sible to make the portion of the flower-garden
devoted to them "a thing of beauty" if not "a joy for ever." As it is more
satisfactory to bring them up from the beginning, I have described in
Chapter XVI. a method generally successful. =Seed-sowing out-of-doors=
being rather precarious, I have found it advisable to =sow all the smaller
seeds either in a green-house or frame=, however hardy the annual be. This
not only saves endless trouble in the way of protecting the seed from
birds, etc., but is advantageous in that one has an earlier display of
bloom, owing to the growth being quicker under glass. Below is a table of
the choicest kinds:--

ANNUALS.

NAME. LENGTH. COLOUR.

Bartonia aurea 1 to 1-1/2 ft. Golden yellow.

Celosia plumosa 1-1/2 ft. Red and yellow.
(Somewhat after the style of Prince's feather; tender.)

Coreopsis (or Calliopsis) 2 ft. Yellow and red.

Eschscholtzia 1 ft. Bright yellow.
(Very pretty grey-green foliage; select.)

Gaillardia 1-1/2 ft. Yellow and red.
(The "blanket flower"; good for cutting.)

Godetia 9 ins. Red to white.
(Cup-shaped; showy.)

Mesembryanthemum 1/2 to 1 ft. Ice plant.
(Grown for its foliage, which glistens beautifully; must have sun.)

Ionopsidium acaule 2 to 3 ins. Pale mauve.
(Miniature plants for filling up crevices in rockwork.)

Linum coccineum 1 ft. New scarlet variety.

Lupinus arboreus,
"Snow-queen" 3 to 4 ft. Pure white.
(A very stately plant; new.)

Nemophila grandiflora 1/2 ft. Beautiful blue and white.
(Remind one of the eyes of a child.)

Phlox drummondi 1 ft. All shades of red to white
(Half-hardy; must be massed.)

Shirley poppy 1 ft. All shades of pink.
(Very graceful and free; light soil.)

Portulaca 1/2 ft. Mixed colours.
(The most effective of all annuals; half-hardy; must have plenty of
sun and a light soil.)

Salpiglossis 1-1/2 ft. All shades.
(Very fragile flowers, veined and marked in exquisite fashion; must
be massed.)

Silene pendula compacta 1/2 ft. Bright pink.
(Flowers shaped somewhat like a Maltese cross.)

Sto