Seed catalogues feature hundreds of flowering species. For the persons just beginning gard

en this can be bewildering, and below are the details of some popular choices, nearly all of which should be sown in the spring. With the exception of busy lizzies, which need a little care, they are all very easy to grow from seed. Dahlias These are sturdy plants bearing showy flowers in a wide range of rather gaudy colors. Sow in a frame in April and plant the seedlings out when frosts are over. Dahlias flower throughout the summer and into the autumn. When autumn frosts begin to make them look unhappy, you should dig up the tuberous roots and save them. A frost-free loft, shed or garage is the ideal place. The following spring you plant the tubers instead of sowing seed again. Lupins Lupins are hardy perennials. This means that the plants will stay in your garden and carry on flowering year after year. Seed sown in April will usually give you some spikes of colors in the first summer, and year by year the plants get bigger and the flowering stems get taller and grander. Selective breeding has led to the introduction of some fine, bicolored varieties in some dazzling shades. The short-lived flowers make a real misunderstanding spectacle. Busy lizzies Like dahlias, busy lizzies need to be started off under glass, as they cannot stand frost, and panting out is best done in May. Outdoor flowering ends in September, so beat the frosts and bring your favorite specimens indoors to give your home some sinter color! Indoors they will carry on flowering indefinitely, though you may like to plant them out again when spring returns. Like pansies (below) they do very well in sun or shade, but the soil must be moist. Most varieties grow to be a height of only 20 cm or so. Potentillas Potentillas are hardy shrubs. In other words, the woody branches spring from ground level—there is no central trunk. Seed is probably best sown in autumn, in which case you should keep the plants in a sheltered spot until April offers favorable conditions for planting out. Once flowering begins in early summer the best varieties (such as Melton Fire) will stay in bloom almost ceaselessly for years on end while at the same time spreading out to provide ground cover or a low hedge. Pansies Pansies have a good long flowering season year after year, and some varieties can be sown in spring to give truly splendid results the first autumn. Unlike dahlias and lupins, which can easily grow a meter tall, pansies grow no higher than 10 or 20 cm. Their soil, position and moisture requirements are just like those of busy lizzies but pansies differ in being hardy. Give them a try! Questions 1-3 Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the passage. 1. Both dahlias and lupins, which are sown in April, need protecting from frost. 2. Brought indoors in autumn, dahlias, busy lizzies and potentillas will carry on flowering almost non-stop. 3. Among all the flowers busy lizzies are not very easy to grow from seed.