52 
House & Garden 
helmets which have gained for it the folk-names 
of monkshood and helmet flower. The first 
variety to bloom—“Spark’s variety”—has the 
darkest flowers of all; it blooms in June, and so 
need not be considered, unless for its color and 
the additional beauty it will contribute to an al¬ 
ready lovely display at that time. Aconitum na- 
pellus, flowering in August and September, is 
essential, as well as the dwarf Aconitum Fischeri, 
only 18" high as contrasted with the average 4'. 
Its flowers, produced in September and October, 
are pale blue and very large. 
For the last blue perennials in the garden, 
we may have to resort to the Japanese gentian 
before mentioned, Gentiana scabra. This be¬ 
gins to blossom in October and continues through 
a portion of November. Nothing throughout the 
summer has a bluer blue. 
Annuals and Biennials 
Thus you see it is possible to have a blue garden 
straight through the season without bringing in 
a single annual, though there are many annuals 
that we cannot do without. Take for example 
ageratum, which has the loveliest and clearest of 
colors and presents a sheet of bloom all through 
the summer. As an edging to a blue border there 
is nothing finer. “Little Blue Star” is probably 
the best for this purpose, if a low edging is de¬ 
sired ; this variety grows to a height of 4" or 5". 
If something higher is wanted, I should select 
“Imperial dwarf blue” which reaches 8", or 
“Princess Pauline,” of the same height, with a 
white center to its flowers, which contrasts sharp¬ 
ly and delightfully with their bright color. 
Then there are the Canterbury bells, really bi¬ 
ennials, not annuals. Two distinct and lovely 
shades of blue are to be had in these, Campanula 
medium, dark blue and light blue. The annual 
lupines also come in two shades, a dark and a 
light, while for a delicate mass effect at the base 
of tall growing things, there is the blue-flowered 
flax— -Linum pcrenne. The latter grows to 18", 
and is covered all summer with bright blue, open 
flowers of genuine worth. 
Many blue flowering plants of great merit are 
of necessity omitted here; but I am certain that 
a selection which comprises those mentioned will 
leave very little to be desired in the way of either 
individual flowers or garden effect. Such a selec¬ 
tion will eliminate the violet shades that are al¬ 
ways lurking around in company with blue 
flowers, whether they are annual or perennial. 
The Garden’s Site 
If blue is chosen as the color scheme of an 
entire garden, let the location of that garden be on 
the cool side of the dwelling, that is, to the east or 
the north. This is contrary to the time-honored 
practice of “warming up” the cool sides and 
“toning down” the warm, I know; but that prac¬ 
tice resulted in just, ordinary effects. A better 
scheme is always to intensify, taking the key from 
what Nature provides. If your house stands with 
Tut Japanese bell-flowers should not be 
omitted, whether you use them as speci¬ 
men plants or in masses 
Delphinium belladonna heads the list. 
Preceded by the alkanets. it ensures ten 
weeks of blue in the garden 
in exposure open to the heat of the day, seize upon 
that very quality and emphasize it. Emphasize it 
in the flowers which you use on that hot, sunny 
side; and emphasize it by making the opposite and 
shady side all that is dark and cool and shadowy. 
Then you will actually have made the most of 
your opportunities. | 
To my mind quite the most charming garden in 
this country belongs to an artist famous as a col¬ 
orist. Very daringly he has used on the hottest 
side of his house flowers that in flaming hues rival 
the sun’s rays. On the opposite side, where the blue 
sea comes up almost to his doors and the white 
clouds float overhead, are flowers of blue and 
white only. Of course, the blue and shady side 
is the living side; and there comes a wonderful 
sense of refreshment as one passes in from the 
gold and scarlet light which pulses on walls and 
fountain and flowers at the entrance, to the dim¬ 
ness of the interior, and then on the opposite side 
to the airiness of the terrace. 
Blue flowers, then, mean a garden of refresh¬ 
ment, preferably on the shady side of the place. 
