Sweet alyssum is a charming border plant.  This, too, grows in almost any soil.  It is well to sow the seed in a box indoors.  Transplant when the little seedlings are two inches high.  But alyssum may be sown right outdoors in the garden plot.  Sprinkle the seeds along in the drill.  After the seedlings come up and are about an inch high thin out until the seedlings stand six to twelve inches apart.

Marigolds are very gay sort of flowers.  Many do not like them on account of their disagreeable odour.  But a strong point about these flowers is this:  they bloom and bloom, and then they bloom again.  There are three kinds of marigolds one might plant.  These are the African, French and dwarf.  They differ in height and also bushiness.  The African varieties must be thinned out to stand fifteen inches apart, the French ten inches and the dwarf six inches.  These seeds are dry, dead looking chaps, but are not so small that they cannot be handled separately and placed carefully in the drill.  Plant them nearer together than they are to stand later.  For instance, put the African five inches apart, the French five inches, too, and the dwarf three inches.  Then you have extras, so if some do not come up your garden is not crippled.

Mignonette, again, is accommodating and will grow in almost any kind of soil.  These seeds are small and may be sprinkled along in the drill.  Later thin out so the plants stand from six to twelve inches apart.  In choosing mignonette seed remember that there is a great difference in mignonette.  Some is very sweet, some is not:  some have large sturdy spikes, while others have rather small spikes.  It pays to buy good seed.

Poppy is a trifle more particular about the soil it grows in.  It requires a rather rich, sandy loam.  Again remember that poppies never stand transplanting.  Poppy may be planted broadcast or in drills.  The tall growing varieties should finally stand eighteen inches apart and the smaller ones nine inches.  In order that poppies may blossom freely you should never let a seed capsule form.  For you see that if one wishes bloom, one must not let the strength of a plant go to any other work except blossom making.

Zinnias are satisfactory just as marigolds are.  To be sure they are not a very graceful flower.  But what of that?  We need all kinds of flowers.  When you buy the little packets of seed you usually get a mixture of colour.

In order to have just the colour one wishes, seed must be bought from the seedsman by the ounce.  The girls wanted dark red zinnia.  One ounce planted this space.  It is not as expensive to buy seed this way.  A number of people may club together for seed.

Helena’s method of planting zinnia was to sow the seeds in a drill.  Later she thinned her seedlings so that they stood eight inches apart in the row.

Cornflowers or bachelor’s buttons are lovely too.  They are far lovelier if bought by bulk so one may have the one colour, that lovely blue.  These seeds may be planted in drills two seeds every six inches apart.  Later thin to twelve inches apart.