flowered varieties of various colours are very handsome. Campanula Medium calycauthema : hardy, 2 ft, blue or white ; hose-in-hose flowered. Catananche cosrulea: hardy, 2 to 3 ft., blue or white. Celsia cretica : hardy, 4 to 5 ft., yellow, with two dark spots near centre ; in spikes. Dianthus barbatus (Sweet William) : hardy, 1 to 1} ft, crimson, purple, white, or parti-coloured. Dianthus chinensis (Indian I ink) : half hardy, 1 ft., various; these flower earlier if treated as biennials. Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove): hardy, 3 to 5 ft., rosy-purple or white; beautifully spotted in the variety called gloxinueflora. Echium pomponium : hardy, 4 ft., rosy-pink. Hedysarurn corouariurn (French Honeysuckle) : hardy, 2 to 3 ft., scarlet or white ; fragrant. Jlesperis tristis (Night-scented Rocket) : hardy, 3 ft. , dull purplish ; fragrant at night. Lunaria biennis (Honesty) : hardy, 2 to 3 ft, purple ; the silvery dissepiment attractive among everlastings. w CEnothera Lamarckiana (Evening Primrose) : hardy, 5 ft., bright yellow; large. Scabiosa atropurpurea (Sweet Scabious): hardy, 3 ft., dark purple, showy; the variety naua More-pit no is dwarfer and has double flowers. Silene eompacta: half-hardy, 2 to 3 ft., bright pink; clustered as In 3. Armeria. Verbascum Blattaria: hardy, 3 to 4 ft., yellowish, with purple hairs on the filaments ; in tall spikes. 41. The most important of the biennials are the different kinds Stoc of Stocks. The Intermediate Stock (Matthiola annua intermedia) is one of the so-called scarlet stocks, arid is very useful, when preserved through the winter in frames, for its dwarfness and early-flowering habit. It is used very extensively for furnishing jardinieres, window boxes, flower beds, &c. , during the London season, for which pur pose it is sown in July and August, while if sown in spring it blooms in autumn, and furnishes a useful successional crop of flowers. Of the East Lothian stock, which is a somewhat larger grower, there are some half dozen colours, those called New Crimson and Mauve Beauty being specially admired ; these are sown in July arid August for summer blooming, and early in spring for flowering in autumn. 42. The Brompton Stock (Matthiola incana simplicicaulis) is a robust plant, growing 3 feet high, with a long central flower stem bearing very large flowers, which are crimson, purple, or white. They require rich soil, and should be sown in June or July, being pricked out into nursery beds, and planted in September in the borders where they are to bloom. Two or three plants should be put in one patch, as then any surplusage of single-flowered indi viduals may be pulled away. 43. The Queen or CCurickcnham Slock (Matthiola incana semper- florens) is less vigorous in habit than the Brompton, and is of more spreading habit, the plants growing about 2 feet high, with the lateral branches very much developed. There are the three usual colours, purple, scarlet, and white, the first-named being a special favourite. They require to be sown in June or July, and planted out in September, so as to get well established before winter, and if they have the advantage of good soil they will flower freely in the early part of the ensuing summer. Sometimes the plants acquire almost a woody habit, arid live over the second year, but the flowers are not equal to those produced the first blooming season. 44. HARDY PERENNIALS. This term includes, not only those Han fibrous-rooted plants of herbaceous habit which spring up from the pere root year after year, but also those old-fashioned subjects known as nials florists flowers, and the hardy bulbs. Some of the most beautiful of hardy flowering plants belong to this class, and their great variety, as well as the long period through which they, one or other of them, yield their flowers, are beginning again to secure them some of the consideration which has long been given mainly to bedding plants. When the length of the flowering season is considered, it will be obvious that it is impossible to keep up the show of a single border or plot for six months together, since plants, as they are commonly arranged, come dropping into flower one after another ; and even where a certain number are in bloom at the same time, they neces sarily stand apart, and so the effects of contrast, which can be per ceived only among adjacent objects, are lost. To obviate this defect, it has been recommended that ornamental plants should be formed into four or five separate suites of flowering, to be distributed over the garden. Not to mention the more vernal flowers, the first might contain the flora of May ; the second that of June ; the third that of July ; and the fourth that of August and the following months. These compartments should be so intermingled that no particular class may be entirely absent from any one quarter of tho garden.
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