By “shady” I mean shadowed during the hotter 
part of the day, at least. If blue is chosen to the 
exclusion of other colors, mass the low-growing 
sorts by lots of not less than twenty-five or fifty, 
and intersperse these “fields” with clumps and 
groups of the tall, dominating sort—the lark¬ 
spurs and the aconites. Keep these in a few 
groups, using as many in a group as your space 
will allow. Plants of this character, carrying 
strong vertical lines, create a restlessness if scat¬ 
tered. Bunch them up, and place the bunches 
with a nice eye to their effect on the composition, 
if you wish a restful and dignified whole. 
Starting from Seed 
Most of the things that I have mentioned may 
be grown from seed, and I have personally found 
this a much more satisfactory—and incidentally 
more economical—way of obtaining plants. Per¬ 
ennials, be they never so carefully packed and 
shipped, are bound to get a bad setback, for they 
are all succulent and tender of stem, and being 
out of the ground for any time at all is bad for 
them. My advice is to raise them yourself when 
you can. Seed planted indoors in July, or out¬ 
doors in a sheltered seed bed, if you prefer, will 
make sturdy little plants for transplanting to their 
allotted places in September. 
Put them into their permanent positions then, 
mulch them when winter comes, and next spring 
your garden will be ready to blossom famously. 
In the case of aconite, however, it is doubtful 
if seed of any but Aconitum napellus may be pur¬ 
chased. Likewise it seems probable that only 
the “Dropmore” variety of alkanet may be ob¬ 
tained in seed from supply houses. 
Seed of all the columbines is common and few 
things, by the way, are easier to grow from seed 
than these. They may be sown where they are 
wanted, if your space is ready right now, and 
simply thinned out to stand 8" apart. Being per¬ 
fectly hardy, they will actually need no winter 
protection, though it is always a wise precaution. 
Its purpose is as much to keep them cold as 
warm—for it is an equalizer rather than a warm 
blanket, taking the place of the snow blanket 
which has ceased to afford protection in many 
parts of the country. 
Larkspurs are very easily raised from seed, and 
may be treated in practically the same way as the 
columbines in the matter of transplanting and 
winter cover. Jacob’s ladder must be bought in 
the plant, both varieties named. So must Salvia 
uliginosa and Salvia asurea, and the veronicas as 
well unless you wish to get a mixture of Veronica 
spicata and weed out everything but the blue 
flowers, after it has started to bloom. It is not 
offered in the pure colors. Veronica longifolia 
subsessilis is not to be had except in the plants; 
neither is Veronica maritima. 
All varieties of platycodon are available, but 
gentians, of course, are not. The gentian, indeed, 
is one of the most elusive plants to grow—or to 
propagate—and it is doubtful if many amateurs 
have ever succeeded with it. However, the closed 
variety recommended here is not difficult to grow, 
once it is established. It is not especially diffi¬ 
cult to establish, if the soil wherein it is planted 
is rich in humus and deep and cool and spongy. 
A sandy, rather than a heavy soil is best; and 
gentians dislike lime. If the garden has one part 
wetter than another, select this for them ; but if 
the soil is heavy, remove enough to give them 
a bedding that is more to their taste,—that is, 
sandy and spongy. Plenty of humus will accomp¬ 
lish this result. 
Ageratum is sown where it is to grow, or 
started in the house in March and transplanted 
to its place in May. The latter method is more 
usual because it brings it into bloom earlier than 
would be possible if it were started outdoors. 
Canterbury Bells 
Canterbury bells must be grown through a sum¬ 
mer to the next summer, when they will bloom. 
The usual time for planting the seed is in the 
spring; but seed started now in seed beds ought 
(o produce plants large enough to transplant in 
September or October to their garden positions. 
Mulch them, after transplanting, with some straw 
or similar covering as soon as the ground begins 
to freeze, and in the spring dig some bonemeal 
in around them. Stake them as soon as they start 
into growth, so that they may grow erect and stay 
erect. If you wish them for every summer, you 
must start new seedlings just about the time the 
old plants get nicely above ground in the spring. 
These new seedlings will be the plants which will 
take the places of the old ones in the fall, and 
take their turn at blossoming the next summer— 
and so on. Thus it is necessary always to have 
a nursery plot for enough of these plants to fill 
the spaces which will be left vacant at the end of 
each summer. They are well worth it, if one has 
the space to devote to them. 
Veitch hybrids are excellent 
