Part 29 (1/2)

The well-known Musk is a Mimulus (=M. moschatus=), and is as easily grown from seed as other varieties. It makes a valuable pot plant.

==MYOSOTIS==

==Forget-me-not. Perennials, hardy and half-hardy==

AT one time an impression prevailed that all the varieties of Myosotis were semi-aquatic, and could only be grown satisfactorily in very damp shady places. And it is quite true that most of them bloom for a longer period in a moist than in a dry soil. Still, they all flower freely, and last a considerable time in any garden border.

The only half-hardy variety that need be referred to is Sutton's Pot Myosotis, which is a delightful subject for flowering indoors at Christmas time; and as Forget-me-nots are everywhere welcome, the practice of growing plants in pots is rapidly increasing. Seed should be sown in a cold frame in June, and the seedlings can be potted on as required, taking care from the commencement to avoid crowding as a precaution against mildew, to which the plants are very liable. The strain referred to produces fine free-growing specimen plants, and a batch should always be in reserve for cutting. For table decoration in winter Forget-me-nots are very telling.

All the hardy varieties may be sown from May to July for a brilliant display in the following spring. The seed should be put into a prepared seed-bed under the shelter of a wall or hedge; and in autumn the plants must be transferred to blooming quarters at the earliest opportunity.

Myosotis make an extremely effective groundwork for spring bulbs, for which purpose =M. dissitiflora= is the most valuable.

==NASTURTIUM--=see= TROPaeOLUM==

==NEMESIA STRUMOSA SUTTONI==

==Half-hardy annual==

THIS beautiful South African annual is remarkable for its floriferous character, long duration of bloom, and diversity of colour. Since we introduced it to this country in 1888 it has attained great popularity as a pot plant for table decoration, and some of the most resplendent bedding effects in public parks and gardens have been secured with this flower.

For an early show of bloom sow in pots or pans in March under gla.s.s, using a compost consisting largely of good fibrous loam, with the addition of a small proportion of wood ashes. No more heat than necessary should be used, and when the seedlings are large enough to handle p.r.i.c.k them off and gradually harden for planting out in May.

Other sowings may be made in May and June, and at this period of the year the seed germinates most quickly in boxes placed in a cool shady spot out of doors. In early summer seed may also be sown in the open border, and by thinning to a distance of six or eight inches st.u.r.dy plants will be secured, which will remain in bloom until quite late in autumn.

For winter and early spring flowering in pots seed should be sown in August or September. There must be no attempt at forcing, or attenuated worthless plants will result. A further sowing may be made in January for blooming in the later spring months.

Like the seed of Verbena, Furze, and some other subjects, the germination of Nemesia under artificial conditions is somewhat capricious, but no difficulty will be experienced with open-air sowings.

==NICOTIANA==

==Tobacco. Half-hardy annual==

The delicious fragrance of the Tobacco plant, especially during the morning and evening, has made it a great favourite in the greenhouse and conservatory, as well as in beds and borders near frequented paths.

As a pot plant too, the Nicotiana is exceedingly useful, the large sweet-scented white, soft pink, and rich red coloured flowers being very attractive. A group of plants placed in the porch will, in the earlier and later hours of the day, as the door is opened, fill the house with their delightful perfume. Seed may be sown from January to June, and a continuance of bloom may thus be secured during nearly nine months of the year. p.r.i.c.k off the seedlings as soon as they are fit to handle, for if sown too thickly they are liable to damp off rapidly. Gradually harden off if required for planting out in May or June. In some places, more especially in the South of England, Tobacco seed sown on an open sunny border early in May will produce fine plants that will flower freely in August.

==PANSY==

==Viola tricolor. Hardy perennial==

The popularity of this flower has been greatly extended and the culture simplified since it became the practice to raise the required number of plants every year from seed. For all ordinary purposes the trouble of striking cuttings and keeping stocks in pots through the winter is mere waste of labour and pit-room. The Pansy is a little fastidious, but not severely so. It thrives in a cool climate, with partial shade in high summer, and in a rich, moist, sandy soil. Notwithstanding all this, the Pansy will grow almost anywhere and anyhow; but as fine flowers of this old favourite are highly prized, the plant should be treated with reasonable care to do justice to its great merits.

A thick sowing is very liable to damp off: therefore sow thinly, either in pots or boxes, in February and March. The thin sowing, moreover, renders it possible to take out the forward plants without disturbing the remainder. In due course transplant into pans or boxes of good soil, and place in some cool spot where the plants may gradually harden off.

When they have become stocky, remove to beds or borders, with b.a.l.l.s of earth attached to the roots. Should the surrounding soil become set by heavy rain or by watering, a slight stirring of the surface will prove beneficial.

Seed sown in the open ground during the summer months will readily germinate, and the seedlings need no attention beyond thinning to about six inches apart until they are ready for transferring to their proper positions, where they will produce a ma.s.s of bloom in the following spring.

The Pansy puts forth its buds very early in the year. Whether they are particularly tasty, or the scarcity of young vegetable growth gives them undue prominence, we know not, but certain it is that sparrows show a marked partiality for them. And having once acquired a taste for the buds, these impudent marauders will not leave them alone; they evidently regard Pansies as the perfection of a winter salad. Their depredations can be prevented by an application of water flavoured with qua.s.sia or paraffin oil, which must be repeated after rain.