Wild Gardens 



295 



" roosters' heads, " the latter name appHed by boys with fighting propensities, 

 who gather two stems, hook the flowers together, and pull to see which head 

 will come off first. The most 

 beautiful species of them all is 

 Cleveland's shooting star {Dode- 

 catJieon Clevelandi), from southern 

 California, blossoming 'in the early 

 springtime, even before the baby 

 blue-eyes are awake. It sends up a 

 tall shaft, crowned with a large 

 cluster of beautiful blossoms, vary- 

 ing from a delicate lilac to pure 

 white. The petals are ringed below 

 with pale yellow, and the beak of the 

 flower is a rich prune-purple. There 

 is a generous, fine look about these 

 flowers, although they are exquisitely 

 delicate. Their charm is completed 

 by delicious perfume, like that of 

 the cultivated cyclamen. 



Shooting stars are perennial, 

 tuberous-rooted plants, not difficult 

 of cultivation if properly managed. 

 They can be grown in pots, like the 

 cyclamen, and dried off' when the seeds 

 mature and the leaves wither. They 

 should then be kept dry until late in 

 the following fall, when they may be 

 gently watered and placed near the 

 light if they are to be flowered in the 

 house, or placed outside in the spring, 

 care being taken not to allow them 

 too much water. They should be 

 protected from mice while dormant. 



The beautiful prickly phlox, Gtlia Californica, is a bushy perennial 

 plant with densely fascicled needle-like leaves and masses of handsome pink 

 or Hlac flowers. The texture of the petals "is of the finest silk, with an 



Dalibarda repens 



