Annual Flowers for June Sowing— By Thomas McAdam 



HOW BELATED MOVERS MAY BEGIN A GARDEN IN JUNE AND HOW OLD-TIMERS MAY HAVE 

 PLENTY OF FLOWERS IN SEPTEMBER WHEN GARDENS ORDINARILY BEGIN TO FAIL 



[Editor's Note. — The Garden Magazine ojfers two prhes of $10 each for the best narratives of personal experience derived from following out the suggestion made below. One 

 prixe is for beginners who will sow the common kinds in June. The other is for amateurs, not beginners, who will try some of the less common flowers here mentioned. Latest date for 

 articles November 1st. Each article must be accompanied by at least one photograph proving the success.] 



THERE are some annual flowers, like 

 sweet alyssum, which will bloom in 

 thirty days from the time the seed is sown. 

 Most of the flowers mentioned in this article 

 will begin to bloom in August, if sown in 

 June; a few will begin in September and all 

 of them will have a good long season of bloom 

 before frost. 



The annuals for June sowing fall into four 

 groups: i. Those which ought not to be 

 sown outdoors until June, viz. portulaca and 

 scarlet sage. 2. Those which many people 

 like to have every month in the year, e.g. 

 mignonette and pansies. 3. The great, 

 universal favorites which mature quickly 

 enough so that late beginners may sow them 

 in June for August bloom. These are also 

 the very ones that are likely to cease blooming 

 in September from April-sown seed and 

 therefore we should sow them all in June 

 in order to give new life to our gardens 

 when they ordinarily begin to fail. Examples: 

 marigolds, annual phlox, annual coreopsis, 

 California poppy, zinnia. 4. The less com- 

 mon annuals which will bloom in September 

 from June-sown seed and give variety of 

 color and form to our gardens when they are 

 ordinarily reduced to few types and run too 

 much to yellows. 



For the convenience of the reader all but 

 the less common kinds are here treated in 

 alphabetical order. 



Alyssum (A. maritimum), is the best 

 white-flowered edging plant of its height, 

 because it will bloom twenty weeks if not 

 allowed to go to seed and will bloom after 

 frost. Blooms a shorter time if transplanted ; 

 therefore, sow where it is to remain. Will 

 bloom in thirty days. Little Gem is a favor- 

 ite for edging because it is compact and only 

 six inches high. 



California poppy {Eschscholzia Califor- 

 nica). Gives scattering bloom all summer 

 and even after frost, and if protected in 

 winter will bloom a second year. Often 

 self sows. Good edger because of finely 

 cut foliage, but most brilliant when used alone 

 in rather large beds. Broadcast thinly and 

 rake in lightly. 



Calliopsis {Coreopsis tinctoria, but known 

 to seedsmen as Calliopsis elegans) gives us 

 the best browns, with or without yellow, 

 that we have among cultivated flowers. 



Candytuft {Iberis amara and its variety 

 known to the trade as I. coronaria) has 

 the same color, shape and height as alyssum 

 but lacks fragrance and only blooms four to 

 eight weeks. The only inducement to grow 

 it in addition to alyssum is the candelabrum- 

 like clusters. Don't transplant. Sow Little 

 Prince (height six inches) where it is to 

 remain, and thin when one inch high to 

 four by eight inches. 



Love-in-a-mist (Nigella Damascena), in 

 spite of its daintily cut foliage and pretty 

 blue flowers is primarily a curiosity and will 

 charm every new generation of children as 

 long as the race survives. 



Marigolds, French and African (Tagetes 

 pa tula and erecta). These have only three 

 colors (yellow, lemon and orange), their 

 form is commonplace and the smell of their 

 herbage is too pungent for many. Their 

 strong point is their extraordinary profusion 

 of bloom over a long season and therefore 

 they are invaluable for gay and brilliant 

 mass effects. One of the most reliable 

 flowers after frost. 



Mignonette {Reseda odorata) is the most 

 popular flower grown solely for fragrance. 

 Its great weakness is its short season of bloom 

 as it quickly runs to seed in hot weather. 

 Therefore, select moist soil and water freely. 

 As house and garden ought to be fragrant 

 every day and night of the season, many 

 people sow mignonette every ten days until 

 July 1 st. Because of its lack of beauty and 

 desirability for cutting it is best grown in the 

 vegetable garden where it can be grown in 

 larger quantities and with less care. Don't 

 transplant it. 



Nasturtiums {Tropazolum ma jus), ought 



Love-in-a-mist (Nigella Damascena) has finely 

 divided foliage: grows one to two feet high; 16 

 flowers, while, blue or yellow: showy 



not to be sown outdoors before May 15th 

 and as they dislike transplanting should be 

 sown where they are to stand. I have never 

 had them cease blooming before frost, but 

 why not make an extra sowing of them in the 

 vegetable garden in June and pickle the 

 young pods? They are delicious. 



Pansies undoubtedly make the best show 

 when sown in autumn for early spring bloom. 

 When sown in early spring they give scatter- 

 ing bloom all summer. When sown in June 

 they will give a good show in early autumn. 



Annual phlox {Phlox Drummondii) is 

 noted for its extraordinary range of colors, 

 precision of markings and perfection of form. 

 Get the most expensive seed you can buy and 

 enjoy the results of plant breeding. 



Pot marigold {Calendula officinalis) is 

 rather coarse, but very welcome after' 

 a hard frost. 



Rose moss {Portulaca grandiflora) stub- 

 bornly refuses to germinate until June 1st. 

 It has some atrocious magentas and closes 

 in the afternoon, but will grow anywhere, 

 carpets the ground to perfection, comes in 

 ten colors, has extraordinary brilliancy, 

 blooms amazingly right through a drought 

 and can be transplanted in full flower to fill 

 unexpected gaps elsewhere. It does best in 

 hot, sandy soil and you ought to give each 

 strong plant a foot each way to spread. 



Scarlet sage {Salvia splendens) is common- 

 ly sown indoors in March, because of the 

 universal habit of trying to get everything 

 early whether there is any reason for it or 

 not. Scarlet sage in July and August makes 

 a garden look too hot. A big mass of it in 

 the dog days is blinding, gaudy and mon- 

 otonous. Let it light up the cool days of 

 September for you. It is not safe to sow it 

 outdoors near New York until June 1st. 



Zinnias are stiff and coarse and some of 

 their colors are metallic. Also there is no 

 pleasure in growing a cheap strain, for the 

 flowers will be flat and ragged. However, 

 zinnias will produce more brilliant mass 

 effects for less care and for a longer season 

 than phlox or any other annual. They 

 have at least a dozen colors, and high- 

 priced seed will give high-bred flowers whose 

 great size, perfection of form, depth of head 

 and numerous petals are a joy to see at 

 close range. 



THE LESS COMMON KINDS 



These are worth trying but we have no 

 space in which to describe them. Calceolaria 

 scabio see folia, Campanula macrostyla, Cen- 

 taurea moschata and C. suaveolens, Euphorbia 

 marginata, godetias, Gypsophila elegans, 

 Lupinus mutabilis and L. Cruikshanksii, 

 Nemophila insignis, Sanvitalia procumbens, 

 var. flore-pleno, and Saponaria Calabrica. 





