1470 



HERB 



HERB 



Eupatorium urticxfolium. October: Aster commutatus. 



A. ericoides var. Sensation, A. Tradescanlii. 



Blue. — April: Iris cristata and /. verna, Phlox Stel- 



laria. May: Amsonia Tahernsemontana, Baptisia aus- 



tralis, Phlox diraricata, Polenionium rcptans, Camassia 



esculenta. June: Tradescanlia virginiana, Cliloria mari- 



ana. July: Delphinium carolinianum (bluish white). 



August: Eupalorium caelestinum. October: Aster beiris 



and A. amethyslinus. 



Pink. — June: Tradescanlia virginica var. delicala. 



July: Phlox paniculata vars. Gr^vin, Lady Molly, 



Sonnenkind, and I« Soleil, Echinacea purpurea var. 



rosea (liudheckia elegans rosea), Physosiegia virginiana 



var. speciosa. August: Hisbiscus Moscheutos and H. 



militaris. September: Bolionia asteroides, Aster longi- 



f alius, A. ericoides var. Sensation, A. novse-anglix var. 



Ryecroft Pink, A. paniculatus var. Triumph. 



Rose and rosy purple. — July: Physostegia virginiana. 



August: Ldntris (Lacinaria) pycnostachya, L. scariosa, 



and L. squarrosa. September and October: Aster novse- 



anglise var. roseus, Lylhrum alatum. 



Purple and violet. — May: Clematis Simsii (C. Pitch- 



eri), Sedum pulcheUwn. July: Phlox paniculata var. 



Ryecroft Purple, Echinacea purpurea. August: Aster 



Siwrtii. September: Aster patens. 



Crimson. — June: Callirhoe involucrata. July: Phlox 



paniculata var. Lord Kelvin. September: Aster novx- 



anglise var. coccineus. 



Magenta. — May: Phlox pilosa, P. stolonifera (P. 

 replans). June: Phlox glaberrima, P. maculata. July: 

 Phlox paniculata vars. Champs Elys^es, Eclaireur and 

 Obergiirtner Wittig. 



Scarlet. — May: Aquilegia canadensis. June: Lilium 

 canadense var. ruhrum, L. umbellatum, Pursh. not Hort. 

 July: Pentsiemon barbatu-s var. Torreyi (from the Great 

 Plains), Phlox paniculata var. Stendahl, Lilium cana- 

 dense var. rubrum. August: Gaillardia aristata var. 

 Glory. 



Yellow. — May: Callha palustris var. flore-pleno, 

 Aquilegia canadensis var. flavescens. Ranunculus repens 

 \ax. flore-pleno, Viola Nuttallii. June: (Enothera missou- 

 riensis, Lepachys pinnata, Baptisia linctoria, Coreop- 

 sis lanceolata and C. grandiflora. July: Coreopsis verti- 

 dUata, Helianthus mollis, H. Isetiflorus and H. strumosus 

 (H. macrophyllus) , Silphium perfoliatum, Chrysopsis 

 villosa, Asclepias tuberosa, Rudbeckia speciosa and R. 

 Newmanii, Heliopsis helianthoides, H. Isvis and var. 

 Pitcheriana, H.scabra y ax. zinniip flora. August: Rud/- 

 beckia fulgida and R. subtomentosa. Coreopsis tripteris, 

 Helenium autumnaU and var. pumilum magniflcum, 

 Helianthus decapetalus vars. multiflorus, maximus, and 

 Soleil d' Or, Helianthus scaberrimus {H. rigidus) var. 

 Miss Mellish. September: Helianthus orgyalis. Octo- 

 ber: Helianthus Maxinilianii. 



Orange. — May: Lithospermum canescens. July: 

 Asclepias tuberosa. 



Perennials classified by height. — It is easy to get 

 flowers of medium height any month from the color 

 lists given above. The prairie has also produced many 

 tall perennials suitable for gardens, especially in the 

 genera Helenium and Helianthus, which furnish many 

 species that grow taller than a man. Many asters 

 and the boltonias will attain 5 feet under favorable 

 conditions, and so will Lilium canadense and L. super- 

 bum, if they have shade and unfaiUng moisture. The 

 prairie has produced no edging plants equal to the 

 pinks, alyssums, or rock cresses. Perhaps the best 

 western garden plants growing 12 inches high or less 

 are: April: Iris cristata and /. verna, Sanguinaria cana- 

 densis. May: Fragaria virginiana var. illinoiensis, 

 hithospermum canescens. Ranunculus repens var. 

 flore-pleno. June: Sedum pidchellmn and <S. tcrnatum, 

 (Enothera missouriensis, Callirhoe involucrata, and the 

 plant known to the trade as Erigeron glabellus, which 

 blooms in October, and is presumably different from 

 the spring-blooming Erigeron asper, to which E. glabel- 



lus has been referred (although some retain E. asper as 

 a synonym of E. glabellus) . 



