CHAPTER III.

ANNUALS--THEIR CULTURE AND TREATMENT.

“Come, ye soft sylphs, Teach the fine seed, instinct with life, to shoot In earth’s cold bosom, its descending root; With pith elastic, stretch its rising stem, Part the twin lobes, expand the throbbing gem; Clasp in your airy arms the aspiring plume, Fan with your balmy breath its kindling bloom; Each widening scale, and bursting film unfold, Swell the green cup, and tint the flower with gold.”

Annuals are considered the chief ornaments of the flower garden throughout the summer and autumn, and many of them are desirable for house culture.

They have great claims upon our attention, and should be more extensively cultivated in every garden. It is impossible to plant, in a private plat of ground, all the kinds and varieties that are offered to us in the Seedsmen’s Catalogues, but a judicious selection of the best kinds will give a charming assortment of brilliant flowers.

It is almost superfluous to mention that _annuals_ are plants which spring from seed, and perfect their growth and seed, and perish with the autumn; though their life may be prolonged by cutting off the flowers, not allowing the seed-pods to form, and keeping them housed in the winter.

They are divided into hardy; half-hardy and tender; and are natives of various lands. Many of them have been greatly improved, by the care and patience of the florist, from their normal state, and transformed into flowers of the most gorgeous hues, and the most perfect shape. _Asters_, _Balsams_, _Larkspurs_, _Petunias_, _Portulaccas_, _Stocks_ and _Zinnias_ have all become exceedingly double and of every brilliant hue; while many others have had their flowers much increased in size, and otherwise improved.

These flowers are more generally cultivated than any other class of flowers, and they, alike, adorn the yard of the cottage, and the _parterre_ of the palace.

They will grow almost anywhere, and in any kind of soil, but thrive much better if heed is paid to their wants, and they are provided with a sunny location, well drained, and are well supplied with rich sandy loam; though there are some kinds which prefer a clayey soil. There are only a few which require a very rich soil, yet, most of them will reward you with a brighter show of flowers if well fed. It does not pay to starve plants, any more than to starve animals.

It is very desirable to locate your garden where it can be in constant view from the windows of the house; flowers are our bosom friends and we desire to have them always in sight; when weary they refresh one, when happy they add to one’s happiness, and when sad and gloomy they give to one pleasant thoughts, smooth the care-worn brow, and uplift the heart to the Giver of all good things.

To prepare the soil, let Mr. O’Shovelem dig up the grass-plat, if needful, and prepare the beds in front of the piazza, porch or sitting room, if it has a southeast direction; if not, take the next best, a southwestern location. Few plants will thrive well in a northern exposure, though Pansies love the shade, and will flourish there. If you can procure a compost of sand (not sea sand), leaf mould, loam and manure--a quarter of each--you will have as good soil as you can desire; but if not within reach, take what offers, and if it is heavy and stiff, add sand to lighten it; if friable and light, add ashes, muck or soil from old pastures, taken from under the sods. This is always desirable. Sand is also an essential.

_Laying out the Beds._

Have the garden well spaded over, and then lay out the beds. If you have a geometrical eye, you can mark out circles, semi-circles, triangles, stars, diamonds and all sorts of curved beds; and if you can have all the assistance you desire from “men-folks,” border their edges with narrow strips of turf, which must be kept closely shaven, and not allowed to encroach upon the beds.

If you depend upon your own exertions, avoid the turf; for it exacts too much hard muscular work for women to encounter.

A bordering is now manufactured of Terra Cotta, which is highly praised; and it is said to withstand the frost and snow of the coldest regions. The Drain Pipe and Terra Cotta works in New York, make several styles. Tiles are also introduced with good effect. Box edgings are always tasteful and pretty. If you can possess none of these, you can, at least, border the beds with Dwarf Annuals and Perennials. The Tom Thumb plants of every kind are very pretty for this purpose; the stone-crop and, indeed, all the varieties of Sedums, make effective edgings. _Gypsophila muralis_ is also beautiful for an edging, and its spray-like flowers are indispensable for both vase and bouquet. They cover the flowers like a mist, increasing their charms by partly veiling them.

