ADVANTAGEOUS COLORS 



ragged sailors, blue tops, blue bonnets, or plants known 

 by various other names, among which hawdods is reputed 

 to be the most ancient, shows bright blue with attractive 

 variations. They enter the garden early, forming a 

 strong patch of color, which runs into glints of carmine 

 and purple, or pales to a soft azure-tinted white. Their 

 personalities present a wayward, almost careless, beauty 

 for a space of quite three months, provided the blossoms 

 are kept cut. It is to the advantage of these plants 

 that they reseed themselves generously, occurring year 

 after year with much the same regularity characteristic 

 of perennials. For bouquets in the house they are 

 very pretty, especially in rooms decorated in green. 

 Even when worn in the buttonhole of a supposed-to- 

 be-disgruntled bachelor, they have sufficient esprit to 

 remain fresh for a whole day. 



About the colors of Phlox Drummondi, another an- 

 nual that can be had in bloom for at least three months, 

 so long as it is prevented from making seed, there 

 cannot be the same freedom in planting as when dealing 

 with bachelor's buttons or annual larkspurs. P. Drum- 

 mondi sings a note of caution. Among the many colors 

 in which it occurs, there is undoubtedly the sting of 

 harshness. There is, besides, much brilliancy, the kind 

 that might be cruel. In a few gardens by the sea, I 

 have known it to produce effects that compelled instant 

 admiration. This, however, was where it was handled 

 judiciously, and given a fair field of its own and plenty 

 of atmosphere. Again, I have seen it scattered at 

 random among other flowers and have thought that 

 a kaleidoscopic nightmare could not hold more terrors. 



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