Dahlias. 113 



of her forms to others. I hate to see dahhas tied to stakes. The 

 compact bushy plants that never grow more than two feet high 

 have their flowers massed and make a single picture. The tall, 

 ungainly, sprawling varieties have too much foliage in proportion 

 to the number of flowers. There is no unity of effect. The 

 flowers are scattered, and the attention is distracted. And the 

 stakes are unsightly and troublesome. These dwarf dahlias, 

 therefore, are just the thing for flower-beds and borders and 

 wherever masses of color are wanted in small compass. The 

 taller single varieties have been extravagantly overvalued in their 

 day. They have even excelled the show varieties in popular 

 favor for a time. Vilmorin still catalogues one hundred and 

 eleven single varieties. 



The peculiar merits of the cactus dahlias have been mentioned. 

 Figures 26 and 30 are only two of many forms quite peculiar to the 

 dahlia. The dahlia is not without its curiosities, such as sport- 

 ing varieties, like Beauty Inconstayit which bears pure white or pure 

 yellow flowers, or pinkish ones, or red ones ''freaked" with any 

 of these colors, and Viridiflora the so-called ' ' green dahlia ' ' (Fig. 

 28), which is a monstrosity similar to the green rose. The range 

 of color is even greater than that of the Japanese chrysanthemums, 

 being particularly rich in dark reds and strong, clear shades of 

 purple. The dahlia A. D. Livoni exactly matches the pink of 

 Mr. Mathews's color chart and I am very sure that the chrysan- 

 themums do not have it at all. Whether they can ever reach it 

 through the color that Mr. Mathews calls crimson-pink is doubt- 

 ful. Dahlias are also very rich in iridescent effects, Ruby Queen y 

 Oban, and Mrs. W. H. Mauie being good examples. The tex- 

 ture of flowers is a point wasted on people who do not love a 

 garden. Dahlias are sometimes waxy, sometimes loose and 

 fluffy, and a loving gardener loves to feel and handle them. 



The place for dahlias is the garden. — They never can have a 

 place in landscape gardening because the first frOvSt kills them. I 

 often think their strength is dissipated when they are strung 

 along a walk or other border. Personally, I believe in flower 

 beds, but not in the middle of a beautiful green lawn. The grass 

 has a quiet story to tell, and if dahlias intrude they should be put 

 out for disturbing the peace. I wish I could have a whole bulle- 



