GARDENS NEAR THE SEA 



are varieties, as for instance the Jules Cretien, that 

 will bloom the first season provided the seeds are sown 

 early in the spring. Very few, however, of this group 

 of plants, seen in seaside gardens, have been raised from 

 seeds. The custom usually prevails to buy their 

 roots or the growing plants and to set them in their 

 places, about eight inches deep in the soil, during the 

 latter part of April. After the first autumn frosts have 

 touched their foliage, their roots should be taken up 

 and stored in a dry cellar over the winter. The ensuing 

 spring they can be divided before resetting in the gar- 

 den, reserving three or four tubers for each hill. 



There are many dahlias that are very rich in color 

 and are also valuable because they hold their bloom 

 after that of most summer flowers has faded. They 

 do well in seaside gardens; but, like the poker plants, 

 they are not universally liked. The single varieties 

 are less stiff and artificial looking than the double 

 ones, and those of yellow and deep maroon please 

 the taste of artistic people more than any of their 

 other colors. Dahlias of the cactus variety, which 

 have many and stanch admirers, will grow against 

 a wall or a fence like a high hedge. I have known 

 several flower lovers, however, of taste and cultiva- 

 tion, who lived happily in gardens in which there 

 were no dahlias. They require careful staking. 



Cannas more than either gladioli or dahlias seem 

 to have taken the lead among bedding plants, and of 

 their striking beauty and usefulness in certain places 

 there is no doubt. They also are half-hardy perennials, 

 requiring to have their tubers taken up in the late 



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