Phlox Drummondii

Remarkable for the brilliancy and abundance of their large, terminal flowers, completely hiding the foliage. The blossoms are of many colors, from pure white to deepest purple, eyed and striped. For masses, of separate colors and for cutting for bouquets, they are unsurpassed. The seed can be planted in open ground in autumn or spring, or plants may be started in hot-bed and transplanted. Give good, rich ground, and set plants six inches apart each way. Hardy annual; one foot high.

Snapdragon, - The snapdragon is an old favorite border plant, with dark and glossy leaves, and large, curiously-shaped flowers with finely marked throats. They have been much improved by careful selection, and now are really magnificent flowers. They will blossom the first season from seed sown in spring, but the blossom will be much stronger the second season. Succeeds best in dry, loamy soil. Tender perennial; two feet high.

Violet - The violet should not be wanting in any garden, on account of its fragrance and early appearance. A single flower will perfume a whole room. It is well adapted for border or rock-work, and commences putting forth its beautiful double and single blossoms in April and continues through May. Succeeds best in a shady, sheltered place, and can be easily increased by dividing the root. The violet is an emblem of faithfulness. Hardy perennial; four inches high.

Zinnia

A very showy plant, with large, double flowers, which, when fully expanded, form hemispherical heads, become densely imbricated, and might easily be mistaken for dwarf dahlias. The colors run through all the shades of carmine, lilac, scarlet, purple, crimson, yellow, to pure white. If any single blossoms appear, they should be at once pulled up. Sow the seed early in spring, in open ground, and transplant to one and a half feet apart, in good, rich soil. Half-hardy annual; one and a half feet high.

Chinese Primrose

These are perhaps the most desirable of all house-blooming plants, and will richly compensate for the little care they require. They are in almost constant bloom all winter, and if the plants be transferred to the border, they will bloom nearly all summer. Though perennial, new plants flower more freely, and seed should be sown every year. Give them a long time for growth before flowering, and do not force the young plants, but simply protect them from frost, and damp, cutting winds. Sow the seed in shallow boxes, filled with good, rich soil, dusting a little fine earth over them: if covered too deeply, or if the seed be wet and allowed to dry again, they will not germinate. Transplant into pots, and they will be ready for winter blooming in the drawing-room. Tender perennial; six to nine inches high.

Roses

The rose requires high culture; it should be planted in good, well-drained soil; the ground can scarcely be made too rich. The pruning required will vary with the sorts planted, the rank-growing requiring less pruning than the weak ones. The points particularly to be observed are to prune before the buds start in spring, to cut out all unripe or old and feeble shoots, and to cut back the last season's growth to from one-half to two-thirds its length, according to the vigor of the sorts. Winter protection of tender sorts is accomplished by covering after a few severe frosts, with leaves, straw, evergreen boughs, or earth, or by removing the plants to a cool cellar. With a little care of this kind, the choicest tender roses may be safely wintered, and as they are the only really perpetual roses, they are abundantly worth the extra care. The insects most commonly injurious to the rose - as the Aphis, which appear in great numbers upon the young, growing shoots, and the Thrips, which prey upon the under side of the leaf, giving it a sickly, yellowish look, - may easily be destroyed by syringing or dipping the plants in tobacco water.