SPRING FLOWERS FROM SEEDS

It is the spring flowers that perhaps give the greatest charm and interest to the English garden. Commencing with the flowering trees, the Almond, Double Peach, Prunus Pissardi, and many others, we soon have the Daffodils, Wallflowers, and Pansies, making the ground bright



and gay after the long dreary winter. It may promote economy in the production of these brilliant and charming displays if we offer a few remarks on the employment of spring-flowering plants which can easily be raised for the purpose from seeds. It will, of course, occur to the reader that a considerable proportion of the annuals that are usually sown in autumn are particularly adapted for producing rich and varied displays in spring. A type of this class is found in the well-known Erysimum, Orange Gem, one of the cheapest, hardiest, and most resplendent plants of the kind, cheap enough for the humblest amateur to employ freely in his borders and beds, and at the same time so effective in its colouring as to be adapted for the most complex and highly finished examples of geometric work. Another striking subject is the Siberian Wallflower (Cheiranthus Allionii), so nearly allied to the Erysimum, Orange Gem, the gorgeous orange flowers adding a fresh colour to the many new shades given us in recent years by the old English Wallflower. Among the annuals are several valuable spring flowers--such as, for example, Nemophila insignis, well known for its lovely blue blossoms, and the white variety, alba, of the same; Saponaria calabrica, exquisite rosy pink; Silene, rose, dwarf rose, and dwarf white; Virginian Stock, of which the distinct varieties are remarkably well adapted to form bands and masses of red, white, and yellow, and also to make a delightful groundwork for enhancing the splendour of late Tulips; and clumps of Aubrietia, Yellow Alyssum, and other of the more distinctive plants that are employed in high colouring in first-class geometric gardening. A list of such plants will at once indicate that there is a field of enterprise for the practitioner of spring flower gardening; and while cheap and effective materials are thus brought into the service, there is no interference with the later summer bedding, because, if the annuals are well managed, they will give their plentiful bloom when the garden is most in need of colour, and may be cleared off in time to make way for the plants that are generally employed in the summer display and which are known as ' bedding plants' par excellence. In the management of annuals for an early bloom, it is of great importance to sow them at a proper time, so that they will be strong enough to perform what is required of them, and yet not so forward (or 'winter proud') as to suffer from the severity of the weather. In the North the middle of August is none too early for a general sowing in beds, and in the South the middle of September is none too late. In some few sheltered spots in the extreme South-West seed may be got in at the middle of October. As a rule, however, the sowing should be made as late as those familiar with the soil and climate of the place may deem safe, the main point being to have the seedlings in a short-jointed condition, close to the ground, in which state they are least likely to be injured by frosts. We prefer sowing in drills on a rather poor soil well broken up to a kindly state, and if the weather happens to be dry, the drills should be freely watered before the seed is sown, and there will be no more watering needed. The after-management is extremely simple: the plants must be kept clear of weeds, and be slightly thinned out if much crowded, for a few sturdy specimens are of more value than any number that have run up weak and wiry through overcrowding. In sheltered gardens, having dry chalk or sandy soils, the greater part, or perhaps the whole stock, might be transplanted from the seed-beds to the flower-beds and borders as soon as sufficient growth has been made; but on heavy soils and in exposed places it will be advisable to delay the removal until March. This part of the work must be nicely done, the plants being lifted in clumps and no attempt made to single them, and they must be carefully pressed in and aided with water, if necessary, to promote a quick 'taking hold' of their new quarters. Those planted out in October on a dry soil will not only bloom early and gaily, but will be beautiful in their different tints of green all the winter through. But we are not restricted to annuals in seeking for spring flowers from seeds. With very few exceptions, all the favourite plants of the spring garden may be grown from seeds at a cost almost infinitesimal as compared with the raising of named varieties from cuttings and divisions. Daisies, some of them now almost as large as Asters, are not only suited to the ribbon border, but make an amazingly brilliant show when the white, pink, and crimson are planted in masses or in separate beds. Seedlings flower with far greater freedom and produce much larger blooms than divided plants, and even after the first few weeks, when the later