_Sowing the Seed, etc._

The hardy varieties, like _Candytuft_, _Phlox Drummondii_, _Sweet Alyssum_, _Sweet Peas_, _etc._, can be sown as soon as the ground becomes a little warm, and the weather is in a degree settled. Indeed, all these kinds, and many others, will bloom earlier in the summer if they are planted in the autumn. The frost and snow does not disturb their rest. _Sweet Peas_ are very essential for all gardens. Their fragrance is grateful to all; and a bunch of the new colored ones, mingled with the old favorites, equals the soft and liquid tints of the sunset cloud. But don’t put _Scarlet Geraniums_ or _Verbenas_ among them; their vivid hues will pale and dim the beauteous Peas.

They bloom much more profusely, if planted four or five inches in depth, and are not so apt to mildew.

The half-hardy annuals should not be sown, excepting in the South, before the middle of May; and the tender ones, not until June, if one desires good success in their vegetation and growth.

A large amount of vexation might be avoided if amateur florists would pay a little heed to natural laws.

For both half-hardy and tender Annuals, planting in-doors, or under glass, is very needful. If this is done, they can be brought forward so as to bloom by the last of June, or the first of July, and one is fully repaid for the extra trouble by their graceful, lovely flowers. All these varieties of Annuals require transplanting. No _Aster_, _Petunia_, _Stock_ or _Zinnia_ will show its beauty if not allowed plenty of room in which to grow and bloom. So, it is as well to transplant them from boxes, or hotbeds, early in the summer, when all fear of frost is past, as to do it later from the garden beds.

Seeds of various sizes require different depths of covering. The smaller the seed, the less the soil it needs to plant it, and the finer the soil should be.

_Portulaccas_, _Petunias_, and all tiny seeds, should be mixed with sand, and sprinkled or sifted on to the earth prepared for them, and then gently pressed down with the flat of the trowel or the hoe. The general rule for planting has been to the depth of three times the diameter of the seed.

Too deep planting is a fruitful source of the usual loss of seeds, so much complained of by amateur gardeners.

The several essentials to successful germination of seeds of all kinds are suitable soil, suitable moisture and warmth; if these are in excess, or not sufficient, some, if not all, of the seeds will fail.

In planting seeds in the open border, the soil must be thoroughly pulverized, no little lumps left in it to destroy plant life.

Rake in the seeds, scattering them thinly around; or, a better way is to tie a string to two small sticks; plant one of them firmly in the earth, and with the other draw a circle of the dimensions you may desire; wind up the string until you have it of the right length, then plant the seeds in the circle, and label them. Don’t trust to your memory for the names, and then say “this pink flower, that red one, and the other blue or yellow one,” but learn their names, and call them by them.

One often rebels at the many-syllabled word that is applied to a tiny mite of a flower; yet, that same Latin word tells to every botanist its class and order, while the common, familiar, local name is recognized only by one language.

Miss Mitford says: “One is never thoroughly sociable with flowers until they are naturalized, as it were, christened, provided with decent, homely, well-wearing English names.”

The practice of giving Latin names to flowers and plants has been styled pedantic. It is not so; for it conveys an idea of the flower to every student of Botany and Gardening in every nation.

Leigh Hunt thus writes upon the names of flowers:

“Pink is not by itself a pretty name, but we have associated it since our first dawnings of infancy, with the sweetness of the flower, so now the name and flower are one, and the poor monosyllable becomes rich in sweetness and appropriateness.”

And again:

“_Browallia_ is a pretty name, and was given to a Peruvian flower by Linnæus in honor of a friend of his by the name of Browall; yet the name gives no idea of the flower which is remarkably attractive;” and, he suggests that _Browall’s Beauty_ would have immortalized both the friend and the flower, and have advertised its claims to the regard of the florist.

A short digression from seed planting, fair friends, which it is to be hoped you will pardon and overlook.

When your seeds are planted, unless the day is cloudy and showery, they will require shading from the heat of the sun.

