10 



GARDE^ERS• CHRONICLE 



Gardens of Annual Flowers in Shades of One Color 



FLORUM AMATOR 



T 



HE majority of peojile. probably, like to have in 

 their gardens flowers of many folors. but a con- 

 siderable minority prefer to have flowers in shades 

 of one color in their garden, making a more pronounced 

 effect, rather than to have a motley of colors. 



The effect of flower gardens in shades of one color is 

 enhanced, however, by edging all of their beds and bor- 

 ders with low-growing plants whose flowers are of a 

 dift'erent shade of color bringing out more sharply by 

 contrast the main or body color of the garden. We will 

 mention to illustrate our idea what may enter into the 

 composition of one garden of this kind, for examjjle a 

 garden in yellow, the color of the glorious sun which 

 we all love. 



In the northern border of our yellow flower gardtn 

 in the extreme background we will plant a row of the 

 Chrysanthemum-flowered Sunflowers and in front of 

 these a row each of the cncumcrifoUus varieties of Sun- 

 flowers such as "Stella," "Orion," and "Perkeo." The 

 Chrysanthemum-flowered variety, is tall and bears large 

 double, golden yellow flowers with twisted petals ; the 

 other three are single varieties with smaller flowers those 

 of "Stella" being golden yellow with a black center, 

 "Orion" yellow with twisted petals like those of a Cac- 

 tus Dahlia, and "Perkeo," which is a continual bloomer, 

 grows in bush form not more than 12 to 14 inches high 

 and bears miniature yellow flowers. This northern Sun- 

 flower border we will give an edging of Jgcraliini. 

 "Swanley Blue," which grows about a foot high, and 

 bears bright flowers. 



In another bed we will i)lant Huniicinaniua fuiiiari(c- 

 folia, sometimes called Giant Tulip Poppy or Bush 

 Eschscholtzia whose Buttercup-yellow, Poppy-like blooms 

 are borne profusely from mid-July till hard frost on 

 bushy plants about two feet high with handsome fern-like 

 foliage. We will edge this bed with Ageratum, "Prin- 

 cess Pauline," which grows about nine inches high, and 

 has sky-blue flowers with white centers. We will have 

 one bed of African, and another of French Marigolds, 

 using those varieties only which bear flowers in shades 

 of yellow and we will edge this bed with Ageratum 

 "Little Blue Star," which grows about five inches high 

 and bears bright blue flowers. 



Surely there must be one bed in our garden of that 

 old time favorite. Calendula, "Pot Marigold," or "Shakes- 

 peare's Marigold." which during the ]>ast few years has 

 i)€Come very popular as a florist's cut flower. Of this 

 also we will plant only those varieties which bear yellow 

 flowers and we will ])lant as an edging for this bed 

 another old time flower, namely, Myosotis palustris seni- 

 f'crflorens, the true everblooming Forget-me-not. which 

 everybody loves. 



In order to have every flower in our garden which 

 bears the common name Marigold we may ])lant a small 

 bed of Tagctes signata pumila, a compact dwarf bushy 

 Marigold with fern-like foliage bearing jirofusely bright 

 yellow flowers with brown stripes, and since this is a very 

 iow-growing plant we will use as an edging the very dwarf 

 Lobelia eompaeta, "Crystal Palace," which has dark blue 

 flowers. 



Our bed of CoUiopsis will cmlnace only the yellow 

 shades, and that of Gaillardkt the same shades of color 

 and as these two kinds of flfjwers resemble each other 

 to a considerable degree, we will use as ;in edging for 



both beds Bro-K'allia nana coinpacta. a charming little 

 blue-flowered plant. 



The yellow varieties of Celosia plumosa. the newer, 

 plumed type of the old time "Cock's Comb," particularly 

 what is known as the Tlwmpsonii magniHca strain of the 

 plumed type, will give us a yellow bed of flowers of an 

 entirely different character than the others. This bed 

 we may give an edging of Broivallia speciosa major 

 whose flowers are a beautiful ultramarine-blue. 



Zinnia plants have not a very graceful form but some- 

 how their very primness makes us like them, and a bed 

 of the yellow-flowered varieties with an edging of 

 Lobelia. "Emperor William," will add both to the variety 

 and the effectiveness of our yellow garden. 



All of our beds so far have been filled with the well 

 known flowers, but we will now fill a bed with a kind of 

 flower not as commonly seen as its merits deserve, namely, 

 with Bartonia aurea whose very bright golden flowers 

 appear from June to September. This Bartonia grows 

 only about a foot high, and we will edge this becl with 

 Lobelia pumila splendens whose flowers are dark blue 

 with a white eye. 



Salpiglossis, "Painted Tongue," is becoming popular 

 in our American gardens, and deservedly so, and we will 

 plant a bed of golden yellow Salpiglossis of the orchid- 

 flowered strain, and edge our bed of this with another 

 very prettv but in our country too little seen flower, 

 naniel}-, rinla eornuta using the dark bltie variety, some- 

 times called atropurpurea; if we were planting a blue 

 garden we would have an entire bed of this and of the 

 light blue variety of Viola. 



One bed in our garden should be planted with low- 

 growing, free-flowering annual, lisehseholtrjia (Cali- 

 fornia Poppy) preferably with the single variety "Golden 

 West" and the double variety "Crocea" and for an edging 

 to this bed, since Eschscholt::m. itself is a rather dwarf 

 plant, we should have a very low-grower, and we will 

 again use Ageratum, "Little Blue Star." 



We now have a garden of yellow-flowered annuals 

 edged with low-growing blue-flowered annuals which will 

 give us a two-fold result, namely, an abundance of flowers 

 in yellow shades for cutting throughout the season, and 

 a splendid display of yellow to greet the eye on every 

 hand as we walk through our garden paths. 



One thing is sure, whatever the color of the flowers 

 in our garden mav be. we should reserve one bed or 

 border in it in which to grow sweet-scented greens for 

 our bouquets, namely, a lialf-dozen or more of Rose- 

 Scented and Lemon-.Sccnted Geraniums, of Aloxsia 

 eitriodora (Lemon \"erbena), a dear old plant the 

 fragrance of whose foliage is fit for angels. 



It will be necessary to buy strong ])lanfs of the Gera- 

 niums and Lemon Verbenas in three- or four-inch pots 

 out of which they can be trans]ilantcd into the garden 

 bed. liesides these we should sow a considerable space 

 with Mignonette using the varieties "Allen's Deliance" 

 and "Machet." 



It may not be amiss to say in closing that our garden 

 slinuld be dug deeply and the surface soil l>e made as 

 "line .-IS silk" and our flower seeds sown in earlv l\la\- 

 rather thicklv in very shallow drills and when Ihe )ilants 

 are slill small they should be "thinned out" ruthlessly 

 so that those which are left will stand from three inches 

 to a foot apart according to the kind of ])lant whether 

 l.-irire or small. 



