For convenience of reference, the subjects are presented alphabetically under each month.

==January==.

In the open ground there is little or nothing of interest in the way of flowers, but the greenhouses and pits are full of promise.  A constant watch must be kept on the barometer, and the materials for repelling frost or bleak winds should be at perfect command, so that there may be ample provision for saving plants from biting weather.

==Achimenes== are stove bulbs and cannot be grown without a sufficiency of heat.  A warm greenhouse will answer for them, and some gardeners produce fair specimens in frames over hot-beds.  The bulbs will lie dormant for a considerable time, so that it is easy to have a succession of flowers.  A few should be started in January, employing sandy loam for the pots.  Follow up with others at intervals.

==Amaryllis== may be sown in any month of the year, but the most satisfactory period is immediately after the seed is ripened, and it is advisable to put one seed only in each small pot.  The slow and irregular germination of the finest new seed makes the separate system almost a necessity.  A rich compost, well-drained pots, and a temperature of about 65 deg. suit these plants.

==Anemone==.—­See remarks under October.

==Antirrhinums== raised in heat now will flower from July onwards.  Prick off the seedlings, and gradually harden for planting out in May.  There are dwarf, medium, and tall varieties, of many beautiful colours.

==Begonia, Tuberous-rooted==.—­The grace and beauty of this plant have placed it in the front rank of popular favourites.  For the foliage alone it is worth growing, and the flowers are unique in both form and colour.  Raising plants from seed is not only the least expensive process, but it possesses all the charm arising from the hope of some novelty which shall eclipse previously known varieties.  As a matter of fact, new attractions either in colour or in habit are introduced almost every year.  From a sowing made now plants should flower in July and August.

The seed is small, and requires careful handling.  It is also slow and capricious in germinating, and many growers have their own pet methods of starting it.  Good results are obtained by insuring free drainage, and partly filling the pots with rather rough fibrous compost, covered with a layer of fine sandy loam made even for a seed-bed.  This is sprinkled with water, and the seed is sown very thinly.  Some experienced growers make a rather loose surface, press the seed gently into it, and do not finish with a covering of soil.  The majority, however, will find it safer to give a slight sifting of fine earth over the seed.  Then comes a trial of patience, and as the seedlings appear at intervals, the wisdom of thin sowing will be apparent, for each one can be lifted and potted as it becomes ready, without wasting the remainder.  An even temperature of about 65 deg. is essential during germination.