THE GARDEN BOOK OF CALIFORNIA 



There are many of our native annuals that are entirely 

 suitable for even a corner in the small city garden, and a 

 slight separation from the more formal and elaborate ar- 

 rangements of the cultivated plants will suffice, and great 

 enjoyment may be found in the perfection, and even some- 

 times the improvement, of the blossoms culled from fields 

 and mountainside. Our lupines are easily propagated from 

 seed, and many and varied are they in hue. Of the lark- 

 spurs they are blue and white, lavender, and scarlet varie- 

 ties, — many of them so fine that they are eagerly sought by 

 collectors for the best gardens of Europe. I have never in my 

 life seen any flower more wonderful in its growth under cul- 

 tivation, or more striking in its natural environment, than the 

 cardinal larkspur {Delphinium cardinale) , and masses of it 

 in the background of your garden will give great pleasure. 



The clematis, including a half-dozen varieties, and the 

 native lonicera (honeysuckle) are attractive vines, and very 

 useful in a "wild garden." Of the papaveraceae there are 

 none that are not easily cultivated, and some, especially the 

 eschscholtzia and the Romneya coulteri, are great favorites 

 of gardeners. There are fully a dozen varieties of the 

 poppy family, ranging from the tiny canbya, not over an 

 inch in height, with dainty white blossoms, to the great 

 romneya, which often has blossoms fifteen or twenty inches 

 across. 



"The canchalagua" (Erythraa venusta), with its bril- 

 liant starry blossoms, is attractive in the garden, and recalls 

 the many traditions concerning its use in the pioneer homes 



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