A Garden of Pink Flowers—By Helen R. Albee foie 
THE FIRST ARTICLE IN A SERIES OF ‘‘COLOR STUDIES’’ EMPHASIZING THE ABUNDANCE OF PLANTS FROM WHICH 
A HARDY BORDER CAN BE MADE TO SUIT ONE’S FANCY, RATHER THAN HAVING A HARLEQUIN JUMBLE OF COLOR 
[8 ARRANGING my garden I have adop- 
ted a color scheme by which pink, red, 
blue and yellow flowers are planted separate- 
ly and by a careful selection of plants it is 
possible to have a continuous bloom of the 
same color throughout the season. With all 
of these white flowers are used to harmonize 
the colors. 
This garden is in the White Mountains of 
New Hampshire and the dates recorded are 
for that region only, although, owing to its 
peculiarly sheltered location, the season is 
usually as advanced. as in the latitude of 
Boston. The first spring flower appears 
about the 2oth of April and the season ends 
usually by the middle of October. 
Special attention has been given with ref- 
erence to the time and length of blooming 
and relative height of plants, which are set 
quite close together, seldom more than four 
inches apart. This secures a loose mass of 
color to which the natural foliage makes an 
excellent background. While the earlier 
plants are in flower the later ones are still 
of low growth, and these early ones are cut 
to the ground as soon as they have bloomed 
to make room for the later plants. 
Cutting off the coarse lower leaves 
of the perennials not only economizes 
space, but also induces earlier flowering. 
The common red campion (Lychnis dioica, 
var yvosea), which flowers throughout 
the season, has lower leaves which nor- 
mally spread over an area of eignteen inches. 
If these are stripped off, six inches of space will 
suffice. Hollyhocks, foxgloves, bell-flowers, 
and Incarvillea are also amenable to this 
treatment. 
The earliest flowers of spring are from the 
bulbs. I buy in named varieties, and find 
the most pleasing of the hyacinths are Maria 
Cornelia (single), and Lord Wellington, 
(double); of the tulips, Rose Luisante, and 
Rose Aplati, (single), and Couronne des 
Roses (double), give best results. All 
these varieties are entirely hardy, but 
I give them a little mulch in the late 
autumn. Following the bulbs comes the 
the moss pink (Phlox subulata). 
A PINK FORGET-ME-NOT 
One of the earliest plants to flower is the 
pale pink forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris, 
var. rosea). ‘There is a popular idea that 
blue is the forget-me-not color, but there are 
also pink and white varieties. This pink 
variety blooms the second year from seed, and 
is perennial. It also self-sows. The plant is 
bushy, with flower-stalks twelve inches long. 
It is an excellent border plant, and can be 
multiplied easily by division of the root. If 
the flowers are cut freely, the plant will con- 
tinue to bloom throughout May and June. 
Still later bloom can be had by cutting off the 
early buds of some plants. When a plant is 
thus thwarted in its normal season, though 
the time of blooming may be controlled, in a 
measure, yet it is at the expense of size. For 
instance, if you nip out the tops of the per- 
ennial phlox when the plants are not more 
than eight inches high, you retard the bloom- 
ing two weeks. You also get a branching 
growth, but the flower heads, as well as the 
individual flowers, will be smaller. 
The most graceful of all the pink flowers is 
the columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris), growing 
from one to three feet high. Its gracefully 
cut foliage alone is attractive. The nodding 
The old cosmos often does not flower before frost kills it. The newer ‘‘early hybrids” flower in July, but are 
even more tender, and do not grow so tall 
7A 
-double Clarkia. 
The most graceful flower of early summer is the colum- 
bine. The single varieties are preferred 
flowers two inches across that resemble a 
little circle of cups with long curved spurs 
are carried on tall stalks. Exact colors are 
hard to reproduce from seed, as columbines 
are cross-fertilized by bees. From a small 
package of seeds taken from a pale 
lavender colored plant I secured at least 
six shades of pink, old rose and red. There- 
fore it is necessary in following a color scheme 
to grow the young plants elsewhere, trans- 
planting them in the early autumn after you 
know their colors. Free cutting prolongs 
the season of bloom from May through July. 
THE STATELIEST FLOWER OF ALL 
The handsomest June flowers are the 
peonies, which come in all tones of pink. 
They should be planted out in September. 
Do not omit the old Sweet William (Dzan- 
thus barbatus). Once having secured a de- 
sired color, give the plant plenty of room to 
spread and divide the roots. With free cut- 
ting Sweet William blooms until frost. 
A favorite among the annuals is the 
It grows two feet high, the 
slender stalk bearing numerous double 
flowers of pale or deep pink, one and one- 
half inches across. It recalls the double bal- 
sam, but lacks the superabundant foliage of 
that plant. Beginning toward the end of 
June, it blooms for six weeks. 
A superior form of the German catchfly 
(Lychnis Viscaria, var. splendens), is pre- 
ferred over the type because of its brighter 
color. The plant makes a low tuft of slender 
leaves from which arise many long stems sur- 
mounted by raceme-like clusters of bright 
rose-pink flowers. ‘This is a perennial, is 
easily produced from seed, and blooms 
through June and July. 
A WEALTH OF POPPIES 
July is rich in pink flowers that continue 
to bloom until frost. Without question the 
