FLOWERS FOR CUTTING 165 



highest merit, both for culture and beautiful bloom. 

 The dahlia and gladiolus are nowhere so valua- 

 ble as in the cutting garden. Choose free-flowering 

 dahlia selfs, with the habit of long stems, and 

 plant the gladioli at fortnight intervals to secure 

 a longer season of bloom. Both the montbretias 

 and the ixias are superior cut flowers and neither 

 is expensive excepting for the newest kinds. The 

 single tuberose is very good indeed for cutting, 

 though rarely used. Tigridias are showy, but per- 

 ishable. 



Although variety is better relegated to the cut- 

 ting garden, the advantage of keeping it well re- 

 duced in the case of plants grown primarily for 

 cut flowers cannot be too strongly emphasized. 

 Favorite flowers first and then the favorite vari- 

 ety or varieties of these should be the rule. Buy 

 bulbs and seed by name, to avoid mixture in a 

 row : sometimes the solid effect in the cutting gives 

 you just the idea you want for the house or the 

 hardy garden. 



Some of the herbs, notably the common sage, 

 wormwood and burnet, furnish beautiful foliage for 

 cutting the first two in silvery sprays. The south- 

 ernwood (Artemisia abronatum), Roman worm- 

 wood (Artemisia pontica) and lavender cotton 

 (Santolina Chamaecyparissus) are similarly useful. 

 One plant of che lemon verbena and another of 

 rose geranium there ought always to be. 



With a coldframe a much longer season of 

 California violets is possible. This is also the 



