POPPY BED 
(SEE PLAN NO. 9) 
PECIAL gardens for favorite herbs, as Iris, Peony, Phlox, etc., 
are quite common in the gardens of enthusiasts. We may sup- 
pose that a friend is very fond of Oriental Poppy—who is not ?— 
and wishes a bed of one hundred plants in ten varieties. Though of 
regal splendor it has a few peculiarities which must be considered. It is 
coarse in habit, blooms only in June, dies down in July to be lost until 
September, and then grows again in late autumn, while the carrot-like 
root must not be disturbed. The problem is to find suitable plants that 
will adapt themselves to its habits and yet give a continuous season of 
eight months’ bloom. 
We shall suppose a bed about 10 feet by 60 feet, along a three-foot 
path. Behind the bed the ground rises somewhat; this slope is planted 
with hybrid Mock Orange, or similar dense white-flowered shrub bloom- 
ing in June, as a background for the Poppies. Across the path we may 
have a planting of dwarf shrubs, such as the lower species of Spirea, 
Deutzia, etc. The bed itself we shall divide into ten nearly equal plots, 
and in these plant the roots in August, one kind to a plot, irregularly 
about three feet apart, mostly toward the back of the bed. On the plan 
the star-shaped marks represent the location of each poppy root. 
In September or October the front of each plot may receive a dozen 
Lilies, in ten species—scarlet, yellow, white—while in front of them we 
put a thousand Snowdrops in ten varieties or species, in irregular masses 
for early bloom. Among the Lilies the following August we put a thou- 
sand white Autumn Crocus (Colchicum autumnale, var. album) for bloom 
in September. The front edging should be of some robust tufted ever- 
green perennial, perhaps Sea Thrift ‘(Armeria vulgaris) in several varie- 
ties. Plant these in September, and then add a thousand or more white 
Dutch Crocus (Crocus vernus, var. albus) for spring bloom. 
Among the Lilies and halfway back in each plot we put some long- 
lived, slender-growing, white-flowered erect perennial which will bloom. 
during July and August. The rear half of each plot may have a dozen 
autumn-blooming Asters or related plants, mostly in blues and purples 
for variety. These will not interfere with the Poppies if not too robust 
sorts are chosen. Darwin Tulips in many colors may be added 
among these Asters to precede them in bloom; their growth ceases before 
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