The Culture Of Vegetables And Flowers From Seeds And Roots Part 33

The =Tropaeolum tuberosum= is treated under the 'Culture of Flowering Bulbs,' so that here we have only to consider the varieties that are grown from seed. There are two distinct cla.s.ses, both widely cultivated, for the seed is inexpensive, and the plants extremely showy durable, and easily raised.

=Tropaeolum majus= is the climbing Nasturtium, or great Indian Cress. The flower as originally obtained from Peru was a rich orange, marked with deep reddish-brown, but it has been developed into various shades of yellow and red, culminating in a tint which is almost black. The leaves are nearly circular, and are attached to the long footstalks by the centre instead of at the margin. Loudon fancifully compares the leaf to a buckler, and the flower to a helmet. The Lobbianum section is close in habit, with smaller foliage borne on somewhat woolly stems. All the varieties bloom freely, and const.i.tute a brilliant cla.s.s of climbers of great value for brightening the backs of borders or hiding unsightly objects. After the seeds have been dibbled about an inch deep in either April or May, the only attention the plants require is to nip out a straggling shoot occasionally, or prevent a stray branch from reaching over and smothering some plant which will not endure its embraces.

The well-known Canary Creeper (=T. canariense=) is a perfectly distinct variety, and as a half-hardy annual should be raised under protection and planted out in May, although sowings in the open ground in April and May often prove satisfactory. Unlike the others, it needs a rich soil to insure vigorous growth. When liberally treated the entire plant will be covered with its bright fairy-like flowers, until frost ends its career.

=Tropaeolum majus nanum.=--The Tom Thumb, or Dwarf varieties, make excellent bedding plants, blooming far on into the autumn after many of the regular bedders have faded and become shabby. There is an extensive choice of colours in reds, yellows, and browns, which come perfectly true from seed, and all possess the merit of flowering freely on very poor soil. They grow luxuriantly on rich land, but then the foliage becomes a mere mask under which the flowers are concealed. There is not one of the Tom Thumb cla.s.s that may not be treated as a hardy annual, and all afford opportunity of making a gorgeous show of colour at a cost ridiculously disproportionate to the effect obtained. They are also admirably adapted for pot culture, making shapely plants covered with bloom for a long period.

Many of the later introductions in Nasturtium are notable for their refined and delicate colouring, and are extremely desirable subjects for the decoration of the dinner-table and small vases in the drawing-room.

As the flavour of the flowers and leaves somewhat resembles that of common Cress, they are frequently used in salads, and are accounted an excellent anti-s...o...b..tic. The flowers are legitimately employed in decorating the salad-bowl, because they are not only ornamental but strictly edible.

In a green state the seeds of both tall and dwarf varieties make an excellent pickle which is occasionally used as a subst.i.tute for capers.

==VERBENA==

==Hardy and half-hardy perennials==

VERBENAS raised from the best strains of seed come true to colour and the plants are models of health and vigour, and make resplendent beds.

It is of the utmost importance to remember that the Verbena requires very little of the artificial heat to which it is commonly subjected, and which fully accounts for the frequency of disease among plants propagated from cuttings. Seed may be sown in boxes in January, February, and March, the earlier sowings naturally requiring more heat than the later ones. As the seedlings become large enough, they should be potted on and planted out in May, when they will flower throughout the summer, and far into the autumn.

Verbenas may also be sown in March or April in boxes, put into a frame, and if kept moist a lot of plants will appear in about a month. When large enough these must be carefully lifted and potted. A rich, mellow, and very sweet soil is needed by the Verbena. Many of the failures that occur in its cultivation are not only traceable to the coddling of the plant under gla.s.s, but also to the careless way in which it is often planted on poor worn-out soil that has been cropped for years without manure, or even the sweetening effects of a good digging. Raising Verbenas from seed has restored this plant to the list of easily grown and thoroughly useful flowers for the parterre.

The hardy perennial =V. venosa= also comes perfectly true and uniform from seed.

==VIOLA==

==Tufted Pansy. Hardy perennial==

This plant well merits its popularity for use in beds and borders. It is perfectly hardy, the habit is good, and it continues in bloom for several months in the year. The treatment prescribed for Pansy is also suitable for Viola.

==WALLFLOWER==

==Cheiranthus Cheiri. Hardy biennial==

Wallflowers are often sown too late. As a result the growth is not thoroughly matured, and the plants present but a feeble show of bloom.

They should in their season be little mounds of fire and gold, exhaling a perfume that few flowers can equal in its peculiar freshness. Sow the seed in May or June, in a sunny place, on rather poor, but sweet and well-prepared soil favourable to free rooting. When the plants are two inches high, transplant into rows six inches asunder, allowing three inches apart in the row, and as soon as the plants overlap transplant again, six or nine inches apart every way, aiding with water when needful to help them to new growth. Or lift every other row and every other plant, leaving the remainder untouched to supply flowers for cutting. When the beds are cleared of their summer occupants, they may be filled with the best plants of Wallflower, to afford cheerful green leaf.a.ge all through the winter and a grand show of bloom in the spring, as frost will not hurt the single varieties; but the doubles will not always endure the rigours of a severe winter.

