CHOICE OF FLOWERS 



phlox, both Drummondii (the annual), low- 

 growing, strangely starred and streaked, and the 

 stout, tranquil perennial of our grandmothers' 

 gardens, with Its panicles of white, pink and red 

 In solid colors. We ought to make a good deal 

 of the begonia. If you have ever seen the beds 

 of the tuberous species In the Harvard botanical 

 garden, in Cambridge, you have seen a show as 

 fine In Its way as the shows of the chrysanthe- 

 mums In town. Yet the flowers are not aggres- 

 sively beautiful, and the plant Is to be regarded 

 rather for Its foliage. In the greenhouse the 

 begonia will attain a height of more than six feet, 

 and It bears leaves of beautiful markings. 



It Is a pity that the primrose does not grow 

 with us as It does In England. The Chinese 

 primrose, that we raise In pots, Is one of the first 

 tokens of spring that florists offer, and It will 

 keep In bloom for several weeks, they tell me, 

 yet It is not for me to see it In flower after the 

 first ten days in the window. It puts out false 

 buds in bunches that never open, but wither 

 down. Still, its fuzzy leaves are pleasant to see, 

 and those transplanted early from the green- 

 house will bloom generously. The red and yel- 

 195 



