W ITH the month of March begin the year’s 
outdoor activities for the gardener. Winter 
(such as there was of it in the season just 
passed) is gone; our faces are set forward 
toward the working out of plans that were 
nade and developed during the dull months. This year the 
r spring opening comes after one of the mildest winters on record, 
md at this writing it seems reasonable to expect that the toll of 
i vinter losses will be almost negligible. Such losses as do 
. accrue will be most likely due to that excess of zeal that leads 
some people to heap on protective material in the mistaken idea 
that protection is for the sole purpose of keeping the plants 
warm. Those of our readers who were able to curb their 
I energies and exercise reason will surely reap the benefit this 
spring. Such danger as does lurk in the possibility of damage 
late in the season as the spring warms up, is after all not very 
1 serious. Late frost with the sun shining on the frozen plants is 
injurious to evergreen foliage, but be it remembered it is the sun 
that actually injures, and a shelter on the south and west means 
safety. Again, if in the time immediately following this writing 
the weather be dry and windy, or even if the sun be bright and 
warm without rain, there is a possibility of danger lurking ahead 
because of loss of soil moisture. That is, of course, speaking 
generally, for local conditions will vary considerably. But 
in the absence of snow during winter an actual drought may be 
experienced, though perhaps not suspected. 
Where unusuallyearly growth has started nothing can be done; 
and there is in fact not much need to worry, anyhow. The 
mildness of the past winter leaves the gardener in a happy 
frame of mind for the coming season and the 1921 outdoor year 
opens auspiciously. 
O RGANIZED activity in the interests of such flowers as the 
Peony, Iris, Dahlia, Gladiolus, Sweet-pea, have done very 
much indeed during the past year to bring order out of chaos in 
their respective circles, especially as regards the first three 
named. The annual exhibitions have drawn greater numbers 
than ever before, and other signs would seem to indicate an acute 
and enlivened interest in gardening affairs on the part of the 
public. Especially notable, too, has been the attendance at the 
weekly Orchid shows put up by Mr. Burrage at Horticultural 
Hall, Boston. The spring show in that place was such an un- 
precedented success as to justify big efforts for this year. New 
York will again have its “ International,” and the Pennsylvania 
Society announces a series of suburban gatherings that set a new 
pace. Abundant opportunity for the enthusiast to feast his 
eyes and absorb fresh inspiration for further efforts are offered 
in the various fixtures given herewith. The two leading events, 
of course, are the New York and Boston spring shows: 
New York: International, Grand Central Palace, March 14-19 
Boston: Roses and Spring Plants, Horticultural Hall, April 6-10 
The fixtures of the ‘‘special flower societies for this season are:” 
American Rose Society, Boston, April 6—10 
American Peony Society, Boston, June 18-19 
American Gladiolus Society, St. Thomas, Ont., Aug. 24 and 25 
American Sweet-pea Society, New York, Museum of Natural His- 
tory, latter part of June 
American Iris Society, Columbus, Ohio, About May 29. Also at 
Minneapolis and other places, dates to be fixed. 
American Dahlia Society, New York, in September 
Minor floral exhibitions of the leading state societies are an- 
nounced thus: New York, Second Wednesday each month at 
Bronx Park, and Chrysanthemum Show in November. Boston 
Autumn Exhibition Nov. 2-6. The Pennsylvania Society’s 
meetings are: 
Spring Flower Show, Aquilegias, Iris, late flowering Tulips and 
Perennials, Ardmore, Pa., May 25th, 1921; 
Peonies, Out Door Roses, Cut Flowers, and Perennials, Ardmore, Pa. 
June 7th, 1921 ; 
Sweet Pea Show, Ardmore, Pa., June 21st, 1921; 
Dahlia Show, Ardmore, Pa., September 27, 1921; 
Annual Exhibition and Chrysanthemum Show, Philadelphia, 
November 7-8-9-1921. 
The next Great National Flower Show, under the direction 
of the National Flower Show Committee of the Society of 
American Florists will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, in March of 
next year. 
THE ope^C olum: K, 
Readers’ Interchange of Experience and Comment 
Scilla and Chionodoxa Seedlings 
To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 
( NOTICED in a recent issue of this magazine the inquiry of a reader, 
A. H. Botsford, for information about bulb seeds, especially Scilla 
and Chionodoxa, and am wondering if the reader would be interested 
in the catalogue of Messrs. Thompson and Morgan, Ipswich, Eng- 
land, who offer bulb seeds of the following: Chionodoxa Luciliae; 
Gladiolus praecox, “the remarkable new annual Gladiolus”; Alstroe- 
meria; Anomatheca (Iris family); Freesia; Gladiolus; Hyacinthus 
amethystinus and candicans; Iris reticulata; Ixia; Liliums colchicum, 
dalmaticum, giganteum, regale; Sparaxis (Iris family). As this cata- 
logue has just come into my possession I have no knowledge as to the 
growth of these bulbs — nor even whether they come under the ban of 
the Plant Quarantine.— R. F. Howard, South Lincoln, Mass. 
— Flower seeds are not prohibited by the Plant Quarantine. — Ed. 
The Blues That Cheer 
To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 
N EVER was there, I believe, a fairy story to compare with seed 
catalogues! They begin to come — each one more interesting 
than the last — when the snow and ice are at their worst and many a 
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