mms A result of the action taken by the Tennessee State 
T/V y Horticultural Society at its annual meeting last Jan- 
uary, the “Big Bend State” is soon to have a flower 
(KJvM all its own. Indeed, it may be that ere these notes 
are printed, the State Legislature may have acted upon recom- 
mendations laid before it, and legally and officially sanctioned 
the addition of the Passion-flower (Passiflora incarnata) to the 
lengthening list of state flowers. 
Tennessee is to be congratulated upon a most happy and 
satisfying choice, for not only is the May-pop, as the plant is 
colloquially called, native to dry places from Virginia south- 
ward and common almost to weediness throughout Tennessee, 
but also it has a distinct and unique beauty of form, flower, and 
fruit in addition to an interesting legendary history. Given 
winter protection for the roots, this species of Passion-flower is 
a hardy herbaceous perennial as far north as Baltimore; where- 
fore patriotic Tennesseans can enjoy it not only as a wild plant, 
but also as a climbing cover over arbors, trellises, doorways and 
the like. While plants may be obtained from dealers in native 
horticultural materials, they can also be easily raised from the 
seed which is produced in fleshy, yellow gourd-like fruits two 
or three inches long. 
Probably many plant lovers are more familiar with the green- 
house species of Passiflora, several of which make interesting 
specimens for warm glass structures, their flowers varying in 
color from white to different shades of red, yellow, and purple. 
Again there is the Granadilla with its relatively large, edible 
fruits familiar to travelers in the tropics of the Western Hemi- 
sphere, the original habitat, by the way, of all the Passion-flowers. 
All the forms, however, are characterized by the peculiar flower 
structure which legend has invested with the symbolism of the 
crucifixion. In the five lobes of the calyx and the five petals 
taken together are seen the ten apostles (Peter and Judas being 
absent); a brilliantly colored, fringe-like crown of filaments 
within the corolla is said to represent the crown of thorns; the 
five stamens are variously interpreted as the five wounds or as 
the hammers used in driving the three nails through the Sav- 
iour’s hands and feet, these same nails being seen in the three 
upright styles with their flattened and expanded stigmas. The 
older botanical reference books illustrate the plant with rather 
more emphasis on the details of this interpretation, than ac- 
curacy. 
But to get back to its choice by Tennessee — it all started in 
the summer of 1920 when Dr. Gharles H. Myers, a plant lover of 
Cleveland, Ohio, but a former resident of Tennessee, suggested 
to the editor of the Southern Fruit Grower that his former com- 
monwealth ought to express an opinion and choose a flower for 
itself. The idea was referred to the Chattanooga Chapter of the 
Agassiz Association which, after extensive investigation, selected 
the Passion-flower as logical and in all respects desirable, and 
recommended its adoption. It was then that the State Horti- 
cultural Society stepped in, framed a special resolution on its 
own account, and placed the matter before the Legislature for 
official action. ' 
The horticultural enthusiasts of the whole state are to be I. 
congratulated upon having so expeditiously and, apparently, so r 
satisfactorily handled a matter and taken a step that can mean l 
much to Tennessee’s horticulture and to the popularization of 
a greater interest in plants generally. 
THE OPE^SC olum: K, 
Readers’ Interchange of Experience and Comment 
Beautiful Blooms from Blasted Bulbs 
To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 
F OR several years the buds of my Narcissus odorata alba plena 1 
blasted. Then I tried liming the soil and I have had good sue- , 
cess for two years. — Maud C. Saxton, Newark Galley, N. Y. 
Here are White Violets for You 
To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 
S EVERAL of your readers would, 1 note, like to obtain roots of 
the White Violet. 1 have an abundance of these Violets and 
would be pleased to supply any one desiring them. In order to keep 
them where they belong 1 have to throw quantities away every year. — 
Mrs. Donald Smith, 37 Perry St., Barre, Vt. 
■ — If Mrs. Layton will give me her full address I will gladly send her 
some Violet roots. I have some very beautiful ones, taken from an 
old garden and supposed to have been brought from England. The 
flowers are very large with exceptionally long stems. Unfortunately 
they have no fragrance. They make a charming border and, as I write, 
are at their loveliest. — A. T. Cushman, 144 Hawthorn St., New Bedford, 
Mass. 
A Handy Crutch for Young Annuals 
To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 
H ERE is a little discovery 1 made last spring which 1 want to pass 
along to the readers of The Open Column. In my small back- 
yard there are fruit trees and there is also a little space for flowers. I 
tried for several years to grow annuals, such as Shirley Poppies, Gyp- 
sophila, Calliopsis, Phlox Drummondii, etc., under the trees which are 
trimmed to a good height allowing the early and late sun to reach the 
ground. The plants grew well and produced blossoms more graceful 
and lovely than when sown in the open; but each year the same tragic 
thing happened. Either the sprinkler was left running too long, or a 
heavy shower, or sudden wind would lay the slender stems low, never 
to rise or be raised again. Last year 1 devised a crutch for them and it 
worked beautifully. When the seedlings were up an inch or two, 1 
thinned and weeded the plot, then stretched across a piece of poultry 
netting the size and shape of the bed from six to twelve inches above the 
ground, by means of stout stakes driven deep and notched on the outer 
surface at the desired height. The young plants grew up through this 
and, though winds blew and floods descended, my annuals stood firm 
330 