flowers become smaller and less perfect in form, a brilliant display is maintained till late in the summer if the beds are not wanted for other things. Pansies, which are still unsurpassed for beds and borders, are easily raised from seed. What is more interesting than a long row of plants of Perfection Pansy beside the pathway? every step brings one to a flower of perfect charm, quite different in marking or colour from any other. The several species and varieties of Arabis, Alyssum, Aubrietia, Viola, Polyanthus, Iberis, and Forget-me-not also come quite true from seed. The precision of style and colouring that results from raising these from cuttings is, of course, admitted; but in forming masses and ribbon lines, minute individual characters are of less consequence than a good general effect, and this may be insured by raising the plants from seed in a manner so cheap and expeditious that we feel assured spring bedding would be more often seen in its proper freshness and fulness were the system we now recommend adopted in place of the tedious one of multiplication by offsets and cuttings. Wallflowers cannot be grown in too great numbers in any garden, for either their delightful perfume or charming colour effect. The striking displays to be seen in some of our public parks and on seaside fronts have done much to popularise this old favourite flower. Since the first edition of this book was issued, many new and remarkable colours in Wallflowers have been introduced, among the last, but by no means least, being the Fire King and Orange Bedder. It is by the blending of the colours that the most telling effects can be produced. Probably Blood Red, a very inadequate name, and Cloth of Gold will always be the most favourite combination, and when planted together one sets off the other to a degree little thought of when these varieties are grown separately. Purple and the other yellows (Faerie Queene and Monarch) also make a pleasing bed. Fire King and Orange Bedder should be grown in masses, separately or together, and when seen in the late afternoon or early evening their vivid and gorgeous colouring is almost unsurpassed by any other flower. The early-flowering Wallflowers will, in mild winters, bloom from January till April, or even as early as Christmas. It should not be forgotten that these biennial and perennial plants require more time to prepare themselves for flowering than do the annuals. If sown in August they may not bloom at all the next season, or the bloom may be late and insignificant. But if sown in May and June they have a long season of growth before winter sets in, and at the turn of spring the plants will be matured and strongly set for bloom. The sowing of biennial and perennial plants for a display of spring flowers must be carefully done. The ground should be moderately rich and quite mellow through being well broken up; in other words, a good seed-bed must be prepared. If the weather is dry, the drills should be watered before the seed is sown; and in the event of a drought, the young plants must have the aid of water to keep them going through the summer. The seed should be sown thinly, and, as soon as the plants are large enough, they should be thinned out if at all crowded, and the thinnings can be planted in rows and shaded for a while. As a rule, the whole of the work will be comprised in sowing, thinning, and weeding. In average seasons they will not require watering, and in this matter alone will be seen the advantage of raising from seeds instead of cuttings. Ordinary care, with such plants as we have named, will insure a splendid display of spring flowers; and they are worth whatever attention may be necessary to promote complete and early development. It may happen that plants from early sowings will show a few flowers in autumn if neglected. This is easily prevented, to the great advantage of the plants, by the simple process of 'stopping' or nipping out the points of the leading shoots to cause the production of side shoots. If a sturdy growth is thus secured, and the plants are transferred to the flower-beds in October, the result will justify the labour. Practical gardeners will not need to be informed that the system we now propose is capable of many applications and expansions; but it may be suggested to amateurs who lament the dreary aspect of their beds and borders in the month of May and early part of June, that the plants we recommend for the formation of masses in the geometric garden are equally well adapted to form beautiful clumps and sheets on borders, banks, and rockeries, as well as in many instances to serve as a groundwork to Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissi, and other splendid hardy spring flowers. Sweet Peas deserve to be considered separately. These flowers are now so varied and exquisitely beautiful that they never appear in the garden too early. From autumn sowings not only are the most forward blooms obtained, but for size and intensity of colour the flowers are unsurpassed by the later displays from spring sowings.

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