The Garden Magazine, January, 1920 



209 



TREATED SERIOUSLY AND WITH DIGNITY ANNUALS ARE AS DIGNIFIED AS ANY! 



And nothing could conceivably be lovelier than this border of pink Petunias and blue Ageratums against the gray 

 stone wall, with festoons of Virginia Creeper swung against it, on the estate of Mr. E. A. Woods at Sewickley, Pa. 



its contrasting white stamens, holds a charm few flowers 

 can claim. Another unique color in Scabiosa is a deep rose 

 or light ruby red, a shade as rare among flowers, as it is 

 charming in gems. 



Never let the fact that your garden soil is poor prevent you 

 from devoting some space to Asters. True, the plants 

 under test did not start to bloom quite as early as would 

 have been the case on richer soil. But when the flowering 

 period arrived, they literally formed sheets of bloom, espe- 

 cially the Daybreak type, which in their distinct colors of 

 pink, white, rose, lavender, etc., were a glorious sight. Each 

 plant is an individual pyramid about eight inches high and 

 six inches across, on which the flowers completely hide the 

 foliage. These Daybreak Asters started to bloom in Aug- 

 ust. Early in September Pink Enchantress, which is really 

 a fine form of a late strain of Daybreak, joined the ranks. 

 The Astermums, a dwarf form of the Comet Asters, com- 

 pleted the collection of types strictly suitable for bed- 

 ding. 



Among the cutting varieties of Asters, Crego's Improved 

 type of Comet and the Royal family which is really a su- 

 perior strain of the old type of Queen-of-the-Market Branch- 

 ing, bloomed first. There may be some difference in season 

 of blooming between Carlson or Invincible Asters and 

 Semple's and Vick's Branching Asters, where soil conditions 

 are right. But on our poor soil, the earliest came late and the 

 late ones were early, so that in fact all bloomed about the 



same time! However, the early strains did not show lasting 

 qualities equal to the late sorts. 



Fully to appreciate the beauty of the annual Sunflowers — 

 the Helianthus cucumerifolius varieties — you must grow 

 them. Both Stella and Orion provide handsome, star- 

 shaped, bizarre flowers whose beauty is greatly emphasized 

 by contrasting discs surrounding the centre of each flower. 

 Their long wiry stems not only make them wonderful ma- 

 terial for cutting, but also difficult objects to catch with the 

 camera. 



The charm of the Everlasting Flower is best portrayed in 

 the Helichrysums which are available in many distinct 

 colors. Properly dried the flowers will be with us as long 

 as we take proper care of them — but be sure after cutting 

 them to hang them upside down until properly cured, or af 

 the flowers will have crooked necks. 



THE BEDDING OR GROUND-COVER ANNUALS 



The little blue Swan River Daisy (Brachycome iberidi- 

 folia) proved the most charming in the ground-cover class, 

 perhaps because for several years I had forgotten all about 

 it. It happened that it grew quite close to the dwarf 

 Alyssum Carpet of Snow (Alyssum Benthami procumbens) 

 and a more beautiful combination is hard to imagine. 

 The Swan River Daisy comes in blue, pink, and white, so 

 the gardener is offered a wide choice of color combinations. 



