, =Collinsia bicolor=,
Convolvuluses, Candytufts, Eschscholtzias, Poppies, and Clarkias; and
damp, half-shady borders have been delicately tessellated by means of
Forget-me-nots, Venus' Looking-glass, Pansies, the Rosy Oxalis,
Nemophilas, Godetias, Silenes, Coreopsis, and Scabious.

For the more important positions in the flower garden we have choice of
many really sumptuous subjects, such as Stocks, Asters, Balsams,
Drummond's Phlox, Lobelias, the lovely new varieties of Antirrhinums,
Dianthus, Portulacas, Zinnias, tall Stock-flowered Larkspurs, Nemesias,
and many other flowers equally beautiful and lasting. We do not hope by
these brief remarks to change the prevailing fashion--indeed, we have no
particular wish that way--but we feel bound to observe that it is
sufficient for the beauty of the garden that the greenhouse bedders
should be confined to the parterre proper. It is waste of space and
opportunity to place them in the borders everywhere, as is too commonly
done. In sunny borders, annual and perennial herbaceous plants are far
more appropriate.

Some time since, while walking over a large garden, we left the rich
colouring of the geometric beds to discover what should make the
wondrous glow of crimson on a border far away; and to our surprise it
proved to be a clump of the Indian Pink, which had been sown as an
annual with other annuals, and was there shining in the midst of a
constellation of the loveliest flowers of all forms and hues, the
result simply of sowing a few packets of seed. No one can despise the
Wallflower in the spring, and the heavenly-blue flowers of =Nemophila
insignis= in early summer will tempt many a one to walk in the garden
who would care little for sheets of scarlet and yellow that in full
sunshine make the eyes ache to look upon them. It must be remembered,
too, that among annuals are found many most richly-scented flowers;
others, like the everlastings and the grasses, are valuable to dry for
winter use for employment in bouquets, and garlands in Christmas
decorations; and the Sweet Peas, and =Tropaeolum canariense,= and
climbing Convolvulus may be employed to cover arbours and trellises with
the best effect possible, and may even be allowed to hang in festoons
about the sunny parts of rockeries, or trail over the ground to make
genuine bedding effects. Another important matter must have mention
here, and we commend it to the consideration of gardeners who are
severely taxed to sec