Perennials for special uses and soils. 



Perennials for cut-flowers. — The ideal subject for cut- 

 ting lasts a long time, has long stems, is fragrant, and 

 has large or numerous flowers. About the only peren- 

 nial that comes up to this standard is the garden phlox, 

 but long stems and large flowers are produced by many 

 species of GaiUardia, HeUanthus, Heliopsis, and Rud- 

 beckia. Smaller flowers in abundance are produced by 

 Aster, Boltonia, and Coreopsis. Long and effective 

 spikes are produced by Liatris, and Physostegia. For 

 lightening bouquets, Galium borcale is an excellent 

 substitute for Gypsophila paniculata. 



Perennials for fragrance. — The phloxes are fragrant 

 at dusk, but otherwise the prairie seems to have pro- 

 duced no fragrant flowers of the first importance for 

 cultivation. 



Perennials for the collector. — ^The groups that appeal 

 most to collectors are those having the greatest variety 

 in form, color, and size. Perennial phlox (P. panicu- 

 lata) has produced more varieties in cultivation than 

 any other American flower, one Scotch catalogue 

 offering 346 kinds. The color range is from purple 

 through crimson-pink to white, and the chief forms are 

 the large-flowered, large-trussed, and halo. Gaillardia 

 arislata has produced 102 varieties, ranging from yellow 

 to red, the chief forms being toothed, laciniate, quilled, 

 and reflexed, with some double varieties (e.g. G. 

 splendidissima plena) and a maximum size of 5)'^ inches 

 (James Kelway). The perennial sunflowers make a 

 very impressive collection, but require much space 

 unless only a few of each kind are grown. They are 

 all yellow-flowered, and offer no great variety of form 

 but they vary in season from July to October, and in 

 height from 3 to 12 feet, with single or double flowers 

 and yeUow or brown disks. The best twelve species of 

 sunflower are native to the prairie. The coneflowers 

 (comprising Rudbeckia and Lepachys) make a more 

 elegant and varied collection with a wider range of 

 color, the prominent disks being green, yellow, brown, 

 or purple, while the rays range from yellow to red- 

 dish brown and purple. Thirty-nine species and 

 seventy-one varieties of perennial asters or Michaelmas 

 daisies are offered by a single Enghsh dealer. There 

 are thirty-nine species native to the prairie, and in 

 cultivation. The New Jersey aster (A. novi-belgii), 

 which is not native to the prairie, has produced the 

 greatest number of varieties, viz., forty-five. Asters 

 are more satisfactory in borders by themselves than 

 in the garden. 



Perennials for light soils. — All the artists of the 

 prairie school have been deeply influenced by the sand- 

 dunes near Chicago, to which the Prairie Club has 

 conducted several hundred excursions. The flowers 

 of the dunes have been introduced into the gardens of 

 Chicago, a large part of which is built on dunes. In 

 perhaps a third of the city, the conventional material 

 of the nurseries fails to give satisfaction, but the plants 

 of the dunes succeed admirably. The greatest color 

 shows at the dunes are produced by Lupinus perennis 

 and Viola pedata, which bloom by the thousands in 

 sand, but commonly fail in rich soil. Other showy 

 perennials of these arid other inland dunes are, Asclepias 

 tuberosa. Euphorbia coroUata, Liatris scariosa, Lathy- 

 rus maritimus, Lithospermum canescens, the fleshy- 

 leaved Solidago Virgaurea, Tephrosia virginica, and 

 Physostegia virginiana, which assumes fleshy leaves and 

 dwarf habit in sand. One of the best grasses is Cala- 

 movilfa longifolia, and one of the best gray-leaved 

 plants is Artemisia canadensis. 



Perennials for the roadside. — The greatest opportunity 

 for the public use of perennials in the prairie states is 

 connected with the roadsides, which can be turned into 

 a public park without the cost of buying the land. 



