20 



The Garden Magazine, September, 1921 



lent color contrasts that are so apt to occur even in the most 

 carefully planned garden. In this way for the middle fore- 

 ground the Sea-hollies (Eryngium) in variety are most useful, 

 and for the backgrounds where tall growing plants are desired, 

 nothing can be better than Globe Thistle (Echinops humilis or 

 Ritro) with their great blue thistle-like flowers and metallic blue- 

 gray foliage. If the terminal bud be pinched out when the plant 

 is not more than a foot high, it will force branching and a more 

 pleasing form than if left to its own happy way of sending up a 

 single stem. With it 1 like to use Hollyhocks and, in front of 

 both, tall growing Dahlias which fill the hole in the bed when 

 the former have to be cut. For a Dahlia of medium height 

 none has been better than Countess of Lonsdale; its profuse 

 salmon pink flowers have a soft blue bloom over the petals that 

 seem to reflect the blue Delphinium when planted between it 

 and Selma Phlox, which 1 consider one of the best of the tall 

 salmon varieties. Of all the herbaceous plants that blossom in 

 midsummer none can surpass the varieties of Phlox paniculata, 

 or decussata, for profusion of flower, although some of the colors 

 may be crude — that, however, is a matter of personal pre- 

 ferences. For a tall white, Queen is one of the best; with soft 

 lavender-pink Gladiolus America between it and light purple 

 Summer-lilac (Buddleia) with flesh colored Zinnias and a fore- 

 ground of lavender-blue Ageratum and Nepeta Mussini, the 

 combination is most pleasing. 



Gladiolus are indeed most useful summer flowering bulbs for 

 the ornamental border. If they are planted as soon as the 

 frost is out of the ground and then every two weeks until the 

 middle of July there will be a succession of bloom until late fall. 

 The range of color is so great that varieties may be chosen to 

 harmonize with any color scheme. For best effects plant them 

 in groups of five to seven to fill the hole left by cutting back 

 Larkspur or Sea-holly. It may be necessary to tie them to 

 slender green stakes to keep them from falling over when in 

 bloom, although deep planting will help to hold them up. 



STAKING and tieing is almost an art, if the natural form 

 of the plants is to be maintained. Some of the loose- 

 growing species, like Baby's-breath (Gypsophila paniculata), 

 can be trained over wire forms and an annual vine planted at 

 the side to cover when it becomes brown. A little tieing and 



cutting back is necessary almost every day to keep the plants 

 from being blown down in high winds, and from going to seed. 

 Varieties of Phlox paniculata will continue to bloom until frost 

 if the flowers are cut as soon as they begin to fade. The later 

 bloom is not as strong as the first but helps to add a gay note 

 to the composition. Many of the annuals can be treated in 

 the same way; 1 have been especially successful with annual 

 Scabiosa, one of the most useful plants for filling in vacant spaces 

 left by early blooming perennials that cannot be prevailed upon 

 to flower a second time. 



As the season draws to a close and the cool days of autumn 

 come upon us, the flowers take on richer tones. Boltonias, 

 Asters, and Heleniums become the dominant notes, as were the 

 Phloxes in midsummer and the Peonies and Irises earlier. If 

 they have been pinched back and made to branch they are 

 extremely pleasing; otherwise they become long and leggy, 

 and the gardener, in a panic of fear lest they blow down, 

 ties them to a single stake, making an unsightly mass with 

 a few terminal flowers. All three of these plants are rank 

 growers and are apt to crowd their neighbors; a group will 

 double in size in a season, and so must be thinned each year. 

 However, they are well worth while for color and should 

 be planted in large quantities for masses of late bloom. With 

 them such Lilies as Henry's and Tiger are good combinations for 

 summer flowers, and if used with plants having gray-green foli- 

 age, white Phlox, some buff and orange colored Zinnias and a 

 few spikes of Gladiolus, the effect is extremely pleasing and 

 makes a mass of color from early July until frost. 



Color combinations such as have been touched on in this 

 article are inexhaustible. When a book is written for America 

 equal to Miss Jekyll's books on color arrangement in the English 

 garden, which are classics of horticultural writing, it will be a 

 boon to all garden makers, both professional and amateur. 

 "Color in My Garden" by Mrs. Wilder, is its nearest approach 

 and is the result of hard work and years of experience. "The 

 Garden Month by Month" by Miss Sedgwick and Mr. Cameron 

 is another most useful book for the garden library. Too many 

 books of mediocre value have been written on the subject and 

 are accountable for many of the failures of amateurs. The 

 best material is in fact to be found scattered in various magazine 

 articles. 



Marian C. Coffin, Landscape Architect 



GARDEN OF MR. AND MRS. FREDERICK FRELINGHUYSEN, ELBERON, N. J. 



