FLOWERS FOR THE GARDENS 
ImNh 
OF FLORIDA 
GRACE 0. EDWARDS 
President of the Winter Park Garden Club 
Whereby the Winter Sojourner Enjoys a Second Summer and the Floridian 
Wins Colorful Effects Commonly Associated with Gardens of the North 
Editors’ Note: Both Northerners who successfully evade winter bv spending it in the South and more permanent residents in the “ Flowery Land” of Ponce 
de Leon will find much succinct and helpful suggestion in this article, founded as it is on practical personal experience. And, incidentally, the Winter Park Garden 
Club has the distinction of being the oldest club of its kind in Florida and of standing sponsor to the first Flower Shows held in that state. 
^LOR I DA has a position that is unique among the states 
in respect to flower gardening and flower culture. There 
Owe flower seeds are planted in early fall for winter bloom- 
ing, in January for spring blooming, and at many other 
times during the year, but never as soon “ as the frost is out of the 
ground,” as seed catalogues and garden literature always direct. 
And when the rest of the country is freezing, Sweet-peas are 
scattering their fragrance in Florida’s balmy air, and Pansies, 
Pinks, Calendulas, and hosts of other garden flowers are putting 
forth their blaze of glory. 
So the Northerner coming to the state finds his garden calendar 
all topsy-turvy. He learns, too, that many of the perennials he 
depends on do not thrive here, but that, on the other hand, 
Roses bloom almost continuously, many annuals grow quite 
like perennials, and there is a wealth of native and tropical 
shrubs, such as he never dreamed of. 
Of these shrubs and vines not much can be said here, though 
they are perhaps the greatest glory of Florida. A good begin¬ 
ner’s knowledge of them may be had through the catalogues of 
the excellent nurseries of the state though at first these seem 
as strange as Latin text-books. Several towns are now mark¬ 
ing the shrubs and trees in their parks which is a great help to 
the ardent gardener. Thus one can fairly quickly identify the 
commoner shrubs, as the ever-blooming Hibiscus growing as 
tree or hedge, the brilliant Poinsettia, the delicate blue Plum¬ 
bago, the bright yellow bells of the Allamanda, the thrifty 
Jasmines, the sprawling purple Bougainvillea, with its new forms 
in entrancing shades of pink and crimson, the lavender Bauhinia, 
the glorious Thunbergia grandiflora climbing on tree and porch; 
and numerous others. Many shrubs less well known would 
become as familiar if planted more commonly. 
But let us return to the more strictly garden materials—those 
plants which one wishes to have growing intimately about 
the house, to plant in borders or tuck away in corners or with 
which to develop a more formal garden, and to provide masses 
of color for indoors as well as outside. 
Roses and Sweet-peas That Flourish 
W ITH Roses blooming many times during the year, a rose 
garden is a special joy. The rich soils bordering Florida’s 
thousands of lakes produce the more thrifty Roses, but they can 
be grown on citrus land as well, so no place need be without them. 
AN EASTER GARDEN PARTY 
Keyed in the light tones of early spring is this festive scene in which frocks vie with flowers. Pinks, Tufted Violas, 
Baby’s-breath, the subdued pink and lavender of Stocks, and white Candytuft spread a gauzy screen of color about the 
sturdy-bodied Biotas which serve as accent points in the garden of Mrs. Waldo Cummer at Jacksonville, Florida 
165 
