308 ] The Fascination of Flowers 



Many of our common fruits belong to the rose family; the 

 plants include the creeping strawberry as well as the sturdy black- 

 berry bush and apple tree. Though these plants differ considerably 

 in size and general appearance, their blossoms have a great 

 similarity to the rose. 



CHRYSANTHEMUMSJAPANESE FAVORITE 



The chrysanthemum has a double flower head, numerous 

 petals, and lovely coloring (generally red, yellow, and white) . 

 It gets wide publicity every fall as the star attraction of countless 

 flower shows. But it is not only the spectacular prize-winning 

 varieties that merit popularity. There are many kinds that will 

 flourish without highly skilled care, bringing fresh beauty to our 

 gardens in the fall when most flowers are dying. 



Until fairly recently "mums" could be grown in northern 

 climates only inside a greenhouse; but now we have hardy types 

 that bloom out-of-doors through light frost. These perennials 

 usually survive the winter, and each spring you can separate the 

 new growths and replant them. Thus your chrysanthemum dis- 

 play can expand considerably from a very few plants. 



Two Thousand Years of Chrysanthemums: Two thousand years 

 ago, a chrysanthemum much like a colored daisy was a popular 

 garden flower in Japan. (A figure of a sixteen-petaled chrysanthe- 

 mum is used as the crest of the Japanese imperial family.) Early in 

 the eighteenth century some of these flowers were brought to 

 England, and China and India contributed other species. English 

 gardeners and plant breeders went to work with them and in less 

 than a hundred years produced new varieties bearing flowers 

 three times as large as any of the originals. 



DAHLIAS THEY GROW EVEN ON ASH HEAPS 



The dahlia, a reddish flower that originated in Mexico 

 and Central America, is a popular show flower. Because of their 

 size and beauty, you might suspect that dahlias are difficult to raise. 

 The fact is, though, that dahlias are adaptable to almost any kind 

 of soil, if it has been properly prepared. 



