March, 1911 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



75 



As for cosmos, there is an early bloom- 

 ing kind nowadays, but if you want masses 

 of bloom from July on, the seed must be 

 sown under glass. Indoors, March is 

 not too early to sow the seed. Care 

 must be taken, however, that the plants 

 do not get too spindling. For porch use, 

 or for placing in the shrubbery temporarily, 

 pot some of the seedlings, one in a pot. 

 Pinch off the top when the plant is six 

 inches high and again at intervals if a 

 compact plant is desired. The com- 

 paratively new Lady Lenox is the best 

 pink variety and, with a package of white 

 cosmos, will give more for the money than 

 most flowers. 



Salpiglossis is another annual that simply 

 finds it a physical impossibility to do its 

 level best unless helped along in the same 

 manner. One of the most fascinating 

 of all annuals, it is at the same time one 

 of the most neglected. I have had fair 

 results, very late in the season, from seed 

 sown in the open, but the secret of suc- 

 cess is April planting under glass. Unless 

 a hotbed is at hand, it is better to sow this 

 seed indoors. The Emperor strain, in 

 mixed colors, is best if only one package 

 of seed is planted. It is possible, however, 

 to get six separate colors — crimson, 

 primrose, purple, rose, scarlet, and white, 

 the last four with intricate veinings of 

 gold — for only forty cents, and such a 

 collection will give any one who does not 

 know salpiglossis one of the real joys of 

 his gardening experience. 



Dahlias from seed are only in the in- 

 fancy of their possibilities so far as the 

 average grower of flowers is concerned. 

 Although the single ones will flower in ten 

 weeks from the time that the seed is plan- 

 . ted, if the con- 

 ditions are ideal, 

 the advantages of 

 April sowing are 

 obvious. The sin- 

 gle type, which 

 is admirable for 

 cutting, is the 

 most reliable as 

 to results. The 

 peony-flowered 

 type, which is 

 semi-double, is 

 excellent, how- 

 ever, and it is 

 interesting to test 

 by actual ex- 

 perience the po- 

 tentiality of the 

 double types — 

 show, fancy 

 pompon, and cac- 

 tus — in the way 

 of producing 

 something at 

 once newand 

 worth while. 



One gardener 

 of wide experi- 

 ence sows the 

 Dianthus blooms the „ ~ „ j n t fh-*- 

 first summer from seed .,."„" 



sown outdoors in May splendid climber, 



For a blaze of brilliant red late in summer, 

 plant masses of scarlet sage (Salvia splendens) 



Cobcea scandens, as early as the middle of 

 February for bloom the middle of July, 

 and never later than the first of March; 

 but where heat is not available, the first 

 of April will do. The seed should be put 

 in the ground edgewise, and if the seed- 

 lings are potted, one to a small pot, they 

 may be allowed to run up a yard or more, 

 on a small stake, before planting time. 



Nasturtium seed sown out-of-doors 

 gives bloom the middle of July; you will 

 get it early in June if you sow the seed 

 under glass about March 15th. This 

 getting ahead of the season is particularly 

 desirable in the case of the tall climbing 

 kind, Tropceolum majus, than which no 

 annual vine is more gorgeous. Its charm- 

 ing near relative, the Canary bird flower 

 (T. peregrinum) , absolutely demands early 

 planting as the price of success — say the 

 middle of March for bloom the first of 

 July and so on. Seed sown in the open oc- 

 casionally does not bloom until September. 



Schizanthus, sometimes called butter- 

 fly flower, is in the class of half hardy 

 annuals, which is a good enough reason 

 for favoring it; but there is another reason, 

 its flowers are too lovely to lose one day of 

 the normal blooming season. There are 

 two good kinds, S. pinnatus, which has 

 a considerable range of coloring, though 

 running a great deal to mauve shades for 

 the markings other than yellow, and 

 Wisetonensis, a white variety marked with 

 rose. 



For bold floral effects some of the 

 aristocratic relatives of the common 

 "Jimson weed" {Datura Stramonium) are 

 worth early planting. I do not know 

 where daturas begin and brugmansias 

 end, but there are some showy kinds, 



usually sold under the former name, that 

 may be treated as tender annuals. Per- 

 sonally I prefer the single ones, especially 

 the pure white. The horn-of-plenty type, 

 D. cornucopia, however, is interesting 

 because of its trumpet-in-trumpet form 

 variations and the double yellow, Golden 

 Queen, has a fine color tone to recommend 

 it. The white D. cornucopia, which was 

 brought from South America so recently 

 as 1895, is not the old fashioned marriage 

 bell, or angel's trumpet, that our grand- 

 mothers used to winter in the cellar and 

 bring out every spring for summer flower- 

 ing; that seems to be either D. suaveolens or 

 Brugmansia arborea. It is called the latter 

 in the Bahamas, where, as a tall shrub, 

 it is a striking permanent feature of gardens. 



The snapdragon (Antirrhinum) is a 

 perennial, but getting a start of the season 

 brings it into the annual class for the 

 present purpose. Seed should be sown 

 under glass in March or April; pick out 

 a few of the fine named varieties and 

 don't forget to include the pure white, 

 that being one of the best for cutting. 

 Sow the scarlet sage {Salvia splendens) 

 at the same time for like advantageous 

 results; also the so-called annual pinks 

 (Dianthus), which agreeably resolve them- 

 selves into biennials and sometimes re- 

 fuse to die even at the end of the second 

 season. They will bloom the first summer 

 from seed sown in the open ground in May; 

 but it is better to give named varieties, 

 of which there are some wonders, an early 

 start. For a single red I find Crimson 

 Belle reliability itself. 



Then there is the sweet sultan {Centaurea 

 imperialis). This time -honored flower, 

 lately in vogue 

 again, likes to 

 perfect its flowers 

 before the advent 

 of hot weather; 

 so it offers to the 

 others its own 

 excuse for early 

 planting. Violas, 

 or tufted pansies, 

 though not ten- 

 der, will bloom in 

 June if started in 

 April ; likewise the 

 new strains of ver- 

 benas and petun- 

 ias. For Memorial 

 Day. petunias and 

 also stocks should 

 be sown late in 

 February, and 

 verbenas by the 

 middle of March. 



Rose moss {Por- 

 tulaca grandiflora) 

 has its own 

 notions about ger- 

 minating; it wants 

 high temperature 

 and therefore it is 



not customary to 



1 f •<- t -i 1 <. Be sure to grow some 



plant it untu late pure wMte snaDdra gons. 



— corn - planting Best for cutting 



