"You might put in some hardy chrysanthemums. These need good rich garden soil. They should also be placed near the back of the garden for good effect. You may choose almost any colour in these. Some of the little button chrysanthemums are good for backgrounds. The yellow ones make good splashes of colour, while the dull reds are most beautiful. These bloom after frost. When the frost has made havoc with the foliage, cut the plant down to about one inch of the ground. It is well to cut the flowers before frost. "You have now a few good background plants which are hardy. "The biennials can be so planted as to behave like perennials. These plants, you remember, are doing their best blossoming work the second summer. So by yearly sowings you may always have good effects. I have mentioned some already for your garden:--Canterbury bell, cornflower and foxglove are biennials. Cornflower tends to self sow, but needs help in this work from you. Sweet William is an old favourite. Of course, it is pretty gaudy. But I like old sweet William in spite of his gay tendency. They are rather stiff, but so easy to raise, being not very particular about anything. "When it comes to annuals there is a multitude of these to plant each season. There are candytuft and alyssum for borders. Then mignonette is absolutely necessary to keep the garden sweet. Coreopsis is easy to raise, and so is godetia. If a great big bold mass of colour is desired, put in Shirley poppies. These grow well even on sandy soil. It is well to remember, that these do not lend themselves kindly to transplanting. "Suppose there is a bit of sandy ground which needs a low-growing plant. Put in this spot portulaca. The bright little blossoms, constantly blooming, add a bit of cheer to that old sandy place. "There are the old stand-bys which are good bloomers--nasturtiums, zinnias, marigolds and petunias. In the case of zinnia, it is better to buy these seeds by the ounce. Children's penny packages and the regular five-cent packages are filled usually with seeds which produce variously coloured blossoms. One can plan for no good effects in this way. If you get a seed catalogue, and look through the zinnia list, you can choose just what you like. "Certain plants are spoken of as plants for bedding. These plants are placed in a formal bed after the spring flowers have finished their blooming. You sometimes see in the park fine beds of tulips and hyacinths early in the season. After these have finished their blooming, plants which are all started are put in their bed. If seeds were planted they would take so long to develop that the bed would look bad for a long time. So bedding plants are put in. Geraniums are the most popular of all. Begonias, fuchsias, heliotrope and coleus are often used. Geraniums will stand almost any kind of soil, and therefore have great advantages over most plants. Begonias will flourish in the shade; while the strong point about coleus is that of beauty of foliage.