March, 1911 
tractive beds that the garden contained. The plants were 
set in close rows, eight inches apart each way, alyssum and 
phlox alternating. A bed three feet or more in width is re- 
quired to give the desired effect. The brilliant phlox and 
the feathery alyssum form a happy combination; they are of 
the same height and season of bloom. 
Cornflowers are a delightful addition to the frost gar- 
den, if sown in masses, the plants standing not closer than 
one foot apart. June sown seed will produce fall bloom, 
and nipping off the flower buds that appear too early will 
give a better late display. Cornflowers are so hardy that 
’ One variety of pansies that defies frost. Picked No- 
vember 24th, more than six weeks after the 
first black frost 
self-sown plants winter over without protection, start into 
growth the following spring, and begin flowering in May. 
Annual Larkspur gave fall bloom from spring sown seed. 
On November 12th a plant was lifted for indoor experi- 
ments; it was full of buds and still uninjured by three cold 
mornings when the thermometer registered twenty-six de- 
grees. : 
Verbenas are among the gayest of the frost proof an- 
nuals. They came to no harm when exposed to a tempera- 
ture so low that ice, formed during the night, was still un- 
melted at noon. Verbenas gave satisfactory bloom as house- 
plants, after flowering for a season outdoors. This variety 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
115 
is useful for sowing in bulb beds to screen the fading folli- 
age. 
Petunia is another ironclad. To train it during the sum- 
mer for fall flowering, pinch back the plants so that they 
will make a stocky growth. A sunny open bed with warm 
soil are the conditions that suit it best. 
Calendula, as its name indicates, is capable of bloom the 
year round. Even in our climate it is one of the last to 
succumb to the cold. Warm loose soil gives the best 
results. 
Wallflowers are better treated as annuals. 
The bloom- 
Phlox Drummondii. One of the highest of the frost- 
proof annuals. Picked after tender ones 
were killed by frost 
ing season begins at midsummer and extends till snow time. 
Fresh flowers have been picked as late as Christmas. 
Stock outlived a number of frosty nights. This plant pre- 
fers cool weather. For fall bloom it should be sown in 
May in rich soil. The plants should stand one foot apart. 
Godetia, the tall sort, survived four mornings at 26 de- 
grees. 
Everlasting, salpiglossus, forget-me-not, sweet pea, mari- 
gold, cosmos, snap dragon, salvia, and anemone have all 
been recommended for fall bloom. All have not been 
tested by personal experience, but the prospects are fair for 
some of the varieties. 
