When the hardy perennials show poverty of blossoms the annuals supplement their bloom with a rich profusion. 
following the hardy primroses on the borders of the garden path 
Sweet alyssum is good in 
Annuals, the Garden Reinforcements 
TESTED VARIETIES THAT SUPPORT THE PERENNIALS IN MAINTAINING BLOOMS 
FROM SPRING TILL FALL-SUGGESTIONS FOR COLOR SCHEMES AND ARRANGEMENT 
B V A D E L I N E 1' HAVER T H O IM S O N 
Photographs by the author 
T he garden fashioned entirely of perennials has limitations. 
To be truly satisfying, a blossom plot must yield an un¬ 
broken succession of harmonious color effects, from early spring 
until frost. Where perennials are used exclusively, accomplish¬ 
ing such a result is almost 
impossible, at least, in the 
small garden — and most of 
our gardens are small. It is 
not that the flowering scope of 
the hardy plant is limited, for 
this class boasts an endless 
variety with such widely dif¬ 
fering flowering periods that 
one may easily have hardy 
plants in flower throughout 
the spring and fall. The diffi¬ 
culty lies alone in the fact that 
the blossoming season of the 
average perennial seldom ex¬ 
ceeds three weeks, and num¬ 
bers of the choicest varieties 
remain in flower but a few 
days, with the inevitable re¬ 
sult that bare, uninteresting patches, devoid of blossoming color, 
are everywhere in evidence. To be sure, one may work out an 
unbroken flowering succession with hardy plants, but the rich 
profusion of blossoming color, constituting the garden beautiful, 
may be only partially acquired. 
The simple adjustment of the matter is to use certain annuals 
in combination with the most unruly of the perennials. Such, at 
least, has been my own experience. l\Iy garden luxuriates now 
in glowing color at all times during the growing season, whereas, 
when hardy plants were used exclusively, lapses of only a half¬ 
hearted display were recurring frequently. The following an¬ 
nuals not only aid greatly in 
perfecting an unbroken suc¬ 
cession of bloom in the hardy 
garden, but they will fill every 
nook and cranny within it 
with beauty. 
A treasure to succeed the 
early flowering, hardy, edg¬ 
ing plants, primroses, hepat- 
icas, forget-me-not, etc., is 
the sweet alyssum. If seeds 
of this plant are scattered 
thickly among the mentioned 
perennials, dense heads of 
snow-white bloom will take 
the place of the hardy flowers 
as their usefulness ceases. 
The seeds should be sown 
early in March to accomplish 
a perfect succession. Garden paths bordered with alyssum are 
exceedingly effective. A constant sheet of bloom is yielded by 
this annual until frost appears. 
June is the banner month among the perennials, and little or 
no help is actually needed to enhance the display. Delphiniums, 
iris, oriental poppies, foxgloves, spice pinks, columbines. Ma¬ 
donna lilies, Shasta daisies, pyrethrums, sweet-williams, garden 
White asters and snapdragon may be crowded in almost anywhere 
among the perennials 
(i8) 
