Comments by the Leading Philadelphia Newspapers on the Dreer Flower Show 
From Zhe Public Ledger. Oct. 5, 1913 
KALEIDOSCOPIC 
PANORAMA FORMED BY 
DREER GARDENS 
Dahlias in Great Profusion and Vari- 
ety Are October Favorites 
Panoramic in expanse—kaleidoscopie in 
variations of color effects. Thus may the 
Dreer Flower Gardens at Riverton, N. 
J., be described with their. more than 60 
acres of dahlias, cannas, phlox, scarlet 
asters, late-flowering daisies and 
larkspurs and other hardy perennials. 
The dominant scarlet and orange of the 
colorings 
sage, 
cannas interspersed with rich 
of deep maroon and delicate shadings of 
salmon; the soft pink and pure red and 
white of the phlox; the pronounced pur- 
ple and crimson and gold of the dahlias, 
with the plots of scarlet sage on the 
borders, form a riot of color that is in- 
describable. 
The dahlia 
nized as the queen of early October flow- 
ers. Perhaps it is because a variety of 
gorgeous colorings in dahlias massed in 
close proximity to harmonize 
they would in no other flower. 
One of the most notable developments 
is the peony dahlia. Twenty-five years 
ago symmetry was regarded as the thing 
in dahlias. But today peony shapes are 
becoming more and more popular. One 
reason is that with their long stems they 
fall into graceful clusters. One of the 
most gorgeous of these peony dahlias is 
the Geisha, with its scarlet and gold pet- 
als measuring from six to eight inches 
The Cleopatra, not so fantastic 
in shape and petal arrangement, is equal- 
ly gorgeous in coloring. The Porcupine, 
its petals crimson with white tips, is 
striking and delicate. Other varieties are 
the Mannheim, of a lively rose and sal- 
mon; the Feldberg, pure white, and King 
Leopold, a delicate cream. 
The Twentieth Century is another out- 
growth of these experiments. It is strict- 
ly an American production. Its petals 
are unique in that they number from 10 
to 12 and are broad and open, making 
them unsurpassed for decorative purposes. 
Two fantastic varieties are the Cactus 
and the Collerette. The Cactus is refine- 
ment among dahlias, as suggested by its 
narrow, delicately-formed petals. It orig- 
inated from the Mexican variety, Juarez, 
introduced about 35 years ago. The Col- 
lerette is a more recent introduction from 
France. Its name is derived from an in- 
side row or collar of small petals that 
form a separate and distinct color setting 
of their own. 
The Delice, of the decorative type, is 
the most popular in the Dreer collection. 
Its large, glowing, rose pink petals of 
soft and lively tintings, altogether sug- 
gestive of profusion, make it suitable 
for cutting. 
(2) 
is now universally recog- 
as 
seem 
across. 
“a 
From Phila. Press, Oct. 5, 1913 
ACRES OF FLOWERS 
IN THIS EXHIBITION 
Out-door Show at Dreer’s Gardens, 
in Riverton, Inspiring Spectacle 
All the way across the ferry and down 
to Riverton you wonder what an out- 
door flower show is going to be and 
whether it’s worth the trip. And then 
you arrive—and stop speculating. 
Sverybody has seen vegetables grow- 
ing by the acre, but who has ever 
dreamed of fifty acres of vari-colored 
fiame, which upon a near approach re- 
itself into rioting dahlias—rows 
and rows of them—colors and 
kinds and kinds—and kinds which you've 
never heard of nor seen before. 
solves 
colors— 
There’s the Geisha, flaunting, impu- 
dent, daringly red and yellow, she is, 
with a provocative abundance of petals 
growing helter-skelter. 
Here they all are. The old-fashioned 
kinds our grandmothers grew,  light- 
pursed blooms in garnets and whites, 
pinks and yellows. The peony flower- 
ed, the cactus, collerette and decorative 
dahlia, each different, and, in compari- 
with our childhood recollections, 
strange offspring of sedate forebears. 
After you've seen fifty 
recollection of specific kinds is some- 
what jumbled to names, but you 
don’t forget the color nor the immen- 
sity nor the glory of the sight. 
And then the cannas. <A big round 
bed in a park is one thing, and fifteen 
acres another. That’s how Dreer’s 
grow cannas. Indeed it’s on just such 
an immense scale that they do everything 
down there. 
son 
acres. jyour 
as 
is 
In their aquatic gardens, for instance, 
there are the victorias or royal water 
lilies, one plant having sometimes as 
many as twelve to fifteen leaves each 
414 to 5% feet across. 
There are rock gardens, vine-grown, 
with alpine plants peeping from the crey- 
ices of the rocks, a bit of nature brought 
from the mountains and acclimatized. 
There are armfuls of roses—blooming 
out of doors—to be gathered. And yet 
this is not supposed to be a rose show, 
that belongs to June. You are told that 
they are not at their best, that they are 
past their prime. You wonder if your 
imagination could picture their best. 
As a beautiful rest to the eye un- 
trained to such an orgy of blooms, there 
are the belts of phlox—pink and white. 
And the Dreer collection of perennials 
is the largest in the United States. Go 
see. Youll believe it then. It began 
Saturday, the fourth, and will close on 
Saturday next. 
From Phila. Inquirer, Oct. 7, 1913 
ACRES OF DAHLIAS FORM 
RIOT OF COLOR 
Dreer Gardens at Riverton Present 
Rare and Brilliant Spectacle— 
Visitors Galore 
That the works of nature haye been 
greatly improved upon by the hand of 
man, is being clearly shown this week 
to the thousands who are visiting the 
Dreer Flower Gardens at Riverton, N. 
we 
of dahlias, forming a great riot of color 
, with their more than sixty acres 
and beauty over the expanse of ground, 
and a spectacle to Riverton that has not 
been matched for years. 
Numerous plots of cannas, phlox, scar- 
let sage, asters, late flowering daisies and 
other hardy perennials, interwoyen with 
the gorgeous dahlias of the most im- 
proved forms, present one of the greatest 
shows of its kind ever seen in the 
country. The scarlet and orange of the 
cannas, with the deep maroon and deli- 
cate shadings of salmon, the pink, red 
and white of the phlox, the purple and 
zold and crimson of the dahlias in the 
scarlet sage scattered between, form a 
sight that is indescribable. The flowers 
embrace not only the cream of the old, 
well-tried standard types. but also the 
newest introductions gathered together 
from the many specialists of all coun- 
tries. 
The most popular dahlia in the Dreer 
collection is the Perle de Lyon, the most 
valuable white flower grown, of good 
size, held erect on long graceful stems. 
The Delice, of the same type, with its 
large, glowing, rose pink petals, is rap- 
idly increasing in favor. 
The Cactus suggests refinement among 
dahlias by its narrow delicately formed 
petals. It was introduced from Mexico 
thirty-five years ago. The Sunshine, of 
the Cactus variety, forms one of the 
latests imtroductions in the world of 
dahlias. 
The Collerette, a recent introduction 
from France, so called because of an in- 
side row or collar, of small petals, has 
attracted much attention at the farms. 
The beauty of the gardens, with its 
fields of color and its aquatie sections in 
which flourish masses of water lilies, has 
attracted more than 1500 persons since 
the exhibition was opened on Saturday. 
The exhibition will close on Saturday 
evening, if the flowers are not damaged 
by frost before that time. 
