THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 
353 
BEGONIA ALICE MANNING. 
TPHE begonia Alice Manning is extensively grown by 
Kenneth McLean, head gardener to John I. Kane, 
Bar Harbor, Maine, and he finds this variety to be ex- 
tremely valuable as a basket plant, flowering for many 
weeks. The color is of a charming shade of primrose, 
flowers are double, the plants blooming profusely for about 
Begonia Alice Manning. 
six weeks. He also grows the varieties alba phena and 
Golden Showers. Bulbs started late in February bloom 
in June and, if starting them until April 15, a succession 
of "bloom can be had until September. These plants are 
found very useful for piazza or porch decorations. 
Treatment is the same as that given other tuberous be- 
gonias and gloxinias. 
CLARKIAS FOR GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE 
A MONG hardy annuals there are few more beautiful 
and useful than the varieties of Clarkia elegans, of 
which there are now some particularly good colors ob- 
tainable. For sowing in the open garden during April 
where the plants are intended to flower these Clarkias are 
ideal, their tall yet graceful habit and the delicately-poised 
flowers creating bright and pleasing effects in mixed bor- 
ders, large beds, or, indeed, in almost any position that 
is not densely shaded by overhanging trees. In common 
with other hardy annuals, it is essential that the seed be 
sown very thinly, and when the seedlings are well up they 
must be thinned to 9 inches or 12 inches apart to allow 
the plants to develop their natural branching habit. As 
cut flowers these Clarkias are exceedingly pretty, possess- 
ing the merit of lasting well and lending themselves to 
artistic arrangement, this latter feature being well shown 
in accompanying colored plate. 
For early spring decoration of the conservatory nothing 
is more telling than well-grown plants of this and several 
other varieties. For this purpose the seeds should be 
sown in September and the seedlings grown under quite 
cold treatment, just preserving the plants from frost and 
keeping them as near the glass as possible to encourage 
sturdy growth. The seedlings should be potted on and 
pinched back two or three times to insure nice bushy 
plants. Scarlet Beauty is perhaps the brightest coloring 
of all, and with winter pot culture the color comes a 
beautiful rich salmon pink, resembling the color of Sweet 
Pea Earl Spencer. Double Delicate Pink, Double Salmon, 
Double White and Firefly (a bright rose crimson) are 
also well worthy of cultivation, both in pots and in the 
open border.. 
Hardy Phlox for Border and Color Effect 
A MONG the great variety of perennial flowering 
•**■ plants for border effects and color grouping^ the 
phlox may well lay claim to a high position. Their vigor, 
upright, compact habit of growth, immense panicles of 
flowers, and long period of bloom make them a great 
asset. The colors of the flowers are rich and varied, 
comprising white, pink, rose, salmon, orange, scarlet, 
crimson, lilac, lavender, mauve, purple, and violet. Phlox 
are among the earliest plants to appear in the spring and 
the last to die down in the fall. A period of continuous 
bloom from July to October may be secured by planting 
a succession" of" varieties and by cutting away the first 
trusses, others being produced later. 
The present-day phlox are chiefly of hybrid origin. 
They belong to the family Polemoniaceae and are close 
relatives to Gilia and Polemonium. Phlox paniculata 
(decussata) and P. maculata were the parents of most 
of the highly developed varieties of today. Phlox pani- 
culata is an erect plant growing to a height of two to 
four feet, with pink-purple flowers varying to white. 
Phlox maculata is a somewhat more slender and a more 
dwarf plant with spotted stems and pink-purple flowers. 
Both of these species are indigenous to the United States, 
but up to 1850 they were seldom cultivated. At that time 
improvement was begun, and by 1885 varieties of such 
high merit had been produced that it seemeed that a stage 
had been reached which would lie difficult to surpass. 
However, this opinion was soon dispelled as the phlox 
shortly demonstrated that its powers of variation and 
improvement were not yet exhausted. The chief advance- 
ment up to thirty years ago was the development in the 
size and shape of the flowers, while improvement of color 
was overlooked. At that time there was a superabun- 
dance of varieties with pink, purplish, and slate-colored 
flowers, with or without deeper coloring at the center. 
Later, bright reds made their appearance, followed by 
orange-scarlets of dazzling brilliancy, and in due course 
the rich purples and deep violet-blues were obtained. At 
present the late-flowering kinds are being ignored, which 
is to be deplored, for although they have smaller flowers, 
the panicles are denser and more pyramidal. The quality 
of lateness is worthy of crossing with the finest strains 
so as to extend the season and thus make the plant play 
its part to the fullest extent. Recently a remarkable 
strain was obtained in England as a result of a cross be- 
tween P. paniculata and a hybrid form secured from a 
cross between P. canadensis and P. Laphamii. These 
two are early-flowering plants, ten to eighteen inches in 
height, with small panicles of bluish fragrant flowers. 
The new strain, P. Arendsii, is a vigorous grower of 
branching habit, with flowers varying in color from white 
to rose and pale violet. It attains a height of two feet 
and produces a succession of bloom from May to July. 
Of the various species of hardy phlox, one that de- 
