ANNUAL FLOWERING PLANTS.--PANSY CULTURE.
Annuals flower the same season the seeds are sown, perfect their seeds,
and then die. "There is," says James Vick, "No forgotten spot in the
garden, none which early flowering bulbs or other spring flowers have
left unoccupied, that need remain bare during the summer. No bed but
what can be made brilliant with these favorites, for there is no
situation or soil in which some of these favorites will not flourish.
Some delight in shade, others in sunshine; some are pleased with a cool,
clay bed, while others are never so comfortable as in a sandy soil, or
burning sun. The seed, too, is so cheap as to be within the reach of
all, while a good collection of bedding plants would not come within the
resources of many, and yet very few beds filled with expensive bedding
plants look as well as a good bed of our best annuals, like Phlox,
Petunia, or Portulaca, and for a vase or basket many of our annuals are
unsurpassed. To annuals, also, we are indebted mainly for our brightest
and best flowers in the late summer and autumn months.
"Without the Phlox and Petunia, and Portulaca and Aster, and Stock, our
autumn gardens would be poor indeed, and how we would miss the sweet
fragrance of the Alyssum, Mignonette, and Sweet Pea, if any ill-luck
should befall them, or deprive us of these sweet favorites!" Annuals are
divided into three classes, hardy, half-hardy, and tender. The hardy
annuals are those that, like the Larkspur, Candytuft, etc., may be sown
in the autumn, or very early in the spring in the open ground. The
half-hardy annuals should not be sown in the open ground until all
danger of frost is over. The Balsams and Marigolds belong to this class.
The tender annuals generally require starting in a green-house, or
hot-bed, to bring them to perfection, and should not be set in the open
ground until the weather is fine and warm, some time in June. From a
perplexing number to be found in plant catalogues, we select the
following twelve sorts of annuals as being the most desirable for the
garden; they are a galaxy of gems, indeed:
Asters,
Balsams,
Phlox Drummondii,
Double Petunias,
Pansies,
Double Sweet Alyssum,
Double White Pyrethrum,
Dwarf Ageratum,
Verbenas,
Salvias,
Double Stocks,
Celosias (Coxcomb).
Sow the seed in the open ground the latter part of May, and the first of
July most of the sorts will be in bloom, and they will continue to
bloom until arrested by frosts.
PANSY CULTURE.
Pansies are old and popular favorites, they embrace varieties with
variously-colored flowers, from almost jet black, to pure white and
yellow. They are easily grown from seed. The general custom is to sow
Pansy seed in the fall, but we are in favor of spring sowing. We have
tried sowing seed at both seasons, and find that plants grown from
spring-sown seed bloom more freely throughout the hot months of summer,
while plants raised by fall sowing become exhausted, and cease flowering
much sooner. Seed sown in March, in light, rich soil, will make fine
blooming plants the same season. Pansies are hardy, if they have good
protection with a litter of leaves or straw, or any light covering,
which should be removed very early in the spring, or as soon as danger
of heavy frosts is over. Plants remaining in ground through the winter,
if proper care is given them, will bloom very early in the spring, as
soon as the frost is out of the ground. We have even seen the frail
blossoms peeping up through the snow, but the plants become exhausted
and cease flowering before mid-summer. It is possible to have them bloom
throughout the entire winter by taking up old plants from the open
ground in October, and carefully planting them in a tight, cold frame in
a sheltered location, covering the frame with glazed sash. This is often
done by florists whose trade demands the flowers at that season of the
year, and especially early in spring. Treated thus, they flower
abundantly. The same can be done with Violets. Pansies require a partial
shade and a good, rich, loamy soil, and an occasional watering through
the dry season will help them.