HOUSE AND GARDEN 
April, 
1912 
ful) and two deep rose. These were 
planted in the shady portion of my border 
with foxgloves for June blooming, aconite 
for fall, and a scattering of columbines 
for spring in the foreground. 
Of the columbines or aquilegias, there 
is a bewildering number of good varieties, 
but the beginner will do well to confine 
himself to the large flowered white, nivea 
grandiflora, a quick and strong grower; 
Rose Queen, and the blue and white 
Rocky Mountain columbine, Aquilegia 
caenilea. The caenilea hybrids and Skin- 
neri, a large flowered yellow, with red 
spurs, are also good. 
A pretty, easily raised perennial is the 
blue flax, Linmn pcrenne. This begins 
blooming in June, when it is a sheet of 
delicate blue flowers, and continues to 
bloom more or less freely until fall. 
Seeds of Polyanthus or bunch prim¬ 
roses may be sown in January for spring 
and early summer flowering. The prim¬ 
roses are charming dwarf plants, good for 
edging beds or for using as undergrowth. 
I have used them effectively to carpet a 
bed of Japan iris. Like the irises, they 
enjoy a good deal of water during their 
period of flowering. 
A perennial that everybody with a bit 
of shade wants is the forget-me-not. 
Myosotis pahistris semperflorens will 
bloom in the spring from January sowing. 
So also will all varieties of dianthus and 
the everblooming sweet-william, which 
flourishes under the somewhat formidable 
name of Dianthus latifolius atrococcineus 
FI. PI., a crimson-scarlet double pink 
borne in graceful sprays, excellent for 
cutting. June pinks, sown early, make 
large tufts of blue-green foliage and will 
often bloom a little the first summer, but 
it is in the second summer that the patient 
gardener has his reward in the sheet of 
pink, white and rosy-crimson, fragrant 
flowers. 
A handsome perennial for late summer 
and autumn flowering is the gaillardia 
(Kelway’s hybrids), very gorgeous with 
its rings of red, crimson and orange. The 
upper root of gaillardia frequently winter- 
kills, but the lower root almost invariably 
sends up from six to a dozen shoots, so 
that, once introduced, the gaillardia may 
safely be reckoned a permanent inhabitant 
of the garden. 
Perennial phlox seed germinates read¬ 
ily provided—and the provision is all-im¬ 
portant—it be sown immediately upon 
ripening. Therefore do not buy perennial 
phlox seed in the spring. In September 
the seed ripens, and in September or Oc¬ 
tober, accordingly, the seed should be pur¬ 
chased and sown. The seedlings grow 
rapidly and bloom during their first sum¬ 
mer. 
A perennial much advertised of late is 
the Dropmore anchusa. It is undeniably 
beautiful in flower and the seeds germi¬ 
nate very readily. I have not, however, 
found it very hardy. To me a more sat¬ 
isfactory and really more beautiful variety 
is the often overlooked, certainly seldom 
mentioned dwarf Anchusa barrelieri with 
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