FAVORITE PERENNIALS 



feet high the first season. It is now customary to 

 sow the seeds every year, that a high standard of size 

 may be retained. Hollyhocks also, if not renewed, 

 are apt to blossom sparingly after the third year. 



A native plant blooming in delightful shades of sky 

 blue, and of an exterior as handsome and cultivated 

 as that of the best China asters, is the Stokesia cyanea. 

 Indeed, over the annual asters it holds an advantage, 

 since being a perennial it does not have to be sown 

 and transplanted each season. Once well established 

 it will live, increase in size, and beautify a garden for 

 years. It grows about a foot high, the flowers appear- 

 ing almost too large for the plant. For borders where 

 the inclosed growth is gradually lowered to meet an 

 edging plant, it is highly attractive, but the Stokesia 

 really retains its individual beauty wherever it is 

 placed. The bloom, opening in July, lasts well into 

 October. 



Burbank's shasta daisy has proved satisfactory 

 in many gardens near the sea, its large showy flowers 

 being conspicuous from July to September. They 

 are not only ornamental in the garden, but very desir- 

 able for picking purposes. 



For places where a rugged effect of color is desired, 

 the bee balm, or Oswego tea, Monarda didyma, is 

 often a good choice. Its flowers exhibit a very deep 

 red and grow so closely together in dense heads at 

 the top of the stems that the plants seem to be spread 

 with bloom. Bee balms, however, are for distant 

 observation; when viewed closely they appear a little 

 coarse and weedlike. Their great hardiness is their 



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