Garden Notes - Myosotis to Paeony

Myosotis
(Forget-Me-Not)
Variety: Royal Blue

Biennial. Height: 1 foot. Blooms April-May. Useful as an edging or carpet to spring flower beds, or for little groups in the front of the mixed flower border. Is easily raised from seeds sown about the time the plants are in bloom, to produce robust plants for planting out in the autumn. So the seeds in boxes of rich soil and transplant six inches apart in a nursery bed. Needs a moist soil and a fairly sunny position. This variety by constant selection is of uniform habit and intense blue color. Forget-me-nots will grow in any soil and produce seed freely. Seedlings allowed to grow in odd places give a charming informal note to the spring garden.
 

Nigella
Variety: Miss Jekyll

Hardy annual. Height: 18 inches. Flowers from July until the frosts come. It is also known as Love-in-a-Mist or Devil-in-the-Bush; you can see his Satanic horns if you hold the flower sideways. Native of South Europe. It is a clear cornflower blue. The flowers are set in elegant feathery foliage, which makes them useful for cutting. Sow the seeds in March where the plants are to bloom; thin out six inches apart. Can be sown in September; it then blooms earlier and makes more robust plants. Useful in the mixed flower border in contrast with herbaceous flowers and for hiding the stalks of tall plants. Cut away seed pods to continue the flowering season.
 

Nymphaea
(Water Lily)
Variety: Escarbouele

Perennial water plant. Adaptable variety, growling in water of varying depths from 6 to 30 inches. Color: intense vermillion-crimson, with crimson-stained stamens. Plant in baskets or built containers in the pond, containing turfy loam and rotted manure. The best time to plant is early in May. Each plant should be allowed six feet of space. Can be grown in a barrel or other receptacle, provided the water level is constantly replenished. During the winter the plants die down and remain dormant. If dormant roots are planted they should at first only be covered with two or three inches of water, additional water being added as the plants grow.
 

Peony
Variety: Adolph Rousseau

Perennial. Height: 2 to 3 feet. Blooms June. Color: rich deep crimson. Sweet scented. They are fleshy-rooted and dislike transplanting. The best time to plant is late September. A deep rich soil is important. A dusting of bone meal over the surface of the dug soil before planting would increase the size of the blooms. They prefer a semi-shady position, away from the roots of trees. Set the roots three feet apart, and in planting see that the buds or eyes are about two inches below the soil. Shallow planting is fatal. The foliage colors well in autumn and should be left through the winter as a protection against frosts.
 

Pansy
Variety: Winter Flowering

Hardy perennial. Height: 6 inches. A distinctive new strain of pansies that blooms during the winter. The color range is not so wide as the summer varieties, but useful in the winter beds and borders. Softer colors of white, yellow, pale and dark blue are produced. Sow the seeds in July in a box of soil or in the open ; transplant six inches apart. Keep watered in dry weather. Plant out in the autumn in a sheltered spot such as under the south side of a warm wall or hedge. On sandy soils a half-shady position is most suitable. The plants can be pinched to make them bushy. Remove faded blossoms. Exhausted flower stems will break out again if cut back to a few inches of the base.