I find old newspapers are the best protection; but, if the patches are small, flower pots can be inverted over them. The newspapers must be laid over the seeds, after they have been well watered, and fastened at the corners by small stones or a handful of the earth. At night they should be removed to let the dew moisten the ground, and put back before it is dried up in the morning. Continue this until the tiny leaflets appear; then remove them entirely. If the ground is dry the seeds must be thoroughly wet every night. Moisture is very needful to germinate seeds; without its aid they cannot sprout. The would-be florists often plant their seeds as the Catalogues direct and then give no farther heed to them. You will often hear it said, “I can’t make annuals grow. I planted fifty to sixty varieties, and not half a dozen of them ever sprouted. I have no faith in the seedsmen; they send out old seeds and keep all the new for their own gardens.”

“Did you water them well, and shade them from the noontide heat?” is asked. “Why, no! I never thought of that. I planted them, and supposed that was enough.”

My fair friends, unless the clouds favor you and drop rain, or hide the sun for three or four days, your seeds will become baked and shriveled, and you cannot expect them to grow.

The thin-skinned seeds will germinate most quickly, while those that are shrouded in horny textures, vegetate more slowly. It is always well to soak all such seeds. Verbena seeds require twenty-four hours soaking in warm water, and the seeds of the lovely, graceful Cypress vine will not germinate unless boiling water is poured upon them.

_Transplanting Seedlings._

When the tiny plants have put forth the fourth or fifth leaf, it is time to provide them with permanent homes. If this is done in the early morning of a warm day--or even later in the forenoon--you may be sure that you will lose your plants. But select a showery, cloudy day, following a dry season, or plant after night-fall, and then water, and shade from the sun of the next day, and you will hardly lose one plant, or even have a leaf curl.

Annuals of most kinds must have plenty of space to grow in. There are few that are not improved by transplanting. Salpiglossis will grow to better advantage thickly planted; also, Erysimum Peroffskianum, whose brilliant orange flowers render it desirable to every garden. Mignonette, Larkspurs and Poppies will not bear transplanting; they grow from a tap root, and do not easily attach themselves to a new home after their growth is once started.

If Annuals are not planted anew after germinating, their growth is weak and spindling, and they soon cease flowering; while, on the other hand, they will grow luxuriantly, and blossom until the frost withers their fair bloom, if their quarters are ample. Asters should be planted a foot asunder each way; and Stocks, Balsams, Zinnias and Petunias require as much room, if not more, to bring them to a state of perfection; and, if mulched with fine manure early in July, they will bloom magnificently.

_What Shall We Plant?_

This is the query of many women who examine the Illustrated Catalogues, and are not familiar with the high-sounding names, and, therefore, totally at loss to know what are desirable and needful out of the thousands of varieties, illustrated and described therein.

I will give a list of those whose beauties are familiar to me, and whose names are household words:

_Asters_, Truffauts, Rose Asters, Imbrique, Pompone, Chrysanthemum Flowered, Bouquet, in all their varied colorings and shapes. No garden can afford to be without one or all of these varieties; and they take chief rank in the tribe of Annuals.

Amaranthus melancholicus, variegated leaves.

Anagallis.

Abrobra, a lovely climber.

Abronia, very effective for rock-work.

Ageratum, lavender blue and white.

Acroclinium, white and pink.

Balsams, Smith’s Prize and Camellia flowered.

Bartonia aurea, golden yellow.

Browallia, blue with white center, white.

Cacalia, orange scarlet, and yellow.

Calandrinia, crimson, white, pink and lilac.

Coreopsis Burridgii, and coronata.

Canary Bird Flower, beautiful vine.

Candytuft, white, purple and crimson.

Celosia spicata rosea, everlasting flower.

Centranthus, white, flesh colored and pink.

Cerastium, ornamental foliage, for edgings on rock-work.

Chlora grandiflora, bright orange changing to red.

Chrysanthemum coronarium, flore pleno.

Clarkia integripetela, magenta crimson, rich.

Clianthus Dampierii.

Clintonia azurea grandiflora, desirable for rock-work and baskets.

Cobæa scandens, a climber of rapid growth.

Collinsia, various colors, pretty for ribbon borders.

Convolvulus aureus superbus, a golden yellow variety.

Convolvulus mauritanicus, perfect for roses and baskets.

Cyanus (Ladies’ Delight).

