The Garden Magazine, December, 1920 
185 
IN LATE APRIL WITH IRISES SUPREME 
The open lawn with Larkspurs and Spanish Iris on one side and a mixed herbaceous border on the other strike an all- 
familiar chord. The Date Palms and Pampas Grass plumes in the background give the unmistakable California touch 
it will bloom again in midsummer. Foxgloves, Verbascums, 
and Sweet Williams are generally perennial, but as they renew 
themselves from seed old plants should be discarded. The 
perennial Larkspurs give their first bloom in April and May, and 
should then be cut back for a second flowering. In good soil 
and with watering they will often give three fine crops of bloom, 
but apparently wear themselves out, for they seem to require 
renewing more often than in colder countries. 
Unfamiliar plants. Some other perennials are new as garden 
flowers to people from the East except those who are familiar 
with the less usual occupants of the greenhouse. Such are the 
shrubby Calceolarias, in shades of bronze and yellow, long and 
profuse bloomers; also the Gazanias, fine yellow and orange 
daisy-like flowers, of value for the front of a dry, sunny border 
but useless in the shade. Of the drought-resistant Valerians 
those most often seen are a crude, dull rose and a rather dirty 
white. Much better than either is the dark red kind, a really 
good color. Valerians can hardly be killed. The best of the 
Flaxes 1 have grown are Linum narbonnense, a fine, clear blue 
from southern France; L. monogynum, a pure white shrubby 
species from New Zealand; and the dwarfer L. flavum, not to 
be confused with the lovely L. triginum sold under the former 
name. For planting on the north or east side of a house, or 
where the afternoon sun does not reach, Cinerarias are the best 
flowers of late spring and are quite hardy and perennial. 
Hardy annuals, including such natives as Eschscholtzia 
(really a perennial), Clarkias, Godetias, Lupins, and such im- 
ported ones as Nasturtiums, annual Chrysanthemums, and 
annual Larkspurs, all bloom during the spring months from seed 
sown with the first rains of the previous autumn. During these 
months old plants of Petunias, Salpiglossis, and Verbenas, which 
commonly survive their first winter in well-drained places, are 
often a great addition to the garden. Those new-raised from 
spring-sown seed do not bloom until midsummer. 
In the early slimmer the perennials most seen are the stately 
Acanthus, most appropriate near the entrance to a building; 
Anchusa italica, fine for blue effects and so true a perennial with 
me that I should make sure of where I wanted it before planting 
because it has proved almost impossible to get rid of it; Coreop- 
sis, Gaillardias, and Shasta Daisies, all drought-proof; Statice 
latifolia, especially fine in southern California; Gaura Lind- 
heimeri, a drought-resistant plant with airy, light pink flowers; 
and Gypsophila paniculata (the double form is best). 
Hollyhocks are short-lived perennials, generally self-sowing, 
and blooming in the summer following the autumn in which 
they are sown. Cannas and even Dahlias are often left in the 
ground as perennials, and though they sometimes succumb to 
poor drainage are never as fine as when divided and replanted 
each spring. 
The hardy Phlox, the mainstay of the August border in the 
East, can be grown in California where mulched with manure 
and watered; but with most people it is a failure, and even under 
the most favorable conditions I have never seen it give the gar- 
den effect it does where there are summer rains. If the finer 
single Geraniums were grown in similar masses in California they 
would give much the same color effects. Geranium Gertrude 
Pearson is quite the equal in color of Phlox Pantheon, and no 
salmon or scarlet Phlox can equal these colors in the newer 
Geraniums. Another substitute is available in the Pentste- 
mons, which when massed will give much the same garden 
effect as Phlox, and in a wide range of colors, white, pinks of all 
shades, rose, and purple. These are real perennials, easily 
raised from seed, blooming the first summer if sown early. When 
a particularly fine specimen is found it may be readily pro- 
pagated by fall cuttings of the new growth which springs up 
when the flower stems are cut back. 
From August to the end of the year late planted Dahlias are 
the most showy flowers in the garden, and in the cooler parts 
along the coast they make a wonderful display by themselves. 
At this season drought-resistant perennials are especially 
valued, and therefore the various members of the Sunflower 
and Sage families should be planted. Of the latter, Salvia 
