50 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 



to grow well it must be sown early in spring. It is very impatient 

 of transplanting and must be left alone. The finest kinds would 

 include crocea. Golden West, tenui folia, and maritima. 



The annual Gaillardias are well adapted for summer gardening 

 as they produce their flowers all summer. Amblyodon, piilchella, 

 and pulchella var. pida are the best. 



Cosmos is one of the finest annuals we have in late summer and 

 fall. Much has been done of late years to get the plants to bloom 

 earlier and the size of the flowers has also been improved. What 

 we need now is the improvement of the habit of the plants. They 

 seem to bloom earlier if when they are half grown they are cut 

 back; the check seems to induce them to flower. There are many 

 new forms but the finest we have seen is Lady Lenox, a variety 

 which originated in Lenox, Massachusetts. 



The annual larkspurs are very showy plants when well grown, 

 and are very valuable for cutting. They do best when sown very 

 early out of doors and given plenty of room to develop. They are 

 strong-growing plants and like good rich soil. They have a great 

 range of color, including shades of light, dark azure blue, white, 

 rose, pink, red lilac and dark lilac, and violet. The variety known 

 as Newport Pink which was introduced a few years ago has rose- 

 colored flowers and is well worth growing. The choicest varieties 

 are now grown in the winter in the greenhouse for cut flowers. 



The best of our garden poppies originated from the corn poppy, 

 Papaver Rhoeas. The carnation, picotee, and ranunculus poppies 

 are double forms of this species, so are also the Shirley poppies. 

 The corn poppy is the common wild poppy of Europe which grows- 

 abundantly in the fields there. The Shirley is a charming race 

 and was obtained by selection. They are the most lovely of all 

 the poppies and are of every imaginable shade and combination 

 of white, pink, and red, with yellow anthers. The opium poppy, 

 Papaver somniferum, has some pleasing shades and the paeony- 

 flowered poppies belong to this plant. The range of color in this 

 species and its varieties runs from white, through pink and red, 

 to purple. Bride and Flag of Truce are good single white forms; 

 Danebrog is a beautiful single variety of the richest scarlet with a 

 white cross at the base of the petals; and :Mephisto is a beautiful 

 fringed variety varying from red and black to rose and Avhite. The 



