THE DAWN OF SPRING 



common in Hollyhocks, so that we can at once secure March 

 something tall for the back. But almost more desirable ^~^5 

 still is the Sweet Pea. Countess Spencer is a brilliant 

 pink, and the more freely the flowers are cut the longer 

 the plants will bloom. The Rose Mallow is a medium 

 height plant that has the great merit of large flowers 

 and continuous blooming ; these tend to compensate 

 for its rather straggly habit. The pink Canterbury Bell 

 will be splendid in early summer, and a sister biennial 

 that is somewhat dwarfer, but equally beautiful in colour, 

 is the salmon-pink Sweet William. Pyrethrums and 

 Paeonies give us some beautiful pink varieties, and both 

 are early bloomers ; but the Pyrethrums are perpetual 

 when cut over after the first blooming. Two very fine 

 annuals are available in dwarf pink Godetia and Clarkia 

 Elegans, both of which last well. Silene Pendula Com- 

 pacta is a good dwarf pink annual. The pink Snap- 

 dragon is magnificent, and can be grown from seed like 

 an annual. It can be got tall, medium, or dwarf. The 

 medium is the best. 



When we get to blue we think inevitably of Del- 

 phiniums, grandest of all the blue flowered perennials. 

 Their tall spikes are invaluable. There are many good 

 blue Sweet Peas — none better, perhaps, than Frank 

 Dolby as a garden variety. Helen Pierce is a good 

 veined blue — a variety, too, of nice garden habit. One 

 of the very best of blue-flowered plants is Nigella Miss 

 Jekyll, an annual which may be raised from seed out 

 of doors, and flowered in a few weeks. It is neither 

 more nor less than a glorified variety of the blue Love- 

 in-a-mist. The colour is delightful, the flowers are 

 large, and the blooming is continuous till the autumn. 

 This is a plant in a thousand. We can get deeper blue 

 in Anchusa Italica,Dropmore variety, which is a favourite 

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