FLOWERS IN THE LITTLE GARDEN 55 



well. It is not true blue. It is a true lavender, with sometimes 

 more blue in its flowers, sometimes less. Antirrhiniums, or 

 snapdragons, are in endless multitude and in three heights — 

 dwarf, tall, medium. Buy the clear tones of yellow, rose, and 

 crimson here, and those too that verge upon orange, or that 

 strangely named color which has come to real distinctness under 

 the words chamois-rose, a combination of yellow and rose- 

 pink. And, in a northern cUmate, start these seeds indoors if 

 possible. 



Asters are a world of glory in themselves. My advice would be 

 to indulge in the single varieties, known as Aster sinensis, now 

 very familiar to us, possessed of a certain grace of form which the 

 doubles lack. In balsams the so-called camellia-flowered varie- 

 ties surpass all others; and for calendulas, to use with flowers of 

 delicate color, the paler hues listed in the catalogues are the ones 

 to buy. Candytuft, the large white, and that delightful newer 

 tall mauve, lend a peculiar interest where they are grown, in 

 successive sowings, two weeks apart in practically the same 

 ground, and will give long periods of bloom. 



In Celosias, the Castle Gould hydrids, with their pale-gold and 

 flame colors, are valuable; not so the heavy crimsons, so difficult 

 to use in the average border. Lobelias for low blues, especially 

 Sutton's, which I have found delightful; lupines for later laven- 

 ders; scabiosas later, for lavender and mauve; nemophila, a 

 lovely blue for mild climates; nigella Miss Jekyll, an enchanting 

 blue for the border — these are perhaps the only lavender or 

 bluish flowers to mention now, among annuals. Purple, the close 

 associate of this color, finds its expression among them, in the 

 verbena (Dolores is a beauty), the petunia, the statice, stock, 

 and Phlox Drummondii. Salpiglossis furnishes a rich purple, 

 too, and a tall lightly blowing variation of form as well as the 

 good color. Also here are the scabiosas, or moumina brides. 



