350 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



Let US see; make a deep, rich bed, about four feet wide, any length 

 convenient, owing to the size of your garden. First plant crocuses, 

 of which there is an endlescj variety, then comes the hyacinth, the 

 heather moss, followed by the Easter flowers, king's crown, jonquil, 

 then the tleur de luce, the dilytra, and the lily of the valley, the 

 blue bell, the narcissus, the pinks and the sweet williams, the numer- 

 ous varieties of peony, the white and the tiger lily, followed by the 

 sweet scented yellow lily, the holly-hocks, and the endless varieties 

 of perennial phlox, followed by several varieties of hibiscus, and 

 you will have a mass of bloom from the middle of march, in ordinary 

 years, until the latter part of July, when the annuals begin to show 

 themselves. 



Right along with these are varieties of beautiful shrubs, which 

 fetart in with the canary bird flowers in March, then the German 

 quince, the early syringa, the many colors and kinds of beautiful 

 roses, the snow-balls and lilacs, the vvygelia, the daoutchie, the late 

 syringa, the spyrea, the rhododendron, the cornucopia and the white 

 fawn, the honeysuckle, the althea and hydrangae, as well as the 

 numerous others of equal beauty and economy. 



Now come the annual plants to take the place of their perennial 

 predecessors, which have served their time and purpose. Of all thesi 

 flowers, I would select onl}' tried and true varieties; for if you read 

 some of the catalogues, you will see there varieties of annuals ad- 

 vertised that you know nothing of, and if you begin to exi)eriment 

 with these, you will be discouraged with your efforts, and your flower 

 garden will be a failure, and besides, you may bring a weed of the 

 most stubborn kind into your garden, that will give you no end of 

 trouble. 



It is said that two pioneers to California took with them respec- 

 tively a scap of bees and a bunch of Scotch thistle seed. The bees 

 have proved one of the greatest blessings of that most wonderful 

 State, bringing it an income of thousands of dollars yearly, while the 

 curse of California to-day, is the Scotch thistle, besides, it costs the 

 State thousands of dollars yearly to keep it, in some places, from en- 

 tirely destroying the crops. So take care what you plant, and be sure 

 that it is the right thing. I would suggest a lot of good old fashioned 

 flowers; the asters, the zinias, the sweet peas, the scabiosa, the bal- 

 sam and the balsam apple, the morning glory, and the nasturtium, 

 the larkspur, the morning bride; not forgetting the petunia and the 

 marigold, also Job's tears, which our good old grandmother used 

 to fix up for us in long strings and hang them about our necks, to 

 keep off such dreaded diseases as the whooping cough, measles, etc. 



Set out a long row of sun-flowers and you will combine beauty with 

 utility; a few datura mixed with the many varieties of tried and 

 beautiful fall blooming annuals can be worked into your bed where 



