1906 
SEPTEMBER, 
In the improved strains of zinnia there are pure pink 
colors which are welcome in early fall 
most beautiful of all are the poppies. Par- 
ticularly do I like the annual Shirley 
poppies (Papaver Rheas, var. Shirley), 
with a daily succession of flowers, meas- 
uring often three inches across, in shades of 
pink ranging from blush white with pink 
margins to a deep rose. If seed is sown in 
autumn, plants begin to bloom in June, 
and are over in a month; but from seed 
sown the end of April flowers are to be had 
by the first week of July. 
The peony-flowered form of the opium 
poppy (P. somniferum, var. paeonieflorum) 
is an annual of very different habit, its 
large double flower of smooth-edged petals 
resembling a peony. It is a sturdy plant 
from three to four feet in height, with bold 
recurving notched leaves, and bearing from 
three to six flowers on long stems. It is much 
more showy than the Shirley poppy, and the 
flower lasts several days, whereas the Shirley 
drops ina day. Some of the peony poppies 
have a tufted centre, and an encircling collar 
of large outside or guard petals. All poppies 
require a rich, light soil, moisture and full 
exposure to the sun. 
Of the midsummer flowers the pink Can- 
terbury bells (Campanula medium), single 
and double, are the most striking. They 
grow two feet high, and bloom practically the 
entire second season. ‘The flowers are bell 
shape, two inches long, and last for a 
week. The first ones appear at the bottom 
of the flower stalk, and by the time the top- 
-most buds are in bloom, the plant begins to 
flower again from lateral branches at the 
bottom, thus keeping up a curious succes- 
sion. The single varieties are the more 
beautiful. 
THE EARLIEST COSMOS 
Those who have become discouraged over 
the tall cosmos will be glad to learn of the 
newer “‘early hybrids” which grow three feet 
high and have large, pale rose-pink flowers re- 
sembling anemones. Planted by the first of 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
May, this variety begins to bloom by the first 
of July when only a few inches high, and 
continues to branch, throwing out clusters 
of flowers at the end of long stems until the 
plant becomes quite a large bush. 
The mammoth variety is so late in blossom- 
ing that in many places it is killed by frost 
while still in bud. The early variety is a 
little less hardy. 
One wonders why the perennial pea 
(Lathyrus latifolius), a hardy perennial vine, 
which makes a heavy growth of many vines 
four to five feet long from a single root, is so 
little known. While it resembles the sweet pea 
to a certain extent the clusters of deep pink 
blossoms are more numerous, larger, and 
more showy, but they lack fragrance. The 
seed pods should be removed as soon as 
formed, to insure a profusion of bloom 
Mee 
Sie 
Dahlia A. D. Livoniis pure pink and very free flower- 
ing. One of the best of its class 
from July until frost. It needs a stout 
support. 
Four other flowers that produce unusually 
fine effects in July are the hollyhock, single 
and double, pale pink to deep rose; sweet 
peas; annual phlox; and a pink variety of 
the cornflower (Centaurea Cyanus). 
In August when the full heat arrives all the 
pink flowers named as flowering in July are 
still with us. To these are added: 
The large, mallow-like flowers of Lavatera 
trimestris, three inches across and borne on a 
bush three feet high are, to my mind,among 
the most beautiful flowers of the whole sea- 
son. They are of a lovely shell pink, deli- 
cately veined with carmine and _ broadly 
funnel shaped. The abundant foliage fur- 
nishes a fine contrast to the pink blossoms, 
which are produced until frost. 
A plant of rare beauty is the imperial 
branching larkspur, a hardy annual one foot 
high literally covered with upright panicles of 
rose-pink spurred flowers. It withstands 
75 
early frosts, and remains fresh two weeks 
after cutting. 
Other August flowers that are particularly 
fine are the perennial phlox and the dahlia, 
of which there are many beautiful pink vari- 
eties. I have not grown them for want of 
sufficient space—but they are among the best 
of ornamental plants for autumn flowering. 
WHEN THE GLADIOLUS ARRIVES 
The most attractive flower which is added 
in September is the gladiolus (Lemoine’s 
hybrids, mixed pink shades; also America). 
The spikes begin to bloom at the base, and 
the flowers continue fresh so long that usually 
the spike is in bloom to the tip before the 
lower flowers fade. 
The gladiolus requires a rich light 
soil and much sun and moisture. The bulbs 
should be planted at least four inches deep, 
about the first of May. To carry the bulbs 
over for another year lift the plants after the 
first light frosts in autumn—but before the 
ground freezes; cut off the tops, and let the 
bulbs dry in the sun before packing them 
away for the winter in a place where they 
will not freeze. 
Among the few late flowers left to adorn 
the garden in October is the zinnia. There 
is a new variety of the curled and 
crested zinnia (Z. crispa, var. flore-pleno) 
which grows three feet high and begins 
to bloom in midsummer, reaching perfection 
in September and early October. It has a 
branching habit, and bears large flat heads of 
salmon, pale rose, and a deeper rose-pink. 
This improved strain is very different from 
the stiff old fashioned magenta zinnia in that 
the petals are longer and curling, the heads 
larger, and the colors are really beautiful. 
Last of all come the chrysanthemums 
whose arrival foretells the frost. They are the 
conminp ps 
The pink variety of the Canterbury bell blooms through- 
out the season. Excellent for cutting 
