52 THE NEW GARDENING 



toned with Sweet Peas like Helen Lewis, Stirling Stent 

 and Thomas Stevenson in vases. These Clarkias are 

 hardy and vigorous plants, and do not mind poor soil. 

 If well thinned when young they make beautiful clumps, 

 and as they last well they are as good as any herbaceous 

 plant. It is worth noting, too, that they do admirably in 

 pots. Their great charm lies in their long graceful red 

 stems, clothed from top to bottom with flowers. They 

 are as beautiful in tall slender vases in summer as a 

 blossom-wreathed branch of Cherry or Apple in the 

 spring. 



COSMOS or COSMEA. The value of these graceful 

 nearly hardy annuals lies in the varieties of bipinnatus, a 

 Mexican plant of old standing, but only recently taken 

 up seriously for improvement by florists. The white 

 forms are not infrequently taken for Japanese Anemones 

 by people who do not know the foliage of the two plants, 

 but the flowers are not so smooth and symmetrical as 

 those of Anemones. They are late summer bloomers, and 

 may be giving flowers in the fall. Seedsmen offer them 

 in separate colours, and florists list two varieties called 

 respectively Rose Queen and White Queen ; but while 

 the latter is truly white the former is rather lilac than 

 rose. They are graceful plants two or three feet high, 

 with the flowers on long stems. They look well in the 

 border and are also good for cutting. 



DAFFODILS. See special chapter. 



DAHLIAS. A condition of lifelessness marks the 

 Dahlia. There is interest in the Cactus novelties, but it is 

 not so brisk as it was a few years ago. Public interest tends 

 to flag, and a down-grade is threatened. But the cottager 

 clings to the plant, and there is still a fairly strong ex- 



