HOUSE AND GARDEN 
April, 
1912 
heliotrope and many other hardy favorites dance tliroughout 
the garden in a mad whirl of delight. Their glory is brief, how¬ 
ever, and they must soon be cut back to the ground. The intro¬ 
duction to tlieir midst of the old fashioned bachelor button — the 
blue variety among the delphiniums and the white with the 
garden heliotrope and orien¬ 
tal poppies — will not only 
prove pleasing in the color 
scheme, but when the peren¬ 
nials are spent, the annuals 
will flourish on and fill the 
bare places. The bachelor 
button, too, gives excellent 
service planted with German 
iris. Seeds sown in the early 
fall will mature plants strong 
enough to winter safely and 
be in readiness to break into 
lusty bloom at the close of the 
iris season. Grasshoppers, 
too, often disfigure the leaves of the iris; the planting of the 
bachelor button, I find, hides such unsightliness as well as con¬ 
tinues the flower display. Seeds sown in early March (in the 
open) will mature blossoms for combination with delphiniums 
and heliotrope the 
last of June. 
Seed pods must 
be kept picked if 
a succession of 
flowers continues 
until frost. 
To continue the 
red color scheme 
begun by the 
flaming lobelia, 
monarda didyma, 
lychnis, tiger lily 
and oriental pop¬ 
py, the giant red 
zinnias and scar¬ 
let salvia will give 
splendid satisfac¬ 
tion. It is better, 
however, to raise 
these annuals in a 
hot bed, or if this 
is not at one’s dis¬ 
posal, in flats 
seeded early in 
February. The 
seedlings should 
be transplanted to 
flower pots out in 
the open when the 
weather becomes 
settled, and then 
held in reserve 
until the perenni¬ 
als to be sup¬ 
planted have fin¬ 
ished blooming. 
The rank growth 
of the perennials 
will hamper the 
success of the 
seedlings if their 
seed is planted in 
the o]ien garden. Just here I may say that I find the paper flower 
pots (retailing for about sixty cents a hundred) far more satis¬ 
factory than the earthen ones, for the patent fastening at the side 
enables one to slip out the plant and earth, without disturbing 
the roots, and thus avoids shock and possible harm. 
'I'he pink variety of the an¬ 
nual larkspur is useful with 
pyrethrum, mullein pink, and 
the PJiysostegia. Through heat 
and drought this plant may 
be depended on to bring forth 
its delicate blossoms without 
stint, and, indeed, until cut 
down by very severe frosts. 
The blue variety also I use 
among the blue platycodon 
and delphiniums in connection 
with the bachelor buttons. 
Pink and white Shirley pop¬ 
pies, though possessing a 
short flowering period, are useful plants to follow in the train of 
the Canterbury bells, Shasta daisies, and English and Spanish 
iris. These annuals are charming, too. among the perennial phlox, 
brightening such plantings during July before the phlox comes 
The pure white nicotiana is valuable to fill all bare places in the garden 
flower 
and 
way 
August to the 
The annual larkspur, especially the pink variety, is well used to succeed pyrethrum and physostegia, 
and may be depended upon to survive unfavorable weather conditions 
Bachelor’s buttons look well among the delphiniums and iris, and continue the bloom when these 
have ceased to flower 
into 
then 
in 
rich harvest of 
the phlox. To 
follow the flower¬ 
ing succession of 
the phlox, I fill in 
from the “reserve 
force” quantities 
of zinnias —of the 
delicate light pink 
shades — not the 
magentas. This 
planting is always 
wonderfully sat¬ 
isfactory, for the 
zinnia is a prolific 
bloomer and the 
light pink varie¬ 
ties are very beau¬ 
tiful. 
The double va- 
riety of the 
French marigolds, 
filled in among 
Japanese iris, af¬ 
ter their flower¬ 
ing season is over, 
brings a new 
beauty into the 
garden that is 
strikingly e fif e c - 
tive the rest of 
the season. The 
prolific spear-like 
foliage of the iris 
seems not only to 
enhance the 
beauty of the an¬ 
nual, but subdues 
( Continued 0 n 
page 52) 
