DON'T NEGLECT THE PERENNIALS 213 



t varieties of hardy Phlox. It is more probable that the same 

 istomer will buy twice as much before six months are over, and 

 3ep up such purchases and want just as many porch boxes filled 



> before. 



Consider for a moment the cost to you of producing a good 

 in. Geranium the time, the labor and the bench space it takes 



> do it and remember that you can sell Geraniums only once a 

 sar. Then consider growing a Delphinium from seed sown out- 

 oors, and transplanted once. What isn't sold keeps on growing 

 to money; you cut the flowers and a year later the plant will be 

 orth twice as much, whether you sell it or keep it, in which case 

 ou cut more flowers. The third year you can use it for flowering 



der glass, where one flower stalk will bring as much as an 8- 

 onths' old Geranium plant. No, the Delphiniums are not the 

 ception. Many other perennials do the same thing in proportion. 



Grow on a good stock of biennials and perennials; advertise 



d keep on advertising; make a display on your own grounds; 



t your customers know when it is Iris, Peony or Phlox time. What 



u can't sell at home, dispose of wholesale. If you carry good 



rieties and let the trade know what surplus you have, there will 



no trouble in disposing of it. What the trade is mostly interested 



are those varieties which furnish good cut flowers or can be 



wered under glass. 



How TO WORK UP A STOCK OF PERENNIALS 



If you realize the importance and the possibilities of handling 

 iennials and perennials and are considering going into the work, 

 t me offer a few suggestions that will be of help in getting started 

 d under way; after that you will be able to help yourself. 

 According to your requirements and pocketbook, begin by in- 

 ting in the three leaders: Peonies, Iris and Phlox. The most 

 pensive of these are Peonies, and I wouldn't plant more than 

 x varieties. You might consider the following: Festiva maxima 

 r white; Jules Elle, light rose; Duke of Wellington, creamy white; 

 Jolden Harvest, peach-blossom pink; Louis Van Houtte, dark red; 

 d Felix Grousse, another red. Plant twenty-five, fifty, or one 

 undred of each in nursery rows, allowing about one foot between 

 e plants and three feet between the rows. Don't go to the trouble 

 digging the soil over several feet deep and manuring heavily, 

 ep cultivation is fine, but too deep tillage is waste, and so is an 

 verdose of manure. Cultivation after planting is what counts, 

 you plant one foot apart you can, if you like, take up every other 

 t and sell it. 



Iris are not expensive, even the good new varieties. Of these 

 ou also want not over six varieties to start with, that is, if your 



