==May==

This is the chief month for bedding, and the crowded state of pits and houses creates a natural anxiety to push forward the work; yet the exercise of a little patience may save many a valuable lot of plants from being injured past recovery.  Although the days are long, and perhaps sunny, the nights are often treacherous, especially in the early part of the month.  The first business is to prepare the plants gradually for transfer to the open ground by free exposure whenever there is a favourable opportunity.  Take off the lights on genial days, and by degrees open them at night, until they can be dispensed with altogether.  About the second week of the month it will generally be safe to put the most hardy subjects on a bed of ashes, under the shelter of a hedge or wall, before planting them.  Begin with Antirrhinum, Dianthus, Phlox Drummondii, Stock, and Verbena.  A little later on, others which are rather more delicate, as, for instance, Balsam, Begonia, Dahlia, Petunia, Zinnia, &c, can be treated in the same way, until the great bulk of them are in final quarters.  Sub-tropical plants, such as Nicotiana, Ricinus, Solanum, and Wigandia, had better be kept under control till the first or second week of June.

==Annuals==.—­There is still an opportunity of sowing many varieties, and also to make further sowings of others that are already showing signs of promise.  The practice of insuring a succession of all flowers much in demand for vases, of which Sweet Peas are an example, is on the increase, and deserves to be further extended.  Another point is that many annuals which require heat in earlier months may with confidence be sown during May in the open ground.

==Hardy Biennials and Perennials==.—­Seed of many favourite biennials and perennials may be safely sown in the open ground during May, June, and July, and as a general rule the finest plants for flowering in the following season are obtained from the earliest sowings.  The bed for the seed should be prepared with care and a friable loam is the best for the purpose.  Immediately the seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant to small rich nursery beds and shift to flowering positions in the autumn.  A number of these subjects are dealt with individually in the calendars for the months named, and others which are suitable for the purpose are: 

Anchusa italica
Aster sub-caeruleus
Aubrietia
Candytuft (Iberis)
Cheiranthus Allionii
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum
Coreopsis grandiflora
Cynoglossum
Digitalis
Gaillardia
Galega officinalis
Gaura Lindheimeri
Geum
Gypsophila paniculata
Heuchera
Lupinus
Cenothera
Poppy, perennial
Pyrethrum
Saxifrage
Thalictrum
Verbascum
Viola

==Antirrhinum== is admirably adapted for a dry and sunny position, in which it will thrive and flower freely.