satisfactory annual linum or flax. It is a foot high and its single, 
saucer- shaped flowers are a pure bright cherry red, of satiny texture, 
excellent for cutting and showy in the garden. It is a slender growing 
plant and looks best in masses. 
To those who have a shady corner where the soil is moist yet not 
too heavy, I can recommend the large flowering forms of mimulus or 
monkey flower, with gorgeous, trumpet- shaped blossoms of red or 
yellow, or red and yellow mixed, spotted and mottled in a most 
fantastic way. In its unimproved form the mimulus is very dwarf, 
only about three inches high and creeps over the ground, but the 
modern strains are larger in every way and more compact. Mine 
grow about six inches high. 
I wish seedsmen would pay more attention to the nemesia, which 
seems to me sadly neglected. I first tried it a few years ago, after 
seeing it advertised and illustrated in an English catalogue and since 
then I have never felt that I could do without it. But a superior 
strain of seed is necessary or the result will be disappointing. It is 
not advisable to try to start nemesia indoors or anywhere but in the 
open ground, as the seedlings have a tendency to damp off and need a 
great deal of air and light and a low temperature in their early stages. 
I find, too, that although they can be moved safely enough, they do 
better if not transplanted. A row of these fine annuals, well grown, is 
an ornament to any garden and exhibits an unusual range of bright 
colors — yellow, white, cream, reds and pinks and in the smaller 
flowering hybrids there are some pretty blues and mauves. These, 
however, are not as satisfactory as the large flowering strain. Neme- 
sia forms a tuft of leaves from which rise the nine to ten inch stems, 
crowned with flowers shaped something like those of the snapdragon. 
If one is looking for a gorgeous blue, absolutely pure in tone with- 
out a trace of purple, let her try phacelia campanularia — an awe 
inspiring name for a little plant a few inches high. Personally I know 
of no such shade of blue in any other flower — it is more brilliant, yet 
velvety, than that of the delphiniums, for instance. Successive sow- 
ings should be made, as it blooms itself to death. Another good 
phacelia is phacelia congesta, which is quite different, being taller, 
with schizanthus-like foliage and produces all summer long good 
sized heads of pretty, soft lilac blue flowers. 
Platystemon, like layia, is from California, and makes a good com- 
panion to that annual, as the leaves and stems are of the same pale 
green and the flowers too are yellow — a very light creamy yellow, 
cup-shaped, with a deeper center. They are very lasting, staying on 
the plant in good condition for two or three days. 