==Early-flowering Varieties.==--By selection and cross-fertilisation an early-flowering race of Wallflowers has been obtained, and it is now possible to enjoy for many months of the year a fragrance which has. .h.i.therto been a.s.sociated exclusively with spring. From a sowing made in May or June the plants commence flowering in autumn and continue throughout the winter, unless checked by frost. With the advent of spring weather, however, they burst into full bloom, making a delightful display in advance of the ordinary varieties.

==WIGANDIA==

==Half-hardy perennial==

This plant is grown for its foliage, and is extensively used in sub-tropical gardening. The instructions given for raising Ricinus in heat apply equally to this subject; but it is not wise to rely on an open-air sowing for a supply of Wigandias.

==ZINNIA==

==Zinnia elegans. Half-hardy annual==

THE double varieties of Zinnia have entirely eclipsed the single form of this flower. They grow to an immense size and are extremely valuable for beds and borders, the plants remaining in bloom for a considerable period. Double Zinnias are so varied in colour and beautiful in form that they deserve to take high rank as exhibition flowers.

The Zinnia is delicate, and should not be sown too soon. March is quite early enough to commence operations, and the first week in April will be none too late for sowing. A compost that suits Asters will answer admirably for Zinnias. Sow in 4-1/2 inch pots, which should have very free drainage, and cover the seed thinly with fine soil. Plunge the pots at once in a temperature of about 60, when the seed will germinate quickly, and the plants on attaining one inch in height can be potted off separately. Place them in a close frame, shade from suns.h.i.+ne, and when well established, gradually give air and harden off. It will not be safe to transfer to the open until the first week in June, unless the position is exceptionally sheltered and the soil very dry. A shrubbery border is a suitable spot, and the more scorching the season the finer will be the flowers. There must, however, be shelter from the wind, for the stems of Zinnias are hollow, and easily damaged by a storm.

A satisfactory display of this flower may be obtained without the aid of heat by sowing in the open ground about the middle of May. Select a sunny sloping border or bed for sowing, enrich the soil, and make it fine. Press this down rather firmly, then drop three or four seeds at intervals of from fifteen to eighteen inches between each group, and lightly cover them. In due time thin to one plant at each station. If they thrive the branches will not only meet but overlap, and produce a grand display. In the event of very dry weather at sowing time the ground may be watered before the seed is put in, and then be covered with dry fine soil.

Zinnias do not transplant well, except as small seedlings. When it is necessary to undertake the task, choose, if possible, a showery day, and shade each plant with an inverted flower-pot for a few days, but take off the pots in the evening.

Zinnias intended for exhibition must be treated in a more generous fas.h.i.+on than plants that are grown for border decoration, or for the sake of yielding cut flowers. The seed may be raised in heat as already directed, but the border will need to be prepared with special care and liberality. Should the soil be heavy, it must be reduced to a friable state during winter. Before the plants are put in, raise the land into ridges about four or five inches high. Plant on the top of the ridge, and then an application of soot or lime (not too near to inflict injury) may be used as a precaution against slugs. In a wet season the plants will stand a better chance than if put on the flat, and if a scorching summer comes they will be none the worse for it. As the flowering time approaches mulch the ground with well-decayed manure.

The plants must be carefully staked and tied out. It is not merely necessary to secure the main stem, but the branches should also be supported, or when weighted with flowers they will be very liable to give way under a moderate wind. Superfluous branches may be removed, but not so severely as to start new growth to the detriment of the flowers.

Disbudding also will have to be practised for the highest cla.s.s of flowers. Only one bloom should be allowed to develop on each branch at a time, and this must be protected from sun and rain after it is about half grown.

==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 p.i.s.sardi=, 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 cla.s.s 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 ma.s.ses 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-cla.s.s geometric gardening. A list of such plants will at once indicate that there is a field of enterprise for the pract.i.tioner 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 st.u.r.dy 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 ma.s.ses 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 unsurpa.s.sed 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 ma.s.ses 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 a.s.sured 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 ma.s.ses, separately or together, and when seen in the late afternoon or early evening their vivid and gorgeous colouring is almost unsurpa.s.sed 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 st.u.r.dy 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 ma.s.ses 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 unsurpa.s.sed by the later displays from spring sowings.

THE CULTURE OF FLOWERING BULBS

Our popular flowering bulbs are obtained from many lands; they are exceedingly diversified in character, and they bloom at different periods of the year. Each variety has a value of its own, and answers to some special requirement in its proper season under gla.s.s or in the open ground. In the darkest winter days we prize the glow of Tulips and Hyacinths for brightening our homes. And bleak days are not all past when Aconites and Snowdrops sparkle in beds and borders. The Anemones follow in March, and during the lengthening days of spring there are sumptuous beds of Hyacinths, Narcissi, and Tulips. When high summer begins to decline we have stately groups of Gladioli and many beautiful Lilies in the shrubbery borders.