Chapter 23

====================+========+==========+========+========================== | TENDER | | | NAME |OR HARDY| COLOUR | HEIGHT | REMARKS --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- ASTER | H.A. |All shades|18 in. |Asters are the standby of Most reliable | |of blues, |- 2 ft. |the late summer and autumn varieties-- | |purples, | |garden, and for this Truffants | |and pink | |reason it is better to sow Victoria | |up to deep| |them in the outdoor seed QUEEN OF MARKET | |blue, also| |bed than to attempt (very early) | |white. | |forcing. They require Comet | | | |light, rich soil, mixed (quaint and | | | |with old manure, as fresh artistic) | | | |manure breeds many aster EMPEROR FREDERICK | | | |ills. Two enemies--lice at (best white) | | | |the root and black HOHENZOLLERN | | | |goldenrod beetles on the (new large | | | |flowers--must be guarded flowers.) | | | |against--the first by | | | |digging sulphur powder, | | | |unslaked lime, nitrate of | | | |soda, or wood ashes into | | | |the soil both before | | | |sowing the seed and again | | | |into the place where they | | | |are transplanted; the | | | |beetle must be dislodged | | | |by careful hand picking. | | | |Cover the seeds with half | | | |an inch of soil, and in | | | |transplanting set the | | | |plants from a foot to | | | |eighteen inches apart, | | | |according to variety. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- SWEET ALYSSUM, | H.A. |White, | 1 ft. |A cheerful little Variety | | fragrant | |mustard-shaped flower Maritimum | | | |borne in short, thick | | | |spikes, useful for edgings | | | |or to supply the white | | | |setting necessary to | | | |groups of party-coloured | | | |flowers. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- BALSAM | T.A. |White, | 18 in. |A rapid-growing, tender Camellia flowered | |peach, | |annual from India, and | |carmine, | |while rather stiff in form | |lavender, | |of growth, very decorative | |rose, | |for the summer borders | |scarlet, | |surrounding a sundial. | |spotted, | |The flowers, like | |and straw | |compact, double roses, are | | | |very useful for set table | | | |decorations and may be | | | |used in many ways. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- Calendula--POT | H.A. |Yellow | 1 ft. |Showy flowers for summer MARIGOLD | |and orange| |beds, not good for Calendula | |White | |cutting, as they grow officinalis | | | |sleepy indoors and in grandiflora | | | |cloudy weather. Calendula Pongei. | | | | fl. pl. | | | | --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- CANDYTUFT | H.A. |White, | 1 ft. |A sturdy white flower Iberis Coronaria | |fine | |useful for edgings in the Rocket Candytuft | |erect form| |same way as sweet alyssum. | | | |May be sown in fall for | | | |early flowering. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- CORNFLOWER | H.A. | | 1-2 ft.|One of the most Centaurea | | | |satisfactory of the taller Centaurea Margaritæ,| | | |growing annuals, the fragrant | |White | |flowers having some of the SWEET SULTAN | | | |qualities of an Suaveolens | |Yellow | |everlasting, and making Moschata | |Purple | |fine buttonhole flowers CYANUS--EMPEROR | | | |or house bouquets. The WILLIAM | |Deep blue | |Sweet Sultans are (Rich blue | | | |delightfully fragrant, and cornflower) | | | |the Cornflower one of the | | | |finest of our blue | | | |flowers. They should be | | | |sown in borders or large | | | |beds where they are to | | | |bloom and while the Sweet | | | |Sultans must be spring | | | |sown, the Cornflower if | | | |sown in October will bloom | | | |in May. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- COSMOS | H.A. |White |4-8 ft. |A beautiful autumn flower Giant fancy | |Pink | |if they are on their best | |Maroon | |behaviour and bloom on | | | |time, but like the little | | | |girl with the curl--when | | | |they are bad, they are | | | |horrid.--They take a | | | |great deal of room during | | | |a long season which can be | | | |often used to better | | | |advantage--planted with | | | |asters. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- Dahlia | H.H.P. |Various |3-6 ft. |If sown either indoors or Single and cactus, | | | |in a frame, these Dahlias mixed varieties | | | |may be as cheaply raised | | | |as any common annual--with | | | |the chance of growing | | | |many beautiful and new | | | |varieties. The roots may | | | |be stored in sand in the | | | |cellar during winter like | | | |other bulbs. | | | |I class this seed with | | | |annuals from the fact that | | | |it must be sown in spring | | | |and cannot be left over | | | |winter in the hardy bed | | | |though it is a _half_ | | | |hardy perennial. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- Gaillardia, called | H.A. |Red and |1 ft. |Fine daisy-shaped flower BLANKET FLOWER from| |yellow | |for colour-masses or its habit of | | | |picking. May be sown in covering the ground| | | |in the borders after bulbs with bloom | | | |have died away, and will Gaillardia, picta | | | |and will bloom until hard Lorenziania | | | |frost. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- Ipomæa | T.A. | |10-15 |Our most beautiful annual | | | ft. |vines. The common morning | | | |glories should be kept | | | |from seeding in flower or | | | |vegetable gardens, because | | | |before you know it the | | | |strong tendrils will have | | | |twined about vegetables | | | |and flowers alike and | | | |strangled them. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- Ipomæa | T.A. | | |An early variety of the | | | |of the popular moonflower Ipomæa, Mexicana | |Satiny | 15 ft. | grandiflora | | white | | alba--Large white | | | | moonflower | | | | Ipomæa, Northern | T.A. |Pinkish | 15 ft. | Light | |heliotrope| | --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- Imperial Japanese | T.A. |White, |30-40 |One of the most artistic morning-glories | |rose, | ft. |flowers of the modern | |crimson, | |garden, the seed must be | |all | |must be sown early, | |shades of | |preferably in a hotbed, | |purple | |and extra precautions | | | |taken to insure its | | | |germination, as the | | | |coverings are exceedingly | | | |hard. It is best to soak | | | |them over night in several | | | |changes of warm water or | | | |else very carefully notch | | | |the shell of the seed with | | | |a knife. This last | | | |performance is rather | | | |risky, if the knife slip | | | |ever so little, and it is | | | |best to trust to the | | | |soaking. For those who are | | | |in the country only from | | | |June to October and have | | | |little room for vines, | | | |these morning-glories | | | |will prove a new | | | |experience, for in flower | | | |and leaf they present an | | | |infinite variety of shape | | | |and marking. The flowers | | | |are both self-coloured as | | | |well as marbled, spotted, | | | |striped, margined, and | | | |fringed. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- MIGNONETTE | H.A. | |1-2 ft. |These three species of Miles Spiral | |Green | |mignonette I have found | | and white| |perfectly satisfactory. Giant Pyramidal | |Green, | 18 in. |If quantity is desired | | deep | |rather than quality, the Parson's White | |White and | 9 in. |seed may be sown thinly | | buff | |where it is to remain. But | | | |for specimen stalks to | | | |come up to catalogue | | | |descriptions, each plant | | | |must have individual | | | |treatment, like the | | | |asters. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- NASTURTIUMS | H.A. |All shades| |A showy climbing or Tall | |of reds | |trailing plant, useful for Make your own | |and | |outdoor decorations and mixture by buying | |yellows, | |the clean-smelling flowers the twenty named | |chocolate,| |being equally valuable for colours offered and| |pink, and | |table decorations. blending them. | |salmon | |Should be either planted | | | |on a bank, wall, or in | | | |front of a fence, stone or | | | |otherwise. If stone, a | | | |thick support of peabrush | | | |should be given, set | | | |slantwise toward the wall. | | | |Be careful not to place | | | |nasturtiums where you will | | | |look over them toward beds | | | |containing pink or magenta | | | |flowers or where they will | | | |form a background for the | | | |same, as in spite of some | | | |beautiful tints of | | | |straw-colour and maroon, | | | |the general nasturtium | | | |colour is dazzling, | | | |uncompromising | | | |vermilion-orange. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- PHLOX DRUMMONDII | H.A. | |1½ ft. |A thoroughly satisfactory Best colours in | | | |flower for the summer tall flowering class| | | |garden, whether sown | | | |broadcast to cover beds Alba | |White | |left empty by spring bulbs Coccinea | |Scarlet | |or sown in a seed bed and Isabellina | |Light | |transplanted eight inches | | yellow | |to a foot apart, when if Rosea | |Pink | |the dead flowers are kept Stella Splendens | |Crimson | |well picked off, they will Atropurpurea | |Purple | |make sturdy, compact | | | |bushes. DRUMMOND PHLOX | | |6-8 ft. |The dwarf varieties make Snowball | |White | |charming edges for hardy Chamois Rose | |Pink | |rose beds or shrubberies. Fireball | |Flame | | Surprise | |Scarlet | | | |edged with| | | |white | | --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- POPPIES | H.A. | |1 ft. - |Poppies are gorgeous | | | 18 in. |flowers, but in our SHIRLEY, the most | |All shades| |changeable climate, as a satisfactory reds | |class, are too short-lived of poppies for | | | |to pay their way, except outdoor decoration | | | |in summer gardens where a or cutting | | | |brief period of bloom | | | |suffices, or in a garden | | | |so large that there need | | | |be no economy of space. | | | |Shirley is sown in May and | | | |again in August for spring | | | |flowering. | | | |Even under adverse | | | |conditions the Shirley is | | | |always dainty and never | | | |makes a disagreeable, | | | |soppy exhibition after a | | | |rainy period like the | | | |carnation and peony | | | |flowered varieties. