Much Ado About Planting oiL 
PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS THROUGH EXPERIENCE WITH POPULAR HARDY PERENNIALS— PLANTING FOR SIMPLE 
COLOR HARMONY 
W HAT a pity that 
nature has been 
so shockingly un- 
systematic in her 
distribution of soil. One 
place is a yellow sand bank, 
where all the fertilizer filters 
through and disappears, 
while the next a few hun- 
dred yards away, is solid 
clay that must be blasted 
to stir it at all. Where, oh 
where, is that rich loam 
spoken of in every garden 
book as the only basis for 
raising anything ? The 
single advantage of the 
present arrangement is that 
after gazing at one’s own 
failures on sand one can 
walk over and see what the 
neighbors were unable to 
achieve on clay, and that is 
indeed cold comfort. 
As time and gardening interest march on- 
ward, people come to realize more and more 
that a dominant note in color, or at most two 
harmonious ones, produce a better effect than 
running a chromatic scale of shades. Prob- 
ably nothing as satisfactory as blue and white 
has so far been evolved, for cool restfulness 
when the pure blues and clear whites are se- 
lected. The following combination has been 
tried and not found wanting. 
The patterned flag terrace in this scene adds a decided charm to the garden lines 
BLUE 
Anchusa italica Dropmore 
Anchusa italica Opal 
Anchusa (annual) 
Delphinium, especially 
Belladonna 
Myosotis dissitiflora (bien- 
nial) 
Myosotis semperflorens 
(perennial) 
Plumbago Larpentae 
Salvia azurea (perennial) 
Salvia Pitcheri (perennial) 
FLOWERING IN 
Anemone japonica Geante 
Blanche 
Campanula persicifolia 
alba 
Empress Candytuft (an- 
nual) 
English Iris 
Funkia subcordata 
Japanese Iris 
Lilium candidum 
Lilium speciosum album 
FLOWERING IN 
Late August till frost 
June and July 
Blooms all summer 
Late June 
August and September 
Late June 
Late June 
August 
June 
June 
July till frost 
June and August 
April 
End of May till frost 
All summer and fall 
August and Septem- 
ber 
September and Octo- 
ber 
There are several other lovely blues, but 
they are not hardy in this climate, notably the 
blue Hydrangea and Plumbago capensis. 
All blues with lavender tones have been 
eliminated. 
If by chance you inject a clump of pale 
lavender Japanese Iris into your scheme, the 
mistake is too fascinating to be regretted. 
The Delphinium flowers in June, in August 
and practically the rest of the time also. It is 
a wonderfully energetic performer. The an- 
nual Anchusa is easily raised from seed, and 
when the perennial variety is over, this one 
has formed large plants and blooms freely 
until frost. The biennial Myosotis comes in 
April, and its place is filled late in May by the 
perennial semperflorens, which lasts through 
the season if it is kept picked. 
The photograph of the swimming pool shows 
Mrs. McMurray’s blue and white garden which 
is in front of the house, at the foot of a high 
terrace, and from it again the bank is terraced 
down to Lake Erie. The white pool, painted 
blue on the inside, and the 
two white pergolas carry 
out the colors of the flow- 
ers, while the evergreens at 
the corners and the grassy 
slopes form a restful con- 
trast. 
On the other side of the 
house, in the photograph 
showing the flagged terrace, 
a long narrow lawn leads to 
a studio and a second gar- 
den, screened from the 
house by evergreen, shrub- 
bery and tall trees. In this 
portion of the place, a white 
dove-cote, a drinking pool 
and the white doves them- 
selves bear a definite share 
in the color arrangement 
already mentioned. A con- 
crete wall shuts out the 
street, and from the seat 
under the pergola it is 
pleasant to sit at ease and view the beauties of 
the domain. After the Anchusa has finished 
blooming, scatter the seed over moist sand and 
they will germinate quickly. Some dead stalks 
were left lying on a little beach of lake sand 
and presently a nursery of seedlings ap- 
peared. Delphinium and Columbine seed 
scattered under shrubs give a fine yield, as 
do the Michaelmas daisy seeds. 
At the end of their second year, one finds the 
Peach-leaved Bellflower, Campanula persici- 
folia to have formed numerous heads. If these 
heads are separated in July and planted in a 
semi-shaded position they will grow well and 
bloom the following season. Often as many 
as a dozen or fifteen can be produced from a 
single plant. When Foxgloves are about over, 
they usually put out three or four branches. 
Cut these with a sharp knife, leaving a small 
portion of root with each one, plant, and you 
have multiplied your Foxglove by the number 
of its branches. These always come true to 
color, which is scarcely ever the case when they 
are raised from seed. In this way it is pos- 
sible to duplicate one’s favorite shades. Hardy 
Coreopsis is easily reproduced. At the joints 
of the branches is a cluster of leaves and 
two tiny rootlets, which if cut and placed 
in a semi-shaded position will form stocky 
plants. 
Blue and white is the color scheme of the garden by the water side 
/ 165 
