FLOWERS FOR ADORNING THE VACATION HOME 
HENRY GIBSON 
With Potted Plants and Seeds of a Few Swift-growing An- 
nuals, Fragrance and Color This Summer Are Yet Possible 
j^T IS not yet too late to sow seeds of many annuals which 
% will flower in a surprisingly short time. Then, though 
the “bedding season” is some time past, the local 
greenhouse may be counted upon to have a surplus of 
plants in pots which were started early and are now flowering 
or at least ready to do so in a week or two. And some charm- 
ing effects may be worked out with very little outlay either in 
time or money, by combining the quick-growing annuals 
with these more tender 
plants. The sweet and 
fragrant Heliotrope is one 
of the latter — a rapid 
grower and rich in color. 
Its beauty is enhanced a 
hundredfold if it is 
planted wide apart and 
seeds of Annual Gypso- 
phila (Baby’s Breath), 
sown between. The little 
white flowers of the latter 
will appear in four to five 
weeks with simply charm- 
ing effect. A sowing of 
it should be made every 
two weeks until the first 
sowing blooms, to sustain 
the combination. The 
flowers last about three 
weeks when the plants go 
to seed and subsequent 
sowings take their places. 
Sweet Alyssum will 
flower in from five to six 
weeks, requires practically 
no care, and thrives in 
almost any soil. Cannas, 
Castor-beans and Ele- 
phant ears are a trio for 
furnishing subtropical or shrubby effects and pot grown plants 
are still available. 
A bed of half-standard Heliotropes set three feet apart and a 
ground cover of Verbenas between is. attractive. Phlox Drum- 
mondii, set eight inches apart, may be made very effective by 
combining scarlet and buff, or pink and buff with white and with 
dwarf blue Ageratum. Petunias may be used in almost all 
positions and relied on to produce a perfect feast of bloom. 
Geranium, Begonia (both tuberous and fibrous), Aster, Pot- 
marigold, Balsam, Vinca, Celosia, Centaurea (Dusty Miller), 
Cuphea, Kochia, Lobelia, Zinnia, Annual Helianthus, and many 
others are only part of a long list of possibilities for the flower 
garden of the vacation home. 
Where there is even a small area of ground available for the 
cultivation of annuals, it is unquestionably better not to at- 
tempt to grow them in window boxes; but where the window 
box is the only chance for a flower garden, very pretty effects 
can be arranged with scarlet, white, or pink Sweet Alyssum; 
Phlox Drummondii; pink or white Verbena; various colored 
Snapdragons; Petunias; Nasturtiums; Ageratums; the fine 
foliaged fancy Gourds, etc. For a south or west window 
few things are better than a good Geranium — either the dark 
rich vermilion of S. A. Nutt, or the more vivid scarlet of 
FOR THE PERMANENT VACATION HOME THE 
CHOICE IS THE PERMANENT PLANTING 
But for the short vacation season or the temporary abiding 
place there are additional things which will provide a little 
bit of gardening interest and some charming effects in color 
Bruant. Both appear to the best advantage when contrasted 
with white flowers. White Geraniums afford a pleasing con- 
trast, and the giant white Snapdragons are especially valuable 
because of the difference in value of the flower masses. Purple 
Ageratum and Heliotrope may be used with scarlet and white. 
The large flowered Ivy-leaved Geranium Souvenir de Charles 
Turner, is one of the best of this class, and does well in east or 
west window boxes, or in either vases or hanging baskets. 
Trailing Fuchsias, Japan- 
ese Morning-glories, 
Glechoma, and Wild- 
cucumber will do well 
on the north side of the 
house. 
O F SUMMER vines 
Cobea scandens is 
the most desirable, grow- 
ing to a great height and 
soon covering a large 
space; also it bears an 
abundance of bell-shaped 
flowers of pure white, 
greenish white, lavender, 
mauve, and purple. The 
San Salvador Cobea is 
thought by some to be 
even more desirable. The 
flowers are smaller, but 
the greatly exaggerated 
stamens make it very 
attractive. 1 ts chief 
beauty however lies in its 
foliage of light translu- 
cent green to which the 
sun, shining through, 
gives a luminous quality 
rare in vines. Both va- 
or east exposure and require less 
rieties do well in a north 
water than most vines. 
Gourds are among the most useful plants for ornamental pur- 
poses and afford a unique addition to the supply of plant re- 
ceptacles as well. Many of them are of charming habit and 
may be used anywhere where a quick growing vine is needed. 
And among other vines that may be used for quickly covering 
bare, unsightly places are Climbing Nasturtiums (when given an 
opportunity to climb, and kept well watered), Humulus 
Lupulus (Hop Vine), Ipomoea (Morning Glory) in rose, crimson 
and red striped colors, and Adlumia cirrhosa (Mountain Fringe), 
with pale pink flowers. This last is biennial in nature but can 
hold its own with the best of the others if one-year-old plants are 
set out. During the first year from seed the plants stool and 
the second year burst out into a perfect wealth of tender green 
foliage as finely cut as a Fern, with hundreds of sprays of 
delicate flowers. Planted on the north side of the house, it 
retains its fine green color throughout the season, but in hot 
sun it is inclined to burn. It self sows — so once established 
there is sure to be an abundance of it every year. Another 
good quick growing annual vine is the old-fashioned Love-in-a- 
Puff, or Balloon Vine (Cardiospermum Halicacabum), with inter- 
esting seed vessels and airy light foliage. 
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