| FOR BOTH AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL 
I GROWERS OF THE GLADIOLUS, DAHLIA, IRIS, ETC. 
Entered as second-class matter March 31, 1914, at post office at 
Calcium, N.Y., under act of March 3. 1879. 
j PUBLISHED MONTHLY ON THE FIRST OF 
! MONTH BY MADISON COOPER, CALCIUM, 
Subscription price: Three years. $2.00; One year, $1.00. 
POPPIES AS MEMORIALS. 
[ Written expressly for The Flower Grower.] BY BERTHA BERBERT-HAMMOND. 
THE j 
N. Y. | 
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“ Summer set lip to earth's bosom bare 
And left the flushed print in a Poppy there, 
Like a yawn of fire from the grass it came. 
And the fanning wind puffed it to flapping 
flame.” 
—Francis Thompson. 
The brilliant scarlet Poppy 
which has so suddenly leaped into 
public favor, has heretofore not 
enjoyed garden popularity, as 
many flower growers recognized 
the fact that it required consid- 
erable artistic ability and skill in 
arranging and grouping to keep 
its gaudy scarlet color from 
clashing with the soft, harmoniz- 
ing pastel shades usually selected 
to grace milady’s garden. But it 
is quite safe to predict, that due 
to its intimate association with 
the battle fields on which Ameri- 
can heroes sacrificed their young 
lives, the Poppy will, in the 
future, be planted here, there and 
everywhere as a living emblem 
of the nation’s lasting esteem and 
reverence for those who rest un- 
der the rude crosses “ over there.” 
“ In Flanders fields where Poppies blow.” 
There are numerous species of 
the Poppy family (Papaveracae) 
but the Poppy referred to above 
by the martyred poet-soldier (Mc- 
Crea), who himself lies under the 
Poppies of France, is probably 
the old, common variety of Poppy 
(Papaver Rhoeas) from which the 
Rev. Wilks of Shirley Vicarage, 
England, an ardent nature-lover 
and successful hybridizer, de- 
veloped the beautiful Shirley Pop- 
pies of cultivation which exhibit 
such a wide range of color from 
the most delicate shades to the 
richest of dark hues. 
The showy, scarlet Poppy 
blooms in May and June and its 
season of flowering may be 
lengthened if the flowers are not 
permitted to mature. If allowed 
to produce seed, it will self-sow 
freely, monopolizing more than 
its share of the garden. Its volup- 
tuous flame-red flowers, on grace- 
ful stems, strikingly contrasted 
with the beautiful foliage make a 
GLADIOLUS— WHITE GLORY. 
(For description see page 61.) 
picture so remarkably gorgeous 
as to beggar description. 
Now that the seal of govern- 
mental approval has been granted 
by the planting of Poppies in the 
parks of the Nation’s Capital, 
the garden popularity of the 
Poppy is assured and hints on its 
culture will be in order. 
The Poppy is easily raised from 
seed sown early in autumn or in 
spring. The soil should be sandy, 
porous and well drained. As the 
seed is exceedingly small it re- 
quires some care in sowing. It 
is well to mix the seed with 10 or 
12 times its bulk of fine dry sand, 
broadcast it thinly where the 
plants are to remain , and then 
cover lightly. It usually germi- 
nates quickly and the seedlings 
should be thinned out to at least 
eight or ten inches apart so as to 
guard against crowding, a condi- 
tion to be especially avoided in 
Poppy culture, as it is the cause 
of stunted growth, lack of bloom 
and the rotting at the base of the 
plant, that sometimes attacks the 
Poppy during continued hot, 
moist weather. Though the trans- 
planting of Poppies is considered 
difficult, it can be successfully 
accomplished with well grown 
plants if one is careful not to in- 
jure the long tap roots. When 
transplanted, the growth of the 
plant is retarded, the time of 
bloom delayed usually for a year 
and the foliage invariably lost, 
but in a few weeks’ time when 
the plant has recovered from the 
shock caused by transplanting, 
the growth is renewed and new 
leaves appear. 
Where it is difficult to start 
Poppy plants early in the open 
ground, considerable time may 
be gained and the difficulties of 
transplanting minimized by plant- 
ing seeds indoors in egg shells 
filled with soil and set close to- 
gether in a shallow pan or box of 
earth. The seeds in the egg-shell 
[ Concluded on page 57. ] 
