3 
GOOD, DAD OH INDIFFERENT 
In our grandmother’s day a flower was; a flower. That is, not so much distinc¬ 
tion, if any, was made as to quality of bloom, ease of propogation, depth of color¬ 
ing and so forth. The prime objective was the creation of a garden of color by 
mass planting. Today it is somewhat different. We demand variety and varieties. 
Especially is this true of such important families of flov/ers as dahlias, gladiolus, 
peonies, tulips and many others. The home flower gardener who continually plants 
only the old time mixtures certainly must view with amazement and perhaps envy those 
larger flowering kinds now grown by many of his neighbors. Likewise the commercial 
grower who fails to discard at least a portion of hie little, old, small flowering 
kinds for the newer originations of gorgeous flowering varieties will soon be 
trailing behind. 
Last season we visited an old, well established nursery and seed house which of 
late years had begun to sell merchandise of all kinds in connection with its nur¬ 
sery and seed business. Of course being interested in bulbous flowers we took oc¬ 
casion to check up on the varieties which they grew. Among the more than twenty 
varieties of gladiolus there were only a few varieties which are now rated as stan¬ 
dard by modern bulb growers and these were not of the newer larger flowering kind. 
The others should have been discarded long a & o as most of them were inferior kinds 
and not worth the effort required to produce them. Their dahlia plantings rated 
about the same. This condition further emphasizes the adage of too many irons in 
the fire at once. We presume that their customers are still buying this planting 
stock in mixtures unmindful of the many newer and better varieties now on the mar¬ 
ket . 
\ ' 
If you were in the market for an article' of wearing apparel or a piece of 
jewelry of distinction you would hardly expect to find either in a place where 
everything else was sold. The same holds true as regards flov/er plantings. We, 
and of course many other exclusive bulb and flower firms, devote much time and at¬ 
tention to all originations of expressed merit and the results of our experiments 
are passed on to you in unbiased descriptions. The faults and imperfections of 
each variety, as v/ell as the merits, are stated impartially. If you are seeking 
the best in flower plantings buy only from an exclusive house — if not from us 
then from some other dependable firm which lias made a study of the subject. And 
to be sure of obtaining best results buy only inland grown stock, that which has 
been tried in this semi-arid climate and has not been found wanting. 
NAMED VARIETIES VERSUS MIXED 
In passing a flower garden of multi-colored hues we oft times wonder if the 
grower could select by their color, size of bloom, or other characteristics, even a 
few of those individual varieties. Many flower lovers grow flowers year after year 
with apparent pleasure and enthusiasm without concern or regard as to differentiating 
between types or varieties. The ability to discern various sorts would open up new 
avenues of delight to many who now have almost become a fixture among their flov/ers. 
How many small flov/er gardeners are able to select at sight among their glads 
such common ones as Mrs. Frank Pendleton, Mr. W. H. Phipps or Mrs. Leon Douglas or 
distinguish among their dahlias such outstanding varieties as Jersey's Beauty, Mrs. 
I. D. VerWarner, or Jane Cowl? Can you name a half dozen tulips at sight? This 
is only a primer cla.ss test in flower lore. If you have been growing such impor¬ 
tant flowers heretofore mentioned v/ithout becoming acquainted v/ith their names try 
something different this season. Plant a few at least of the named varieties, 
stake them with labels and keep them separate. Make a plat of your planting in a 
garden book. Study the names, the colors of bloom and other characteristics. Be¬ 
come on speaking terms with them as it were. Be able to converse intelligently re¬ 
garding them and your efforts will be well rewarded. 
