Six Months of Flowers from Six Plants 
A GARDEN THAT WILL BE IN BLOOM FROM SPRING TO 
FROST BY THE JUDICIOUS USE OF SIX HARDY VARIETIES 
—A DESIRABLE GARDEN FOR THE TEMPORARY RESIDENT 
BY Grace Tabor 
Photographs by Nelson R. Graves and others 
A 
A bush form of cle¬ 
matis (Davidiana) 
GARDEN need be 
neither large nor 
elaborate in order to pro¬ 
duce bloom from the time 
of the last frost of spring well on past 
the time of the first frosts of autumn. 
Six plants will do it — and even the 
smallest garden space affords room for 
this small number. Rightly selected, 
these will begin the floral procession in 
April and continue it into November — 
which, being eight months instead of 
six, is good measure indeed, pressed 
down and running over. And every 
one of the six is hardy, requiring only 
to be planted and let grow. 
In the order of their advance they are as follows: April, 
Adonis Anmrensis; May, Iris Germanica; June, Paeonia officina¬ 
lis; July, Phlox paniculata ; August, Clematis Davidiana; Septem¬ 
ber, hardy chrysanthemum. Of course none is confined to the 
month to which it is accredited, the bloom carrying over in 
almost every case to the month following, and sometimes longer. 
The earliest of all is the pretty “bird's eye" — the perennial 
cousin of the annual “pheasant's eye" — of which the finest va¬ 
riety is Adonis Aniurensis, a native of southeastern Siberia. 
Coming from a cold and less kindl}^ clime, this blooms very early 
in the latitude of the Middle States, oi)ening its first broad yellow' 
flow'ers in April, and continuing to blossom on into June some¬ 
times. The foliage of all the members of this family is finely cut, 
and masses of the plants are lovely even out of bloom, because 
of its decorative effect. Its height averages one foot. Use it as 
an edging before tall growing plants or in masses or clumps, if 
more than a solitary plant is possible. Give it either full sun or 
partial shade, in any good soil. It has a preference for that 
which is light and moist and it fancies rocky places, but these are 
not essential conditions for its satisfactory growth. Plants of 
this are a much surer way of obtaining it than propagation from 
seed. Indeed, it is doubtful if seed can be obtained. Fall planting 
is, of course, the best. 
Following the yellow of Adonis in April comes the deep rich 
blue of the old fashioned “flag’’ in May — if a blue variety is 
chosen. This blue flag of old gardens and dooryards is too famil¬ 
iar to need more than a mention; usually it is the true Iris 
Germanica. Hybrids of w'onderful beauty are now offered, how¬ 
ever. so that some other color may be selected if one chooses. 
These are catalogued by dealers under names of their own be¬ 
stowing, and choice must usually be governed by the description. 
Souvenir is yellow with brown-veined falls, Florenfina alba is pure 
white, Shakespeare is yellow with carmine falls, and Lohengrin, 
a new' introduction, is a giant with pinkish flow'ers said to be five 
inches across. 
Iris will grow practically anywhere where the sun shines. 
Moisture is desirable, but not essential, as some suppose. Plant 
the roots or rhizomes flat in the ground in the autumn — that is, 
in September or early October — cover them one-half their diam¬ 
eter, and mulch the ground with two inches of leaves as soon 
as it freezes, for the first winter. Remove this mulch early in 
the spring: otherwise it will encourage premature growth of 
leaf which late frosts will nip. 
June brings the fragrant and dear old “piney” of old gardens — 
with as many kinds of flowers as one may choose to have varie¬ 
ties of the plant. There are over a thousand named hybrids of 
the double flowered form at the present time, beside the many 
less desirable single varieties. Paeonia officinalis is the earliest 
blooming kind, its flowers opening in late May usually and con¬ 
tinuing into June. Of this there are white, pink and dark crimson 
varieties, according to taste. Choose always double flowered 
forms, as the blossoms of these last much longer than the single, 
both on the plant and cut. 
Peonies will grow' almost anywhere, but they grow so much 
With the coming of June the peonies open. One of the earliest bloom¬ 
ing and most handsome varieties is officinalis 
Why are the hardy chrysanthemums not more popular? One can get 
excellent results from pot-grown plants set out in May 
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