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- PORTULACA | T.A. |Red, |6-8 in. |A most useful "filler" for Buy the separate | |white, | |sunny nooks,--rockwork,-- colours and mix | |pink, | |for covering bulb beds, them yourself, as | |crimson, | |and concealing mishaps in the commercial | |yellow | |and disappointments. mixtures both | | | |Its fat, uninteresting scarlet and pink | | | |foliage, that makes mats appear in tints | | | |a foot broad and proclaims that set the teeth | | | |it first cousin to on edge | | | |"pusley," is covered | | | |during bright sunshine by | | | |a wealth of gay flowers | | | |two inches across and of | | | |satiny texture. | | | |Heat, and plenty of it, is | | | |what Portulaca craves, | | | |backyards agree with it, | | | |also dry banks, and even | | | |seashore sand if there is | | | |a foothold of loam | | | |beneath. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- Salvia Splendens-- | H.A. | |2-2½ ft.|The familiar flower that FLOWERING SAGE | | | |sends up its spikes of Bonfire | |Intense | |flame from August until | | flame | |frost--should be sown in | | | |seed beds and set out from | | | |one to two feet apart. | | | |Watch out and do not put | | | |your salvia where it will | | | |come in competition with | | | |the crimson-hued hardy | | | |phlox tribe. Scarlet | | | |geraniums and the crimson | | | |rambler rose in | | | |conjunction are not more | | | |painful. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- SWEET PEAS, twelve | H.A. |Various |6 ft. |If sweet peas are to be good colours | | | |grown in any quantity, | | | |they should be sown after Apple blossom | |Pink | |the manner of tall garden Black knight | |Maroon | |peas and the colours kept Boreatton | |Deep | |separate. This is a great | | Crimson | |aid both to their Coquette | |Primrose | |gathering and artistic Crown jewel | |Cream, | |arrangement. | | violet | | | | veins | | Duke of Clarence | |Claret | | Firefly | |Dazzling | | | | scarlet | | Gorgeous | |Orange and| | | | rose | | Mrs. Kenyon (very | |Primrose- | | large) | | yellow | | King Edward VII | |Very fine | | | | crimson | | Mrs. Dugdale | |Best | | | | rose-pink| | Navy blue | |Rich dark | | | | blue | | Primrose | |Light | | | | yellow | | Senator | |White, | | | | purple, | | | | and | | | | maroon | | | | striped | | Mont Blanc, very | |White | 2 ft. | early | | | | Stella Morse | |Primrose | | | | flushed | | | | with pink| | --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- SUNFLOWERS | H.A. |All shades|4-8 ft. |Cheerful flowers to line Henry Wilde | |of yellow | |up against fences or at Primrose-coloured | | | |the back of shrubberies, Cucumerifolius | | | |whose seeds, if left to hybridus fl. pl., | | | |ripen, will secure the a fine mixture of | | | |company of many birds for new varieties, | | | |your garden through the decorative and | | | |autumn and early winter. good for cutting | | | | Single Russian (The | | | 8 ft. | Henyard Sunflower),| | | | large head heavy | | | | with seeds | | | | --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- VERBENA | H.A. | |1½ ft. |The best summer-bedding Defiance, scarlet | | | |plant that is raised from bedder | | | |seed, which must be well Candidissima | | | |soaked before sowing. The Auriculæflora, | | | |mammoth varieties are the various, with | | | |most satisfactory, and white eye | | | |among them are to be Mammoth, mixed, | |Red, | |found shaded tints of rose large flowers, often| |white, | |and lavender that have fragrant, of many | |blue, | |decided perfume. beautiful colours. | |purple, | | | |crimson, | | | |pink, | | | |striped | | --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- WALLFLOWER | H.A. |Gold and |1½ ft. |While the most beautiful Paris single annual | | Brown | |species of wallflowers are | | | |in this climate so tender | | | |that they must be wintered | | | |in pits or cold frames, | | | |this single species, if | | | |sown in spring and | | | |transplanted, will bloom | | | |until Christmas. | | | |It is one of the most | | | |valuable and | | | |characteristic plants of | | | |the bed of sweet odours | | | |and can be used to fill | | | |odd nooks, against stone | | | |walls, or the foundation | | | |of buildings. --------------------+--------+----------+--------+-------------------------- ZINNIA (Crabbed age | H.A. | |1-16 in.|Bedding annual, of and Youth) | | | |brilliant colours and Salmon | | | |vigorous growth. If room Snowball | | | |is lacking, the dwarf Sulphur | | | |varieties are best unless Golden | | | |the soil is very poor. It Fireball | | | |is best to buy the seed in Rose | | | |separate colours, and when | | | |transplanting from the | | | |seed bed, combine as | | | |required. | | | |Avoid the purple and | | | |magenta shades, they are | | | |quite impossible. ====================+========+==========+========+==========================