Giant Yellow is a beautiful canary yellow with crimson throat, hardy as far north as St. Louis, but safer in the cellar above that latitude, and Coccinea, a tender perennial of a brilliant crimson. If started early all will give flowers the first season from seed, which may be sown in hotbeds or flats in February or March in drills one-fourth inch deep. They germinate in from five to seven days. Plant out in good garden soil at corn-planting time, setting the hardy varieties where they are to remain, as they do not bear transplanting well when they have attained any considerable size. Cultivate during the hot weather or mulch. A two-quart tin can, with holes on one side near the bottom, may be sunk in the ground and filled with water. This with the mulch will keep the earth cool and moist during the hottest weather. The plant is an herbaceous perennial, dying down to the ground in winter and coming up from the roots the following spring—rather late in May. Plants increase in size and beauty each year, and a five-or six-years clump is superb.
COOL, MOIST SPOTS BETWEEN STONES
Cut off the stalks a few inches above the ground when killed by frost, but do not attempt to break them off or pull them up, as that will injure the crown of the large, fleshy roots and cause decay during the winter. The remainder of the stalk serves to mark the location of the plant. When they have grown to blooming size they should be tied to stout stakes. The large clumps have a tendency to spread at the roots, and a severe rain and wind storm may lay them prostrate. Make a support of two or three wooden hoops nailed to two or more stout stakes, the top hoop standing three feet above the ground. Place this over the plants in the spring and train them to grow up through the hoops.
For effective grouping, to fill in a corner, to serve as a screen to unsightly objects, to catch the eye and carry it on from point to point, there is no finer flower than the Hollyhock. The double flowers, of course, are more attractive at close range, but at a distance the single are rather more effective. Everyone who grows plants should find at least one corner for a big clump of this gorgeous flower.
The seeds should be sown in the spring, either where they are to remain or in a cold-frame; the location matters little so that favourable conditions of the soil are secured. Plants started after the seed ripens in the summer, even when protected by a cold-frame, do not make sufficient growth to endure a very severe winter. The new Alleghany Hollyhocks are hardier, and a fair proportion of plants from August-sown seeds may be expected to survive the winter. When the plants run up their blossom stalks the second season they must be securely staked to prevent injury by high winds. If the borer appears apply the Paris-green solution about the roots. The Hollyhock is subject to attack very early in the season by a variety of red spider which feeds on out-of-door plants. The Paris-green solution may be used for this, or a kerosene emulsion, or the plants may simply be showered with hot water at about 145°. The remedy should be applied promptly. The Hollyhock blight is a fungous disease of a most destructive nature. Its ravages almost drove the Hollyhock out of our gardens some years ago. Infected plants should be burned. Though hardy the second year, they should be hilled up sufficiently to shed water and given a shelter of corn fodder or evergreen boughs during the winter.
When the trees are in bloom Nasturtiums may be planted in the open ground where they are to remain. They should have fairly rich soil and a sunny situation, as they will not bloom well in the shade. The dwarf varieties make very attractive borders for Canna beds, the colour and texture of the foliage harmonising better with the Canna than that of the Coleus and many other plants commonly employed, while the brightness of the blossoms makes a very attractive whole.
The tall varieties make effective beds when pegged down, as the plants root wherever they touch the ground and send up flower shoots. Usually, however, they are grown on strings or trellises. The latter is a troublesome method, as they must be fastened to their support with strings. They are not climbers, but trailers, and have no tendrils or other means of attaching themselves to their support.
The finest bed of Nasturtiums I have seen is an elevated one built around a pipe which brings water from a distance. Some of the water—not much—reaches them, and they are given little, if any, attention, but in their elevated bed they grow luxuriantly, trailing over the sides of the ground and showing a brilliant mass of flowers until cut down by frost. Usually the Nasturtium receives too much water, and produces quantities of rank, lush foliage instead of flowers.
The new Nasturtium, Sunlight, is one of the finest varieties brought out in years—a pure, clear, golden yellow without any markings and of fine size. Its companion, Moonlight, is a pale cream, almost white, showing wine-coloured markings in the throat. For mixed varieties the hybrids of Madame Gunther are the most desirable, and the new Chameleon shows a variety of different coloured flowers on the same stem.