PETUNIAS 



127 



THE PETUNIA 



This most pleasing 

 annual may be fittingly 

 described as every- 

 body's flower. It suc- 

 ceeds everywhere, even 

 under unfavorable con- 

 ditions, and no garden, 

 however small, is com- 

 plete without it. Given 

 a sunny location, it can 

 always be depended 

 upon to furnish blooms 

 in abundance from 

 early Summer until late 

 Autumn. It grows 

 twelve to eighteen 

 inches in height, pro- 

 duces single or double 

 flowers of many ex- 

 quisite shades and col- 

 orings, and makes a 

 grand show in beds, 

 borders, window boxes 

 or vases. In recent 

 years new and beau- 

 ful strains have been 

 added to the Petunia 



list, the blossoms being of exceptionaUy large size and in many cases 

 finely ruffled or fringed. Seed is best started in March or AprU in a 

 hotbed or in a box placed in a sunny window of the house. Set out 

 the young plants, when ready, one foot apart each way. The weaker 

 seedhngs should not be thrown out, as they often bear the finest 

 double flowers. In sheltered positions the Petunia will sometimes seed 

 itself and come up the following season. 



Single Petunias 

 Petunias succeed everywhere, even under unfavor- 

 able conditions, and no garden is complete with- 

 out them 



THE PEONY 



Like many other plants intensely interesting because of their 

 charming blooms, the Peony first came to the attention of the world 

 as a medicinal plant. It was named after Paeon, a mythological doc- 

 tor, for the roots of the species officinalis have been used in the making 

 of a broth. 



