gardened for some
years can tell you when to plant better than any catalogue. The seeds
of favorite flowers should be sown several times at intervals of a
fortnight, so that you may have a succession of them through summer
and autumn.

Preparations for Sowing

Before sowing any seeds, see that the soil is nicely broken up, and
remove any stones.

When you have decided where to sow the different seeds, take away a
little earth from each place and sow the seeds very
thinly--remembering that each plant must be from four inches to twelve
inches apart; cover lightly with the earth you took out and press it
down firmly with your trowel. Then mark the place with little pieces
of white wood, on which the names of the seeds have been written with
an indelible pencil. It is much easier to sow the tiny seeds thinly if
you first mix them with a little sand. These must be only just covered
by a very fine sprinkling of earth; but sweet-pea and nasturtium must
be sown deeper.

Thinning Out and Transplanting

Begin to thin out the seedlings very soon after they appear, and be
very careful not to pull up too many. It is easiest to thin out when
the soil is wet. When the seedlings are two inches high only those
which you wish to keep should be left in. It is not very easy to say
exactly how much room to leave the different plants, but plants which
will be six inches high should be about three inches apart; those
which will be one foot high about six inches, and so on. Godetia,
nasturtium, love-in-a-mist, sweet-pea, cornflower, and larkspur
seedlings can be transplanted when about two inches high, if you find
you want them where they have not been sown. To do this water the
ground well first, and then pull the seedlings out so gently that none
of their tiny fibrous roots are snapped; and, if possible, bring away
a little earth with each. Re-plant them as quickly as you can, making
for each a little hole big enough for the roots to spread out in. Hold
the seedling in position, and fill in with very moist earth; or else,
after you have made the hole, fill it up with water, then put back
some of the earth and stir it up into a sort of paste, and put the
seedling in this, filling up the hole with the rest of the earth.
Seedlings that have been transplanted must be kept moist until they
have taken a good start, and if possible they should be shaded with a
branch of evergreen, for they droop very quickly in the heat.

All seedling