IN AN OLD-FASHIONED FLOWER GARDEN. 



THERE is always something in the 

 old-fashioned garden that pleases 

 us more than the annual flowers 

 from a greenhouse do. This is largely be- 

 cause of memories which the permanent 

 ones of the garden awaken. Coming to us 

 year after year they bring to us circumstan- 

 ces we are pleased to remember. In early 

 summer and late autumn such gardens are 

 replete with flowers. At midsummer it is 

 not easy to find a good variety to help to- 

 wards a bouquet. It is therefore with pleas- 

 ure that I append a list of few good ones 

 which I have just observed flowering in an 

 old-time border of flowers. 



My first notes record several bergamots, 

 monardas, as they are called. There are 

 didyma, the scarlet ; purpurea, the purple ; 

 mollis, pink, and Ustulosa, lilac, all good for 

 this season for their flowers and their sweet- 

 smelling leaves. 



Tne common perennial phloxes are now 

 in bloom. These, to do their best, need 

 rich ground, moisture and a shady place. 

 With the reverse of this the flowers quickly 

 fade. Some of the newer sorts of phlox 

 are very handsome. Nearly all veronicas 

 are out of flower, but one of the newer ones, 

 Hendersoni, is just in its prime. This has 

 spikes of large blue flowers, larger than 

 those of any other one I know of. 



The common milkweed, Asclepias corunti, 

 is sometimes a nuisance in old meadows, but 

 the lovely yellow-flowered one, tuherosa, is 

 one of the most attractive of plants now in 

 flower. Another species, incarnata, bear^ 

 ing pinkish-white flowers, helps along the 

 midsummer display. A foreign kind, 

 curassavica, with yellowish-orange flowers, 

 is another good one. Anthemis tinctoria, is 

 a yellow, daisy-like flower, which blooms 

 from June till Sptember ; and if decayed 

 flowers are cut away as fast as they ap- 



pear, the new ones continue to come in 

 greater profusion. 



Much the same can be said of the two 

 coreopses, grandiilora and lanceolata. Both 

 are yellow, and bear their flowers on long 

 stems, which is a valuable characteristic 

 where flowers are desired for ornamenting 

 tables when placed in vases. 



I saw to-day a whole lot of the lovely 

 large blue larkspur. Delphinium formosum, 

 in full bloom. The plants I found had been 

 raised from seeds sown in late fall, in a 

 greenhouse, and had been planted out in 

 spring. This is worth remembering, as if 

 sown in spring there are no flowers until th2 

 second summer. Hollyhocks are of the 

 same character. A few will flower when 

 sown in the fall, but it is better to give them 

 two full seasons to get the best results. 



The old purple foxglove makes a grand 

 display in the early part of the month. This 

 does best treated as a biennial, though it is 

 something of a perennial. The order to 

 which it belongs contains pentstemons, mon- 

 key flowers, snapdragons and many other 

 beautiful and useful hardy plants. As with 

 nearly all perennials, if it can be given a lit- 

 tle shade, its flowers are much more satis- 

 factory. 



The large-flowered bell-flower, Campan- 

 ula grandiHora, in both white and blue va- 

 riety, is among the most attractive of all. 

 The two are tall-growing, growing three 

 feet in height, and they bloom profuseiv. 

 Sometimes one half of a flower will be blue, 

 the other white, makiHg a curious spectacle. 



Among day lilies, there is one, Funkia 

 suhcordata, a very light blue, just going out 

 of flower. In a short time, a very late one, 

 with deep blue flowers, lancifolia, will make 

 its display, the last one of the season. 



In a quite damp, partly shaded place, dou- 

 ble English daisies are now in fine display. 



