Garden Suggestions 
Uueries 
The Flower 
en 
CONDUCTED BY GRACE TABOR 
Author of The Landscape Gardening Book, The Garden 
Primer, Old-Fashioned Gardening, etc. 
M AY is the month of color, of tremu¬ 
lous softness, of delicate touches, of 
the year’s adolescence. Obviously it is the 
expression of one of Nature’s moods that 
is difficult to catch; and in all the year 
there is none rarer or lovelier. 
It is in the garden’s color scheme, I 
think, that we must undertake to help such 
expression. Of course, you will guess at 
once that the softest colors are the ones I 
am about to suggest — the pale lavenders 
and mauves, the faint, blush pinks, the sil¬ 
very blues and the delicate yellows to com¬ 
bine with the tenderest, softest green of 
the year. Never a bright 
shade of anything should 
be allowed to creep in 
anywhere during the 
month of May, lovely 
though such a shade may 
be in itself. The time for 
such as these is not yet; 
they must wait. 
in all the lovely pale shades which they 
show. 
Of these Paeonia officinalis, fore pleno 
alba and P. officinalis, fore pleno rosea 
should be chosen; and in addition to these, 
Paeonia Moutan in the pale lavender- 
white and, if there is space for them, the 
white with rosy stripes, blush and “satiny- 
rose” of the catalogues. I am not giving 
the trade names of the latter, for the rea¬ 
son that practically every dealer has his 
own strains, and it is much better to select 
by color. The other method often turns 
out unsatisfactory and garish results. 
to edgings, and seldom are used for any¬ 
thing else; but a large number of them, 
presenting a sheet of bloom, is sufficient 
warrant for planting them in masses. 
Space and circumstance, of course, will de¬ 
termine whether or no they may be planted 
in this manner. Barrenwort is not grown 
as much as it ought to be, for it is a par¬ 
ticularly interesting and delightful plant. 
The foliage of most varieties colors beau¬ 
tifully in autumn, and persists. These 
should not, therefore, be hidden behind 
other growth, but rather should be prom¬ 
inently placed, even though their bloom is 
over early in the summer. 
Irises and their Selec¬ 
tion 
irises 
whole gar- 
Appropriate Flowers 
for May 
N O separate place needs 
be set apart for the 
realization of this idea; 
the entire garden may be 
treated to it, by judicious 
planting, so that over it 
all there shall rest, during 
the month, a delicacy and 
misty, shadowy refine¬ 
ment of color. It is sim¬ 
ply a matter of putting 
clumps and masses of the 
plants which are intro¬ 
duced to produce this ef¬ 
fect, where their green 
will later furnish back¬ 
ground or suitable foil for 
the subsequent bloom of other things. 
A selection for the May garden, or the 
May mood of the garden, should contain 
masses, or at least one great mass, of the 
windflower, Anemone nemorosa probably 
being the most satisfactory choice; Eng¬ 
lish daisies— Beilis perennis —in the pink 
form known as “Longfellow” ; Epimedium 
sulphureum, which is the pale yellow bar¬ 
renwort ; the German iris, Iris Germanica, 
in varieties selected for their pallor and 
delicacy; Mertensia pulmonarioides, or 
Virginia cowslip, pale blue and nodding; 
forget-me-not— Myosotis palnstris; Phlox 
subulata or moss pink in the opalescent 
shades of pinkish-white and purplish- 
white which almost no one ever seems to 
grow; and finally, early-flowering peonies 
The German irises may form a whole garden in themselves when selected with 
care and grouped with an eye to color effects 
T HE German 
form a 
den in themselves, when 
selected and grouped with 
care. Almost any color 
that one may wish to have 
is to be found among 
them. “Cherion” is a 
lovely mauve and violet; 
“Gazelle” is white, with 
mauve edging; “M m e . 
Chereau” is white similar¬ 
ly edged with light blue. 
Then there is the orris 
root iris, Iris Florentine, 
which is as delicately 
lovely in white, with opal¬ 
escent shadows overlay¬ 
ing it, as any of the most 
boasted hybrids. A new 
variety lately offered is a 
hybrid between the very 
early - flowering, low 
growing Iris 
The Wood Anemone and Daisy 
T HE wood anemone in the typical form 
is not more than six to eight inches 
high, with pale, purplish-white flowers, but 
there is a blue-flowered variety, Robinson- 
iana, that reaches a foot in height. All 
wood anemones do well in whole or part 
shade, but this one is particularly recom¬ 
mended for shade. A pure white form is 
Anemone nemorosa alba; and another spe¬ 
cies, Anemone sylvestris, which grows to 
be eighteen inches in height, is very lovely, 
with large white flowers that are fragrant. 
Either or all of these should be massed in 
profusion, fifty plants at least not being 
too many for a group. 
English daisies are particularly suited 
pumila and 
Iris Germanica; and this 
is said to be especially good, though this 
I cannot vouch for as I have not yet seen 
the plants. A creamy yellow and a “citron 
with pearl-colored center” are named, as 
well as white and a rosy lavender, all 
sounding as if they were especially suited 
for such a scheme as the one in hand. 
The Cowslip, and Forget-me-not 
T HE Virginian cowslip and the forget- 
me-nots are both blue-flowering, the 
former being an upright growth, not espe¬ 
cially conspicuous, yet very charming, 
while the latter is prostrate or nearly so, 
and blossoms practically through the entire 
summer. Partial shade suits this better 
than full sun, and it rather likes dampness. 
(398) 
