I 9 I 3 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
385 
-Poppies are about the only annual that can be planted with species mixed, 
but a colony of single color is very attractive 
The greater the departure from the conventional the more 
objection there is to using double flowers. The objection is 
highly elastic; nine times out of ten it need not bar the showy 
double forms of the China aster, clarkia, zinnia, stock, poppy and 
African marigold. The chances are, however, that where thought 
is given to the matter the peculiar advantages of single forms for 
drifts and other naturalistic plantings will be apparent; single 
China asters and poppies look natural, double ones do not. 
Besides those mentioned some of the best annuals for un¬ 
conventional massing are larkspur, Arctotis grandis, godetia, 
lupine, Drummond’s phlox, schizanthus, candytuft, leptosyne, 
nigella, cornflower, eschscholzia, cosmos, petunia, nemophila, 
Saponaria vaccaria, phacelia, scabiosa, chrysanthemum, spread¬ 
ing lobelia ( L. speciosa), nemesia, Gypsophilci elegcms, nicotiana, 
viscaria, Brachycome iberidifolia, portulaca, coreopsis, alonsoa, 
Dimorphotheca aurantiaca, leptosiphon, petunia, sweet sultan and 
Lavatera rosea. 
Where there is a choice of color, as in the case of the larkspur 
and phlox, make it the general rule to plant only one tone in a 
colony. If the latter is very large and two colors are desired, 
mass each; but divide the space unequally between them and 
make the line of division very irregular. 
One of the saddest mistakes made with annuals is to plant them 
in mixtures. Some flowers, poppies for instance, never shock 
you grievously when all colors are thrown together; but zinnias, 
China asters and Drummond's phlox, among others, do with a 
vengeance. While between these extremes are instances where a 
mixture may be suffered, no 
annual can be seen in perfec¬ 
tion unless the varieties of 
the species are segregated. 
Treated this way some of the 
shades of the zinnia and China 
aster that seem unbearable 
when in close contact with 
others take on genuine beauty. 
The sweet sultan, scabiosa, 
portulaca, nemesia, petunia 
and Drummond’s phlox like¬ 
wise show a vast improvement 
Nemesia should have a place in your garden. It does best when started 
in pots and can be transferred later 
when the colors are separated. 
Beware of “art” and strange 
shades, unless the scheme is 
one that needs just such tones ; 
they are beautiful when right¬ 
ly applied, but not easy to ap¬ 
ply. The large mauve blos¬ 
soms of Martynia elegans are 
Silene self sows rapidly. Cut the flowers or it will crowd out other plants 
difficult picture material; so 
are the gold-veined blossoms 
of salpiglossis. And there are 
certain shades of scabiosa and 
sweet sultan that it were better 
to discard than to use without 
proper thought. 
Before deciding on annuals 
for temporary colonies in the 
hardy garden and borders, get 
a comprehensive idea of the 
height and spread of the 
plant; frequently a seed cata¬ 
logue will give the one in print 
and the other in picture. Thus 
cosmos is very tall and there¬ 
fore for the background, save 
when used near a border edge 
to break a vista — though its 
height may be reduced by the 
somewhat reprehensible prac¬ 
tice of pinning down the plant and letting the side shoots grow 
perpendicularly. Low annuals, like Brachycome iberidifolia and 
godetia, are for the immediate foreground or very open spaces 
between perennials that are farther to the rear. 
In the placing of annuals among perennials a point always to 
be considered is the freedom with which they self-sow and thus 
become a nuisance unless watched very closely. The cornflower, 
larkspur, coreopsis and Silene armeria are as much of a pest as 
weeds if left entirely to their own way of thinking what their 
share in the population of the garden ought to be. These should 
have the blossoms, as they fade, snipped off with scissors—not 
a burdensome task if the planting is not an uncommonly large 
one and the work is done daily. 
Where the planting of a hardy garden or border is delayed to 
afford time for accumulating a stock of perennials in the home 
nursery, annuals may serve two excellent purposes at once. Get 
the ground in readiness for its eventual use and then devote it 
to annuals entirely for one, two or three years—as circumstances 
(Continued on page 410) 
