THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



605 



CAMPANULA CALYCAXTHEMA. 



CAMPANULA MEDIUM SINGLE. 



CAMPANULA PERSICIFOLIA GRANDIFLORA. 



BIENNIALS. 



By Richard Rothe. 



To the close observer the varied attitude toward bien- 

 nials taken by garden owners, as well as the different 

 viewpoints looked at by horticulturists, is an interesting 

 subject to study. The amateur, at his first attempt to 

 start a flower garden, buying plants, frequently appears 

 disappointed when being told of the limited life and the 

 subsequent necessity of renewing the plantations every 

 season, llardeners who see in herbacous plants, above 

 all. a material to save the time and labor required for 

 growing annuals, regard this class as undesirable. Move 

 experienced flower enthusiasts and especially advanced 

 craftsmen, as designers and caretakers of modern flower 

 gardens, are considering the growing of biennials as a 

 distinct part of their annual work. It is the rule in all 

 such cases to aim for a uniform and high standard of 

 quality for the season's planting and replenishing of stock 

 for sale. True, biennials are very easy to raise ; in fact, 

 under favorable circumstances they sow themselves and 

 we often see thousands of little seedlings covering the 

 ground between old plantations. To attain real satis- 

 factory results, however, requires today rational culture. 

 Early May sowings, in my experience, give us ample time 

 to produce strong and stocky plant sizes by October. 

 Extra large clumps for home use. if desired, should be 

 started under glass as early as in February and March. 

 For shipping, their dimensions as a rule turn out too 

 bulky : they over-winter less safely as medium-sized stock, 

 but the flower stalks, particularly of digitalis, are apt to be 

 immense. Plants from sowings as late as July and Au- 

 gust rarelv produce more than a single flowering stalk the 

 coming season, and for that reason must be planted close 

 together to give any real eft'ect. 



In the growing of biennials the question of strain is an 

 all-important one. The difference in prices of seeds is a 

 very small matter when compared with the difference in 

 effect between selected and improved colors and shades 

 and the showing of plants grown from the cheapest mix- 

 tures. The expenses on space, manure and time are in 

 both respects practically the same. Prudence should, 

 therefore, prompt us to insist on and grow the very best 

 strain obtainable. Realizing the importance of biennials 

 in the floral spring arrays of flower gardens emphasizes 

 the aforesaid. Indeed their May and June aspect lacks 

 an element of brightness without them. A garden minus 

 the charming masses of tall slender spikes of digitalis 

 seems an impossibility. We should miss the solid banks 

 of colors of sweet Williams if we attempt omitting this 

 sturdy old-timer. There is no substitute to take the place 

 of long-cut sprays of Campanula medium and Campanula 

 calycanthema in their delicate shades of rose-pink, lav- 

 ender and white to fill our vases. Light-winged masses 

 of blossoms of Iceland poppies on tall, thin, wiry stems, 

 swaying in a vernal breeze, offer a picture awakening the 

 desire to see it again. Pansies, and the new Viola cornuta 

 hybrids, with their wide scope of ornamental usefulness, 

 belonging in the biennial class, are started in August. In 

 conclusion I wish to mention garden pinks, particularly 

 those of the Dianthus plumarius type, and the peach- 

 leaved bellflower varieties. Although botanically classed 

 among perennials, when growing stock in quantity from 

 seed, the usual way is to proceed in treating them as bien- 

 nials. Sowings of Campanula persici folia grandiflora 

 during February and March, and of pinks in May. give 

 us ample time to ])roduce strong, bushy plants by the end 

 of the growing season. It is the best method to obtain a 

 uniform material where we may depend on for satisfac- 

 tory crops of flowers the following spring. 



VIOLA CORNUTA. 



DIGIT.XMS NL\IL"I..\L .\LIiA. 



HLVNTIIUS BARBATU6 AL\RGIN.\TUS. 



