House and Garden 
BOUNCING BET 
If there is a flower richer and deeper in color than 
the African Marigold, I do not know what it is. 
“Velvet” marigolds they were called in the old 
time, because of the peculiar richness of their petal- 
texture. This plant is wonderfully decorative in 
the garden, especially when the sun shines on it, 
bringing out the fire that seems to smoulder under 
the surface of intense brown, overlaid with maroon 
that has a hint of scarlet in it. Orange would he a 
more fitting name for the color of this flower, I pre¬ 
sume, and yet it is quite unlike any other orange I 
have ever seen, so deep and intense is its tone. A 
great mass of this marigold, entirely by itself, will 
make a striking feature on any lawn. 
Poppies are delightful flowers, especially the slow- 
growing sorts like the Shirley and Iceland varieties. 
Their crimson, and scarlet, and white, and pale-rose 
petals have the sparkle and shimmer of silk in them. 
If they only lasted longer, after cutting, we would 
enjoy them more, but we ought to be thankful for 
the pleasure we get from them, even if short-lived, 
for no other flower has quite the charm that clings 
to them. A sleepy, drowsy charm, perhaps, but one 
that all of us feel the spell of, and would not resist 
if we could. I like, too, the tall, fluffy-flowered 
kinds, large as peonies, and seemingly so heavy that 
they cannot hold their heads erect until their fringed 
petals break apart, after which they suddenly take 
on an airy lightness that is the opposite, in every 
respect, of the hud from which the blossom grew. 
Every garden ought to have its Peonies. For 
more reasons than one: They are beautiful flowers. 
They are so hardy that, after becoming well estab¬ 
lished, they require next to no care. Give them a 
liberal manuring each season and they will ask for 
nothing more from you. And they will increase in 
size from year to year until each root becomes a 
clump several feet across, and bears a hundred or 
more flowers in a season. I know of plants fifty 
years old that seem to be only in their prime. The 
place for this royal flower is in the border, where it 
will never he disturbed. It resents any interference 
with its roots, often refusing to bloom for a season or 
two thereafter. It is one of the showiest of all 
spring-flowering plants, and for cutting it is invalu¬ 
able. I wish I could prevail on every flower-lover 
who has no peonies in his collection to plant at least 
half a dozen kinds next spring. So much pleasure 
would he get from them, after the first season, that 
he would keep on planting them until he became 
a peony crank, I feel quite sure. 
Scabiosa—the “ mourning-bride ” of the old- 
fashioned garden—is not often seen now-a-days, 
but it is more satisfactory, in nearly all respects, 
than nine-tenths of the new flowers sent out by the 
florists with a great display of adjectives. It is of a 
rare color—a purple so rich and deep in tone that 
it seems almost black. There is a blue variety that 
is very lovely, but rather difficult to get seed of. 
The scabiosa is excellent for cutting because of its 
long stalks. When grown for garden-decoration it 
should be massed, as single specimens are not satis¬ 
factory. 
Ten Week Stock—our grandmothers knew the 
plant as “gillyflower”—is one of the very best of all 
late-flowering annuals. It is almost always in full 
bloom when cold weather comes. Its long spikes of 
fragrant flowers are very charming in form and 
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