Study begets refinement, is obvious, and knowledge is essential to the human mind; the food thus created begets friends who seek for information. Thus we find a pleasure in diffusing that usefulness we may attain by a little study. There are but few Florists that are Botanists. This may appear strange, but it is an incontrovertable fact, when both could be studied at leisure moments without interfering with each other; and if florists understood the fundamental prin ciples of botany many errors could be corrected that are now extant, as the practical botanist is sometimes arbitrary in his rules, which is out of the power of the florist to correct.· Chemistry is another branch highly essential to the art of gardening, which will be understood in a general point of view before many years elapse. The farming class will find it necessary to know the quality of soil he makes use of to ensure success in his department, as well as the practical gardener. It is not my object to crowd the mind of the young amateur in the art of Gardening, or its requisites, for it is simple and can be managed without understanding the theory of botany or chemistry. I only point out the great desideratum of a valuable acquisition to the mind if these theories could be attained. Educated to those sciences the mind would be elevated above the condition that falls to the lot of practical gardeners, and the field of science would be open to discover things the mind does not now contemplate. PLANTS. "I have sweet thoughts of thee! They come around me like the voice of song; Plants are divided and known as Annuals, Biennials, and Perennials. Annuals are such as flower the first season, ripen its seed, and then its functions cease to exist. Of this class of flowering plants we have some very beautiful to decorate the flower garden, at the same time some of the most worthless. To point out any particular variety would be usurping the pen in a delicate cause, as the merits of Flora's beauties are as various as people's tastes; for there are no flowers, however humble, but what possess some intrinsic beauty; but the eye that admires one may dislike another, and that baneful one may be interesting to another person. Annuals are a class of flowers indispensible to the flower garden; their seeds should be sown in March and April; much depends on the season and when wanted to flower. Some annuals will not bear removing, but the generality should be removed, when small, for seedlings; the sooner removed, after out of the seed-leaf, the better, for when the root-fibres are small the seedlings do not feel their removal so sensibly as when large. Then again in the arrangement of plants their different colors and height must be guided by fancy; but to contrast their col ors gives them a pleasing effect. The Balsam, China Asters, Petunias, and many others are suitable for pot culture as well as the open ground; these annuals will always be favorites with the lover of good flowers. There are many annuals that are climbers: those should be transplanted where they will show to the best advantage while in flower. There are not less than one thousand annuals in cultivation, and the list still increasing; but of late there has not been many worthy of cultivation added to them, and if one half of the present number were discarded there would be enough left then. From the numerous lists published in the catalogues the amateur must judge for himself in his selection, and by sowing seeds at different periods would enable him to have annuals nearly all the year round. Biennials are those that flower the second year, ripen their seeds, and then cease to exist. This class of flowers are decidedly ornamental and consist of a numerous family, still not so extensive as annuals, but generally considered more valuable for their exterior beauty and usefulness in the flower garden. There are some biennials that flower the first year, but generally they do not before the second. The biennials do not require their seeds sown so early as annuals. Amongst them are many florist flowers which may be preserved for years by cuttings or slips from shoots that have no flower buds on them. Biennials are divided into classes, such as hardy, half hardy, and tender. The proper time to sow their seeds, like annuals, will depend on circumstances; some so soon as ripe, that is, when they flower early, and seed ripens in the early part of July, such as the Sweet William, and a few others. The general sowing should be in April and May; when of sufficient size transplanted out to gain strength, and the tender varieties should be potted off in September and housed before the frost sets in; the next season some of the choicest may be increased by cuttings and slips. Biennials, as well as other plants require a good rich loam. Perennials. In regard to this class of flowers they are obtained from seed the same as the two former, will never flower until the second year, but instead of ceasing to exist as soon as done flowering, generally increase at the root, thus making a perpetual flowering plant. Many suppose that the perennial sends up the same stem every season; this is not the case; the old stem ceases to exist, this gives room for the increase of the root at a more or less given distance from the original stem; and this freak of nature makes it easily divided and constitutes a perpetual plant. Perennials are divided into two classes, herbaceous and shrubby; the first may be divided again into bulbous, tuberous, and fibrous. The process of increasing them dif fers materially; the bulbous by offsets and seeds, shrubby by cuttings, seeds, layerings, and slips. The herbaceous perennial bulbs include our favorites, such as the Tulip, Crown Imperial, Hyacinth, Lilies, Crocuses, &c. These should be taken up every season when the foliage dies down, and be replanted again in another part of the garden between the months of August and December. The tuberous perennials compose our finest collections of plants; some should be removed every season, while others should be allowed to remain three years. The Phloxs, Lupins, Asters, Peonies, and many others should be divided every three years, as the nature of the plants will indicate by their growth and disposition, and planted in situations corres ponding to their natural habit, in season of blooming, &c., the tallest in the back ground, and endeavor to make them contrast in color and be as much diversified as possible. It is the practice of many to flower bulbs by themselves, such as the Tulip, Hyacinth, &c.; this is certainly a good plan when the collection is large. Bulbs show to good advantage in the border with other plants, but when interspersed with other flowers cannot be always removed when required without disturbing other plants; when this is the case it would be best to top-dress the border and let them remain two or three years, and they will flower well and cause but little trouble, and be still ornamental. Hardy shrubby perennials do not die down, but retain their habit, and many varieties their leaves; these are called evergreens, and are propagated by seeds, and some few by layering. The double flowering herbaceous perennials will not seed freely and must be increased by cuttings or dividing the root in the fall. Fibrous rooted, such as the Carnation and its tribe, more by layering than by seed, and sometimes by cuttings and slips. Take the perennials in general they merit more care than is generally bestowed on them, being easily managed (with the exception of some exotics), and propagated, affording us some of the most magnificent flowers in cultivation. If the perennials do not flower from seed the first season that should be no drawback, we should bear it in mind that when once flowered we may consider them perpetual, and those hardy require little or no care afterward, which is a great desideratum in a large or small garden, when time is an object to a business person. |