Cypress Vine, the most graceful of climbers.

Eschscholtzia Californica, several colors.

Euphorbia variegata.

Fenzlia, dwarf growth, effective in rustic decorations.

Gilia, various colors.

Godetia, useful in ribbons.

Gypsophylla muralis and elegans.

Helliophila araboides, bright blue, useful for edgings.

Inopsidium acaule, sky blue, loves the shade.

Ipomœa hederacea superba, a beautiful vine.

Kaulfussia atroviolacea.

Larkspur (Hyacinth flowered).

Leptosiphon hybridus, dwarf edgings.

Linum, in several colors.

Lobelia, blue, white and rose color, dwarf.

Lupins, of all colors.

Machæranthera tanaceifolia, bright purple, golden center.

Marigolds, new varieties are very attractive.

Mignonette, Parson’s new white and the crimson flowered.

Nasturtiums, of all varieties.

Nemesia compacta elegans.

Nemophila, delicate flowers, very dwarf, love the shade.

Nigella Tonlanesiena.

Oxyura, golden yellow, edged with white.

Sweet Peas of all colors.

Perilla Nankinensis, dark rich foliaged plant.

Phlox Drummondii, of every shade.

Poppy, carnation colored.

Portulacca, double and single.

Ricinus, ornamental foliaged.

Salpiglossis, very beautiful.

Salvia splendens.

Sanvitalia procumbens, suitable for edgings and rock-work.

Saponaria acymoides, lovely for borderings.

Scabiosa (or Mourning Bride), flore pleno.

Schizanthus, all colors.

Statice hybrida.

Stocks, German Dwarf, pyramidal, new hybrid.

Tagetes pumila, marigold of beautiful foliage and flower.

Trifolium (ornamental clover).

Tropæolum, finest mixed varieties.

Viscaria elegans picta.

Vittadina (Australian Daisy), a good edging.

Whitlavia, blue and white.

Zea Japonica (Japanese Maize), ornamental foliage.

Zinnia Elegans, flore pleno, all colors.

Zinnia Mexicana pumila, very double and brilliant.

Among this list of Annuals several climbers have been included; for other species, consult the chapter on Vines and Climbers.

_Training and Watering Annuals._

There are few plants that are not benefited by judicious training and pruning.

Balsams are greatly improved by pinching off the side shoots, and allowing only the stalks to grow; or the main shoot may be left to itself, and all the strength of the plant thrown into it, producing an upright stem loaded with gorgeous chalices of bloom. Manure water will increase the size of the flowers, and, thus grown, they make splendid pot plants.

The scissors are useful about many other plants; and their side growth should be checked, and less latitude allowed to their branches.

Zinnias, Stocks and Asters should have the laterals trimmed off; their beauty is improved, if they are kept within bounds.

In watering Annuals, and all flowers, care should be taken to apply it after the sun has set; if water is given in the morning, when the sun is hastening forward to drink up every drop, it is of but little use to the plant; and, if it is given at noon-tide, when the sunbeams fall fiercely hot, it scorches the plants as though Jack Frost had bitten them. The cold drops, falling on the heated surface of the soil, produce the same effect as a chill.

Water slightly warmed to the hand is far more efficacious than that drawn directly from aqueducts or cisterns. If it sets in the sun all day, it will be of the right temperature to apply at night.

English books on gardening, often denounce the practice of frequent watering; but they are no guides for American gardens. Their misty, moisty island, enveloped in clouds, promotes moisture sufficient for their needs; while our heated atmosphere drinks up every drop from the soil. If it has rained during the day the watering pot can hang upon its peg; but if not, its attendance is highly essential for the growth of all tender Annuals, and delicate bedding-out plants.

Many ladies complain of their ill luck in floriculture; no plant thrives with them. Why is this?

Because they neglect the floral darlings. They are assiduous in their attention to them while planting or transplanting them; but then their energy fails; they think that the sun, rain and dew will do the necessary work, and they can rest from their labors.

They never fail to do their appointed work; but you must cultivate in season and out of season if you would raise--

“Bright gems of earth in which, perchance, we see What Eden was--what Paradise may be.”