180 CALIFORNIA GARDEN FLOWERS 



Scabiosa. The old "grandmother's pincushion" has been advanced 

 in size and in coloring until some of the varieties are as delicately 

 beautiful in hues as anything in the garden can attain. They are 

 very popular as cut flowers and are advancing in commercial impor- 

 tance. The plants are readily grown from seed after frost in open 

 ground, or can be grown earlier for transplanting. They volunteer 

 very readily and care not whether growing in the garden or by the 

 roadside. 



Schizanthus. This is called the butterfly-flower from its orchid- 

 like blossoms. It is of medium height, and a mass of bloom but not 

 holding it long. Plants can be readily grown in open ground and 

 several sowings should be made at intervals to continue blossoming. 

 They enjoy partial shade when summer grown, but in most places 

 will do well all through the growing season. 



Sweet Peas. Sweet peas are a particular pride of California hor- 

 ticulturally, esthetically and commercially, they are notable in this state. 

 California growers have not only set the world's pace by development of 

 new classes or types and varieties, but they are in the lead in seed 

 production, and California grown seed is distributed around the world 

 through wholesale supplies grown for distant distributors. The literature 

 of the sweet pea is extensive many booklets having been prepared by 

 specialists, the latest by C. C. Morse & Co., who have been leaders in the 

 sweet pea industry of California for a quarter of a century. The following 

 general suggestions are from a brief statement written by Mr. Lester L. 

 Morse several years ago, which will do well to awaken beginners to the 

 desirability of making sweet peas a particular feature of their gardens 

 and indicating what they can easily do with them: 



"Few flowers breathe out a more delightful perfume, few have greater 

 variations of color, and very few are more attractive in the garden or 

 more delightful in the room than sweet peas. They fit in almost anywhere 

 and they fill in almost any place they keep well, are easy to grow and 

 easy to keep. 



"You can have bloom in California almost any time in February by 

 planting the seed of the early varieties in October in a sheltered spot. 

 Or you can get a wealth of bloom of all varieties in May by sowing the 

 seed in December and letting the early rains do the irrigating for you. 

 You can have blooms all summer by planting at intervals all winter, but 

 the prettiest blooms for most of the country are those that come in May 

 before the hot and dry weather sets in. In foggy climates where the soil 

 is good, especially along the sea coast, the .blossoms are usually larger 

 and the colors brighter than elsewhere. But the sweet pea likes sun in 

 most of our gardens, and does best in a good open place away from shade, 

 and they are usually thirsty and enjoy lots of water. The vines should 

 not be sprayed but water should reach the roots; dig a small trench 



