THE GARDEN 13 



The specimen I have on my desk to write from is 4 feet 7 inches by- 

 measurement. There are just twenty open bells deeply five-pointed, almost 

 the exact counterpart of a lily, except that the corolla is one entire piece. 

 Opening out this flower bell, it has the appearance of a deeply scalloped 

 overskirt, each scalloped half as long as the body of the skirt. The scal- 

 loped points have a tendency to turn sharply backwards, which increased 

 the lily-like look. On the central stem.the bells hang from the under side 

 of the stem — or rather, one should say, the outer side. As the stem con- 

 tinues to grow upwards, more buds form. On this stem before me are no 

 less than fifteen buds of increasing size. Unfortunately, the lower bells 

 open first; and, withering, the corolla hangs, an ugly light brown ragl, 

 really disfiguring the plant. On the lower reaches of the plant, smaller 

 be-flowered branches spring from the axils of the lower leaves, and these 

 bear from six to ten bells. The leaves of this certainly peculiar plant are 

 small, not longer than three inches, pointed oblong, one to two inches wide, 

 deeply veined, dark green above, very light below, serrate heart-shaped at 

 the base, where it is attached closely to the stem, without a sign of a petiole 

 (stem). These leaves are altogether out of keeping, I have always thought, 

 with the rest of the plant. 



Now, the root is more or less of a bulb; at least after one season, a 

 long white tapering bulbous root is formed. As long as this is in the 

 ground numbers of small plants will continue to come up. These should be 

 pulled off, and planted separately. No matter what time of the summer 

 these are planted, they will grow, so that by a system of planting one may 

 have a series of these lovely soldier-like plants. Planted close together, 

 they will grow taller than perennial phlox, and far outlast them in beauty. 



As cut flowers, they are not so lovely as standing a thousand or so 

 strong in long lines, behind shorter plants. 



In order to get the very best from them, however, they absolutely must 

 be detached from the bulb-like root, and planted just as one would plant 

 annuals. 



COLEUS— THE WONDERFUL FOLIAGE PLANT 



Of late years coleus plants raised entirely from seedlings have be- 

 come so popular for borderings and filling in garden beds, that most people 

 have forgotten what an important part they played some thirty or forty 

 years ago in the scheme of household decorations. 



We have in mind now one huge plant (a "Joseph's Coat," our grand- 

 mother used to call it), whose great crimson leaves rimmed with crinkly 

 gold were blotched and speckled with shimmering patches of melting hues. 

 Standing in one dimly-lighted corner of the great hall, it occupied an hon- 

 ored position opposite the solemn old grandfather's clock. Higher than 

 our childish head stood the gracious thing, and to even dream of stretching 

 one timid finger in its direction was a shivering, shaking crime. 



Nor was this old farm house the single one possessing such a coleus 

 plant. In t;hose days the careful housewife vied with her neighbors for 

 miles around for supremacy in the matter of lovely plants, even as she did 

 in the matter of useful and unique herb gardens, butter, the golden color 

 of which rivaled the first gleaming rays of the early morning sun, and 

 bread, the flaky purity of which put to shame the newly-fallen stars of 

 November snows. Ah, those were the days in which women, working with 

 a definite end in view, filled every minute with the joy of work.- 



How often were to be seen, on sunny windows, rows of sturdy foliage 

 plants, as everyone called them. These were the very same plants now 

 known as coleus plants. No plant will show so quickly what the atmosphere 

 of the house is. Healthy air means a healthy coleus. Hot, dry, stuffy air 



