Gypsophila Paniculata.
This forms a little bush of tiny white flowers, and sprays of it are charming when mixed with other flowers. It thrives in any soil when once it is established, but it dies quite down in winter, and shows itself rather late in spring; so you must be sure to mark it with a label in the autumn, and look out for slugs when the new leaves push up. We have found it a most difficult plant to transplant or divide, and we strongly advise the inexperienced gardener to leave any specimens he has alone. Gypsophila Paniculata can be grown from seed sown in the open ground in May, and moved into the flowering border in September; but you are not likely to want many plants of it, and we think you would find it more satisfactory to buy two or three from one of the many nurserymen who raise it in large quantities.
Sweet Lavender.
This plant is a small perennial shrub, and not a true herbaceous perennial; but we think that every child will wish to have at least one Lavender bush, if not more, in the garden. If you choose you can make a charming hedge of Lavender mixed with little pink monthly Roses. You can easily increase your supply by taking cuttings in August and planting them in light sandy soil. You must make a slanting slice across your cutting just beneath the joint, take off every scrap of green leaf from the lower part of the stem, and plant firmly three inches deep in sandy soil. They should strike and make good roots by the following spring. Lavender may also be grown from seed sown in boxes in April, and kept covered with a glass till the little plants appear. This may take some time, and you must be careful to keep the soil moist by watering with a fine rose. When your plants are an inch high, prick out in rows and leave them for a year. By the second year they should begin to bloom. Gather your flowers for keeping on a dry day, and just before they are fully expanded.
Early-flowering Chrysanthemums.
Many of these are quite hardy, come up year after year, and require little attention. All chrysanthemums are greedy feeders, and like a rich soil, improved by farm manure. In summer you can, if you choose, give them a watering with liquid manure made by a teaspoonful of Clay’s Fertilizer to one gallon of water.
About the end of October, when the flowers all look shabby, or have been gathered for indoor use, your plants should be cut down to within an inch of the ground. This helps the new growth from which you may want to take cuttings. You must wait till the young shoots are six inches high, and then cut them off close to the ground with a sharp knife. The leaves must be removed from the lower half of the stalk, and you must make a clean cut across the stalk just below a joint from which leaves have been taken. You can put six of these cuttings in a five-inch pot, or a large number in a wooden box; and remember that cuttings root better close to the edge of a pot than in the middle. They should be set two inches deep, and firmly pressed in, and the soil should be fine and mixed with sand. The pots or boxes must then be placed in a cool frame or greenhouse. The less you water cuttings the better, but a sprinkle may be necessary sometimes to keep the soil moist. In six weeks the cuttings should have rooted, and begin to make little new leaves at the top. These may then be pricked out singly into small pots. Do not put young plants into the open garden until the spring frosts are over. If you have no frame or greenhouse, and yet want to increase your Chrysanthemums, you can take them up at the end of March, divide them with a sharp knife, and replant the pieces. A gardener who tried this way wrote to Gardening Illustrated to say that the chrysanthemums he divided came into flower earlier and made stronger plants than the orthodox cuttings. He took his up in February and March, and put his pieces in a frame for a few weeks. But if you have no frame, you had better wait till the winter frosts are over.
LARKSPURS AND PINKS.