Flower Planting For California 



AS A rule, every home has at least two 

 places that need floral decoration — the 

 house border and the fences and out-build- 

 ings. Flowers are needed around the 



foundation of the house to relieve the in- 

 artistic angle where the foundation meets 

 the ground. They are needed on the fences 

 and out-buildings because those structures 

 are usually unattractive in themselves. 

 For the house border, three types of plant 







PERENNIALS GROWN FROM 



SEED 

















TIME TO PLANT 





Season 



Name 













of 





























bloom* 





Jan. 



Feb. 



Mar. 



Apr. 



May 



June 



July 



Aug. 



Sept. 



Oct. 



Nov. 



Dec. 





For Bedding 





























Chrysanthemum 





X 



X 



X 



X 



X 















F 



Evening primrose 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SF 



Pansy 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 



X 



X 





SF 



Petunia 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SF 



Verbena 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SF 



Violet 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















Sp 



Ageratum 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SpSF 



Cineraria 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















Sp 



Coleus 





X 



X 



X 



X 



















Marguerite 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SpSF 



Zinnia 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SpS F 



Carnation 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 



X 



X 





SF 



Poppy 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SF 



Shasta daisy 





X 



X 



X 



X 









X 



X 



X 



X 



SF 



For Background 





























Centaurea can- 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















S 



didissima 





























Chrysanthemum 





X 



X 



X 



X 



X 















F 



Geranium 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















Sp S F 

 W 



Hollyhock 





X 



X 



X 



X 









X 



X 



X 





SF 



Four o'clock 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SF 



Salvia (flowering 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SF 



sage) 





























Goldenrod 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















S F 



Larkspur 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 



X 







SF 



For Borders 





























Snapdragon 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 



X 



X 





S 



Columbine 





X 



X 



X 



X 









X 



X 







Sp S F 



Campanula 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 



X 



X 





SpS F 



Carnation 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 



X 



X 





SF 



Coreopsis grandi- 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 



X 







F 



flora 





























Shasta daisy 





X 



X 



X 



X 









X 



X 



X 



X 



SF 



Foxglove 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 



X 







SpSF 



Lobelia car- 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















Sp SF 



dinalis 





























Phlox 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 



X 



X 





SF 



Poppy 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SF 



Salvia 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SF 



Goldenrod 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SF 



Sweet William 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 



X 







Sp 



Larkspur 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 



X 







SF 



For Edgings 





























Sea pink 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SpS 



English daisy 





X 



X 



X 



X 



















Forget-me-not 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 









Sp 



Shamrock 





X 



X 



X 



X 



















(oxalis) 





























Pansy 





X 



X 



X 



X 







X 



X 



X 



X 





SF 



Petunia 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















SF 



Violet 





X 



X 



X 



X 

















Sp 



Hen-and-chickens 





X 



X 



X 



X 



















"Note. — The season of bloom is indicated by letters. Sp means spring; S, summer; F, fall; W, 

 winter. 



233 



are demanded: tall plants suitable for the 

 background; edging plants; and bedding 

 plants intermediate in height between these. 



One of the accompanying planting tables 

 lists a very few of the best annuals, group- 

 ing them according to height. In two other 

 tables are arranged the perennials grown 

 from seed and those grown from bulbs or 

 tubers. As a general rule, the bulbous 

 plants have inconspicuous foliage that 

 dies down after the blossoms have faded 

 and this disqualifies them as border plants. 



Of the bulbous and tuberous rooted plants 

 the elephant's ear, dahlia, canna, calla, and 

 bleeding heart are the principle ones avail- 

 able for the house border. 



The dahlia and canna are perhaps the 

 best of these because their period of bloom- 

 ing ranges over most of the season. 



There is a longer list of background plants 

 in the other table, all of which are good. 

 We have used the dusty miller {Centaurea 

 Cineraria) and the geranium, and never 

 tire of the silvery white and the red and deep 

 green combination. Both are evergreen 

 here and thrive as well in winter as in sum- 

 mer. 



Although the chrysanthemum is fine 

 while in bloom and a little before, it is of 

 little value the rest of the year. The same 

 is true of hollyhock, four-o'clock, flowering 

 sage, goldenrod, and larkspur. 



For a more formal edging, use either the 

 sea pink (Armeria) or the hen and chick- 

 ens (Echeveria). The sea pink has an attrac- 

 tive little blossom that appears in profusion 

 during spring and summer. The blossom 

 of the echeveria is inconspicuous, however, 

 and hardly worth mentioning. The arm- 

 eria has a velvety green color and the 

 echeveria has a silvery green hue. 



Most of the perennials listed as border 

 plants have a variety of colors so there will 

 be little difficulty in producing a color har- 

 mony. If you use a variety of plants, don't 

 be stingy with the seed for any one variety. 

 Nothing spoils the border so much as a 

 mixture of little groups of a dozen or more 

 kinds of flowers. Divide the border into 

 generous sections and plant each of these 

 sections entirely to one variety. 



If you prefer a more formal arrange- 

 ment, set the different varieties in rows 

 running lengthwise of the border, arranging 

 the lowest growers next to the edge and the 

 tallest ones next the background. 



To my eye, there is nothing much more 

 pleasing than columbine, with its graceful 

 blossoms of nearly ever hue. 



