POPULAR HERBACEOUS PLANTS 171 



which one is apt, unreasonably, to expect to keep always good with- 

 out renewal of wood. Other herbaceous "daisies" of Europe have 

 been displaced by the Shasta group. 



Quite a different and a newer "daisy" is called the "Transvaal" 

 or "South African scarlet daisy" Gerbera Jamesonii, which is receiv- 

 ing some attention in Southern California. Prof. R. T. Stevens of 

 the University of California furnishes the following note: "The 

 Gerbera is not an easy plant to raise, requiring a warm, sunny, pro- 

 tected place on a slope, if possible, for it will freeze easily. Good 

 rich soil and good drainage are essential. The greatest care must 

 be taken to prevent the crown of the plant from being covered 

 with earth or with litter, or it is likely to damp off. The base or 

 crown should be even a little above the surrounding ground. The 

 plant demands water, but the drainage must be such that none of 

 it will settle and remain to create wet, soggy conditions. The plant 

 is often grown on small, raised, hillocks from eight to twelve inches 

 (above the surrounding ground, with a basin of water at the top." 



A much easier plant is like a daisy and is called the African 

 orange daisy, (Dimorphotheca aurantiaca) excellent for borders or 

 low edging, as it keeps below a foot high and covers itself with 

 bloom. The plant is hardy as a weed; come from seed with perfect 

 success and is easy to transplant. They should be given six or 

 eight inches apart in the row. They will flower from two and half 

 months after planting until winter and in mild winters will bloom 

 through the whole season. 



Euchardium. This is a plant which should be more widely known. 

 Its full name is Eucharidium grandiflora, and a grower gives this 

 note: "In the size and form of the flower it very much resembles 

 the Clarkia, than which it is dwarfer and more compact, and is more - 

 acceptable as a bedding plant. The habit is all that could be desired, 

 and the flowers are attractive, not only for beauty, but for the curious 

 appearance presented by them, possessing as they do the peculiar 

 tri-lobate petals so characteristic of the Clarkia and its allies." 



Flax. Although the flaxes grown for seed and fiber are very 

 pretty with their shades of blue and of white blooms and are hardy 

 as grains, giving lovely winter effects, it is the scarlet flax or Linum 

 rubrum which is more striking and notable. It is a graceful plant, 

 from a foot high upwards, bearing bright red flowers in abundance. 

 It grows readily from seed in open ground, from sowing after the 

 fall rains and later in the rainy season. 



Forget-Me-Nots. The varieties of myosotis surely do make it 

 impossible to forget them in California. They grow luxuriantly in 

 all except very frosty times, doing their best in the moderate 

 temperatures of autumn and spring, but active also during the highest 



