THE GARDEN 59 



grandmothers, but almost forgotten by their grand-children, some of 

 whom are woefully lacking in their powers of perception. 



The idea became prevalent some few years ago, that the wall- 

 flower was not hardy, here in Canada, but the truth is that, given the 

 same careful wintering that we accord our other perennials, it will net 

 only grow, but grow well, and bloom profusely. 



The colors are so delightfully out of the ordinary, turning, as they 

 do, thru all the shades of golden-brown, brown-reds, apricot and 

 orange, that if any plant on earth should be strictly in the present fash- 

 ion, certainly that plant should be the wallflower. The rage for 

 barbaric color should remind us that the wallflower can vie successfully 

 with the most outre shades, and come out easily the winner. 



By careful selection, some unusual strains have been evolved, es- 

 pecially noticeable for richness of color and earliness of bloom. The 

 plants are best raised from seeds sown in one's own garden early in May. 

 When the seedlings have attained a fair size they may be transplanted, 

 choosing for this work a dull, cloudy day, preferably just before a 

 stretch of wet weather. The continued dampness just after moving 

 makes for success, as nothing else will. Train the plants to grow 

 stocky and bushy, nipping off any straggling branches and keeping 

 the earth heeled up well. 



It will thrive in most soils, but always does well in soil con- 

 taining limestone, which it loves. Rocky walls, rockeries, sandy banks 

 and such spots are especially well liked. Do not forget to have a good, 

 large patch near some favorite window, so that you may enjoy the delicate 

 perfume. Do not spare the flowers. The more you cut, the more will 

 be produced, and they do make lovely flowers for the table. 



Too much mulching with manure will give coarse, heavy plants, not 

 at all desirable. 



CAREFUL COLOR COMBINATIONS AND 

 CONTRASTS 



Too often it happens that our eye is offended by an unharmon- 

 ious display of colorings, thru either ignorance or carelessness on the 

 part of the gardener. This is such a pity, because, to many people, 

 the sight of even one misplaced color spoils the whole color scheme. 



By a little careful planning, which means, however, a certain sure 

 knowledge of the capabilities of the plants in question, a bed com- 

 posed of even what are admittedly ugly colors, can be turned into a soft 

 and pleasing picture. 



But, when purples and pinks, and certain shades of purplish blue are 

 all blended together in one hideous mass! 



This is sure to happen where petunias, for instance, are used in 

 the bedding scheme. Another plant that is guilty of producing hideous 

 colors is the portulacca. 



It is never a wise plan to sow mixed seeds of petunias, especially 

 when, for a few cents more, special colors may be bought. Nothing is 

 prettier than those large, fringed varieties, when grown in solid beds of 

 one color. 



Where purple and magenta tints crop up, transplant the speci- 

 mens, or pull them up and discard entirely. But, if one must 

 have magn-etas, and magneta-purples, do combine them with pure 

 whites. This is the only color allowable with them. Where a 

 petunia shows one of those utterly indescribable, hopelessly ugly mottled, 

 muddy grey-purple, do pull it up, and thus prevent any seed from forming. 



