Emperor of Pelargonium, very large flower of snowy whiteness, spotted with violet, tinged with rose; petals finely fringed. Eligible, a pink crimson, with white edges, and violet blotches and veins. Dr. Andre, pink and white, petals fringed. Cloth of Silver, petals of silvery whiteness, blotched with delicate rose. Crimson King, a rich crimson, beautifully veined and blotched. Eclipse, clear white petals, marked with maroon. Belle of Paris, rich violet crimson, upper petals spotted; an immense cluster of flowers. CHAPTER VI. BEDDING-OUT PLANTS, PANSIES, VERBENAS, HELIOTROPES, "Your voiceless lips, O flowers, are living preachers! Each cup a pulpit, every leaf a book! Supplying to my fancy numerous teachers From loneliest nook." The varieties of plants called by florists bedding-out plants, are very popular and deservedly so. Their flowers present a brilliant mess of coloring all the summer, and their hues are richer than those of most other flowers. Pansies are great favorites-they will grow in shady nooks where no other flower can bloom-and their flowers continue from the earliest spring until the latest autumn. Various and familiar are the names by which the Pansy has been known for centuries. Gerard, who wrote a long description of it, says it was known as Love-in-idleness, Jump-up-and-kiss-me, Three-faces-under-a-hood, Heart's-ease, and Pansy. The Italians named it Nola farfalla (Violet Butterfly). Lady Mary Bennet of England, afterwards Lady Monck, first introduced the Pansy to the attention of the florists. Early in the present century, she planted all the varieties of the Heart's-ease which she could procure, and with the skillful aid of her gardener, new varieties were produced from seed. About 1813, the well-known florist, Mr. Lee, of Vineyard Nursery, at Hammersmith, saw Lady Mary's collection, and immediately perceived the profit that would accrue from the cultivation of this flower. His skill and patience were rewarded by the production of still more beautiful varieties. Other nurserymen followed his example, and in a few years the unpretending Heart's-ease took its place as a florist's flower of no small pretensions. The French name Pensées was the origin of the English word Pansy. Milton alludes to it as the "pansy freak'd with jet" amongst those "vernal flowers," whose "quaint enamel'd eyes a sad embroidery wear." Another writer says: "Are not Pansies emblems meet for thought? The pure, the chequered-gay and deep by turns ; One must not suppose that rich soil or careful culture have wrought such wonderful changes in the Pansey. This is only the first step in the march of improvement. The seeds of the finest flowers were carefully preserved, and the finest of the young seedlings were selected for seed. Hybrids were also obtained by fertilizing the stigma of one rarely colored flower, with the pollen of another of a larger variety. These hybrids generally possess in a great degree the peculiar qualities of each parent, and retain their peculiar markings. Innumerable are the varieties now cultivated; there are upwards of a thousand named kinds catalogued by the English nurserymen. Mrs. Loudon says in her book upon "Floriculture," that "the varieties of forms and colors which appear in the plants raised from seed are so great that few floricultural pursuits can be more interesting than to sow a bed of Pansies, and watch when they flower for the varieties most desirable to perpetuate." By judicious management, a successive bloom can be retained for eight months in the year, and even a slight attention to their needs is rewarded by a profusion of beautiful flowers. There is no bedding-out plant which gives a more liberal supply of flowers from the earliest spring to the latest autumn. Plants from seed blossom finely the first year, and give much larger flowers when the plant is small, for as it increases in size, the blooms though abundant are smaller and inferior in coloring. A constant succession of flowering plants should be brought forward during the spring and summer months, and the plants kept young and vigorous. This is often done by cuttings as well as seedlings. They can be grown more rapidly, and are certain to produce fine flowers. The cuttings should be taken from the points of the shoots, and cut about three inches long, and immediately below a joint. Strip off the lower leaves, and plant them in sand, pressing the soil closely around the stem. If planted on the north side of a fence or hedge in a sheltered location, with an inch of sand covering the cuttings, they will strike rapidly. If in pots, they should be covered with glass. In about six weeks they will be well rooted, and fit to transplant into the flowering beds, or into pots for window gardening. Pansies are often layered, by pegging down the young shoots with a hair pin, and covering all but an inch or two of the point with fine. sand. An incision can be made at the joint, as is done in layering roses, but frequently they will make root equally as well without using the knife. When rooted, which can be told by the growth of new leaves-separate from the old plant, and either plant out in borders or in pots. They can also be increased by dividing the old roots, and the divisions will soon make fine plants. Seed can be sown early in the season, in a hot-bed-following directions given for planting seed, in Chapter II, and when the fourth or fifth leaves are formed, the plants can be put into the borders, and planted a foot apart each way to allow them room to grow. Pansies are very gross feeders, delighting in the richest soil, with plenty of liquid manure. If large blossoms are desired, the soil must be of the richest description. The best compost for them is one-third leaf mould, one-third thoroughly decayed barn-yard manure, and one-third light loam. In this soil they will blossom most gorgeously. The location should be on the northwest side of the house, and shaded from the noonday sun. They will not grow to advantage in either light, sandy soil, or much sunlight, but require moisture and shade, and copious waterings to produce perfect flowers. They are also great deteriorators of the soil, and will soon run out unless it is renewed. New beds do much better than old ones. After they have blossomed freely until July, cut down the branches several inches, mulch with well-rotted cow manure, and by September they will be in a blaze of glory. If the amateur florist desires to sow the seed from some especially rare flowers, they should be carefully tied up, and no other flower be allowed to go to seed on the same plant. The seed may be sown in spring, summer or autumn; in the two former seasons it can be planted in the open ground; in the latter in pots, so that the tender seedlings can be protected from the damp. Pansies are hardy perennials, but will wither away if water settles on the bed. They do not like either the wintry ice, or the excessive heat of summer. Violets, Sweet Violets. These flowers cannot compare with their beauteous sisters-the Pansies -in size or colorings; they cannot boast such varied blotchings and veinings, but they possess a higher attribute in their rarely delicious odor-their perfume is unsurpassed by that of any other flower. They are always in demand, and are very easily raised. With slight protection they will live in the coldest climate, and before the Snow-drop hangs its pearly bell, they will be in full bloom. The Viola odorissima is the English variety most extensively cultivated. Several new varieties have been introduced; among them the double blue Neapolitan is the most popular. The King of Violets has a very large flower, and is much cultivated for window gardens. The Czar is a fine variety; and the Schoenbrun is a single variety, very sweet. There are white varieties, that are also much used by florists, but the blues are the greatest favorites. The Violet is the emblematic flower of the Bonapartes, as the Lily is of the Bourbons. Dame Rumor tells us that Eugenie expressed her willingness to accept the offer of becoming Louis Napoleon's wife by dressing in an exquisite violet toilet-violets in her hair, about her dress, and a bouquet of them in her hand, which were perfectly significant to the wooer. The great Napoleon selected it as his flower, through Josephine's requesting it as a birthday gift. He cultivated them in large quantities in his garden at St. Helena, and they were planted over the grave of Josephine, and when he was buried, his coffin was covered with the flowers he loved so well. Louis Napoleon is said to have made himself acquainted with those who were friendly to his interests, while carefully feeling his way to the throne, by a cautious display of violets. Sweet violets! |