Companion Crops in the Flower Garden — By Louisa y. King,; 



Mich- 

 igan 





IT WILL be as well to say at the outset 

 that my tastes are as far as possible 

 removed from those popularly understood 

 to be Japanese. I almost never regard a 

 flower alone. I can admire a perfect Frau 

 Karl Druschki rose, a fine spray of Countess 

 Spencer sweet pea, but never without think- 

 ing of the added beauty sure to be its part 

 if a little sea-lavender were placed next the 

 sweet pea, or if more of the delicious roses 

 were together. Wherefore it will be seen 

 that my mind is bent wholly on grouping 

 or masses, and growing companion crops of 

 flowers to that end. 



Mention is made only of those flower 

 crops actually in bloom at the same time in 

 the garden illustrated. From this garden, 

 of thirty-two beds separated by turf walks, 

 and with two central cross-walks and -an 

 oblong pool for watering purposes, practically 

 all yellow flowers have been eliminated, and 

 all scarlet as well. The early columbine 

 (Aquilegia chrysantha) and the pale yellow 

 Thermopsis Caroliniana are the only yel- 

 lows now permitted, and these only to make 

 blues or purples finer by juxtaposition. 

 All yellow, orange and scarlet flowers are now 

 relegated to the shrubbery borders; there- 

 fore, in speaking of companion crops in this 

 garden, it will be understood that some of 

 the greatest glories of July, August and Sep- 

 tember are omitted. 



As far as I know, no one has ever sug- 

 gested the growing of various varieties of 

 gladiolus among the lower ornamental 

 grasses. This, if practicable, culturally, 

 should give many delightful effects. A 

 yellow gladiolus, such as Eldorado, among 

 the yellow-green grasses; the deep violet, 

 Baron Hulot, or salmon pinks, among the 

 bluish-green. Stems of gladiolus must ever 



be concealed. This would do it gracefully 

 and well. 



The two companion crops of spring 

 flowers shown in Fig. i are the early forget- 

 me-not (Myosotis dissitiflora) , which presses 

 close against the dark red brick of the low 

 post, while the Heavenly Blue grape hya- 

 cinth {Muscari botryoides, var.) a rich pur- 

 plish blue, blooms next it. Tulipa reticu- 

 lata is seen in the foreground, and the buds of 

 Scilla campanulata, var. Excelsior, when the 

 photograph was taken were about to open. 

 After one day's sun the various bulbs and 

 the forget-me-nots made a most ravishing 

 effect with their clear tones of blue, laven- 

 der and lemon-yellow. 



I never tire of singing the praises of Tulipa 

 reticulata; it is among my great favorites 

 in tulips. And this leads to the mention 

 of that tulip, to me, the best of all for color, 

 known under three names — Hobbema, 

 Le Reve, and Sara Bernhardt. No other 

 tulip has the wonderful and unique color of 

 this. If you possess a room with walls in 

 delicate creamy tones, furnished with a little 

 old mahogany, and are happy enough to be 

 able on some fine May morning to place 

 there two or three bowls full of this tulip, 

 you will understand my enthusiasm. The 

 color may be described as one of those warm 

 yet faded rose-pinks of old tapestry or other 

 antique stuff; a color to make an artist's 

 heart leap up. This is far from the subject, 

 but these digressions must occasionally be 

 excused. 



In small note - books — tiny calendars 

 sent each year by a seed-house to its cus- 

 tomers, and in which it is my habit to set 

 down on each Sunday the names of plants 

 in flower — I find the following as bloom- 

 ing on a day in May: Tulipa retroflexa, 



Fig. 2. 



A spring bouquet of white rockcress and 

 Cottage Maid tulip 



Fig. 1. Early forget-me-not and grape hyacinth with Tulipa reticulata make rich harmonies with 



the dark red brick 



299 



early forget-me-not, Muscari botryoides, var. 

 Heavenly Blue; Scilla campanulata, var. 

 Excelsior; tulip Rose a Merveille, Camper- 

 nelle jonquil, Narcissus Barri, var. Flora 

 Wilson; Narcissus Poetaz, var. Louisa. 

 Tulipa Greigi, Iris cyanea, var. pumila (a 

 lovely variety, the blue of the sky), Phlox 

 divaricata, var. Canadensis (the new variety 

 of this, Laphami, is said to be both larger 

 and finer), so beautiful back of masses of 

 Alyssum saxatile, or rock cress, both single 

 and double, and Iberis Gibr altar ica. 



On the Sunday one week earlier, there 

 were in full bloom last spring, tulips Chry- 

 solora, Count of Leicester (the best double 

 in tawny yellows), Couleur Cardinal, Thomas 

 Moore, Leonardo da Yinci, narcissus Queen 

 of Spain, and Flora Wilson, Louisa, poet's 

 narcissus, Iris pumila (the common purple), 

 and tulips Vermilion Brilliant, Queen of 

 Holland, Clusiana, Greigi, Brunhilde, Cerise 

 Gris de Lin (another of the faded pinks, 

 in this case, however, so extreme that many 

 gardeners would reject it), Gris de Lin, an 

 enchanting if cold pink, Jaune a platie, 

 violas and arabis, a bank of Munstead prim- 

 roses (certainly the apotheosis of the English 

 primrose if so imposing a word may be used 

 for so shy a flower). The arabis appears in 

 Fig. 2, with Campernelle jonquils thick in 

 the near part, the darling tulip Cottage 

 Maid, blooming brightly among the arabis 

 and making the loveliest imaginable spring 

 bouquet. The single arabis I have now 

 foresworn in favor of the new double variety 

 which is far more effective — like a tiny 

 white stock without the stock's stiffness of 

 habit — and quite as easy to grow and 

 maintain. 



In the blossomy photograph, Fig. 3, may 

 be found four or five companion crops of 

 flowers, though that was a peculiar season 

 in which this picture was made, when 

 syringas bloomed with Canterbury bells! 

 Here peonies and Canterbury bells make up 



