FLOWERS THAT DO NOT DISAPPOINT 



One must, of course, include the Monkshood (Aconitum 

 Napellus), for one could scarcely fail with it if one tried. 

 Whether planted in shade or sunshine, it soon grows 

 into a clump 4 or 5 feet high, and its rather dull blue 

 flowers, if not handsome, are very welcome in August. 

 The variety bicolor, blue and white, is more attractive 

 though less frequently grown. A valuable dark-blue 

 flowered Monkshood that blooms in September is called 

 Wilsoni. The old scarlet Lychnis (Lychnis chalcedonica) 

 is in almost every cottage garden, and so, obviously, is 

 the reverse of fastidious. The same may be said of the 

 red Bee Balm (Monarda didyma), which has the addi- 

 tional charm of fragrant leaves. 



The Globe Flower (Trollius) that blooms in May 

 (asiaticus, orange-red and Orange Globe, deep yellow, are 

 the best), and loves a moist, half-shady spot ; the Cone- 

 flowers (Rudbeckia) that are invaluable for late summer 

 show ; the charming old Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium 

 Richardsoni), a July study in elegant leaves and pale- 

 blue blossoms, and the red Valerian (Centranthus ruber), 

 that, like the wilding it is, flourishes especially well in 

 seaside gardens, are all among the flowers that never 

 disappoint. I think I might include the common Even- 

 ing Primrose (Oenothera lamarckiana), for though the 

 grown plant dies after blossoming, it leaves plenty of 

 seedlings behind it to maintain its reputation the fol- 

 lowing season, and they in turn do likewise. 



Among lowly plants suitable for edging one must 



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