PLANT BRIEFS 
FROM THE NOTE BOOK OF 
W. C. EGAN, HIGHLAND PARK, ^ ILL. 
Alstroemeria aurantiaca. This supposedly tender peren- 
nial, the Peruvian Lily, has proved hardy here, when covered 
heavily over winter with box-covered dry leaves. It requires a 
light, well-drained soil and a sunny position. Close to a wall 
with a southern exposure would be an ideal situation. It 
flowers from June until frost, especially if not allowed to go to 
seed, being of a bright orange color, reminding one of an Orchid^ 
lasting a long time when cut. 
Argemone grandiflora. 1 find the White Mexican Poppy 
an annual of service where a tall white-flowered plant is needed 
to separate and pacify any quarreling colors of its neighbors. 
Being slender in growth, it is well to plant three or four, a few 
inches apart, in order to make a bushy group. While it belongs 
to the Poppy family, its glaucous foliage resembles that of the 
Thistle, but its chief charm is in its dainty paper-white flowers of 
single petals, surrounding a quite prominent crown of yellow 
anthers. It grows from two to three feet high and blooms all 
summer. 
Alonsoa Warscewiczii, the Mask Flower, is an annual, grow- 
ing about eighteen inches tall, brought from Chili to England 
in 1858 yet still seems to be little known. Its handsome 
flowers are well adapted to bouquet work where diminutive 
blooms of a rosy scarlet are desired. They come in terminal 
racemes, each faded flower dropping, thus ever keeping itself 
clean and tidy, blooming from July to frost and even after. 
Coreopsis verticillata is modest in its attractions when an 
individual flower is considered but by its finely cut foliage that 
keeps bright and fresh until frost, and its bushy, compact habit 
endears itself to one who loves tidiness and order in the garden 
border. The flowers are of a rich golden yellow, small, but 
numerous, standing just above its light green foliage. It is a 
summer bloomer, and when used in front of a grouping of the 
white Platycodon, and the Siberian or Chinese Larkspurs, all of 
which bloom at the same time, it is a desirable addition to the 
hardy border. 
CoromUa varia is a noxious weed in the open border, 
crowding out less strenuous plants, yet in semi-shaded, wild 
spots of the garden where hardly anything else would thrive it 
serves an admirable purpose. It affords a carpet of dark 
green foliage, and lightens up its surroundings with its numerous 
pink and white, crown-like flowers whence its name of Crown 
Vetch. It makes a splendid groundwork in which to plant 
Lilium auratum or L. longiflorum, or any shade-loving, short- 
lived plant, as frequent disturbance at the root does not injure 
it. It is a hardy perennial, in cultivation since 1640. 
Callirhoe involucrata. A native of our southwestern states, 
the Poppy-Mallow is a worthy member of a large family. Its 
trailing, long, straggling shoots, carrying its showy blooms 
at the terminals may be used with startling effect in many 
situations. I grow it in an elevated pocket of a rockery, where 
it wanders around in unbridled freedom, exhibiting its bril- 
liant flowers in unlooked-for places, sometimes creeping under 
and up through the branches of dwarf Cedars, flaunting its 
crimson petals above the evergreen foliage. It requires a sunny 
position to be at its best. 
Eschscholtzia califomica. In the northern states the per- 
ennial California Poppy can only be treated as an annual, the 
seed being sown in the open ground in the fall or spring, pre- 
ferably the fall. In many situations it sows itself so freely, 
that its qualities partake of a perennial character. The orange 
colored saucer-shaped flowers of two or three inches in diameter 
open only in the sun, and contrast finely with the bluish green 
foliage. For some situations they are invaluable. One part 
of my roadway passes so close up to a shrubbery bed that a 
border of grass is out of the question. Bordering the road is a 
row of named Lilacs, on their own roots, planted six feet apart 
and far enough back from the road not to interfere at maturity. 
The roadway slants from this bed to its opposite side and no 
gutter exists between it and the Lilacs. The unoccupied space 
of ground between the road and shrubs should not be disturbed 
by annual digging so I have sown the California Poppy. From 
spring until fall it presents a pleasing sight requiring no care in 
watering or weeding. An occasional ambitious weed, easily 
pulled out, may appear, but its dense growth prevents many. 
It seeds itself, and when it encroaches too much upon the road- 
way it is hoed into submission. 
Geranium sanguineum var. alba. This is a white flow- 
ered form of the old fashioned “blood red” Geranium, or 
Cranesbill, and far more preferable. The numerous flowers 
seem to rest on a cushion of dark green foliage, which acts as a 
charming foil to their attractions. It is a European perennial, 
forming a dense growth some eighteen inches high, hardy and 
desirable. It must not be confounded with the common, mis- 
named bedding “Geranium,” so-called, which is really a 
Pelargonium, or Stork’s bill” (referring to the shape of the 
fruit), totally unlike the Cranesbill to the layman though 
botanically of the same order. The native G. maculatum and 
Robertianum, the latter the “Herb Robert” of old gardens, 
are very effective when naturalized under shrubberies or in 
open woods. 
Geum chiloense or Scarlet Aven usually sold under the 
name of G. coccineum, bears numerous scarlet flowers, well 
above the dense foliage, blooming nearly all summer, and will do 
fairly well in open shade. It retains its foliage in good form 
until frost, thus making it a desirable border plant. G. Held- 
reichii from Greece, bearing a deep orange-red flower, and G. 
montanum, a dwarf Alpine species with yellow flowers, are 
equally as desirable. 
Ranunculus acris, the Butter-Cup is one of the oldest known 
of European plants found in our present day gardens. It 
was brought from Europe by the early settlers, and has become 
naturalized in the eastern states, and Canada. Its popularity in 
the early days may be seen by the numerous common names 
connected with it such as Bachelor’s-buttons, Blister-plant, 
Butter-daisy, Crow-flower, Mary-bud (of Shakespeare), Yellow 
Gowan. The deep, yellow double form is the best, the flowers 
lasting a long time. They stand up some eighteen inches on 
numerous branching stems, held well above the foliage, and come 
at a time when yellow flowers are scarce, the frequency of this 
color belonging to mid-summer and fall. After its blooming 
period is past the flowering stalks and old foliage should be 
cut away, when new growth will ensue and the foliage remain 
good the balance of the season. 
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