HOUSE AND GARDEN 
RIL, I91I 
243 
troublous times in prolonging her reign. The peony, on the 
other hand, doesn’t seem to have an enemy in the world. Up 
come its deep red shoots with the spring-flowering bulbs, and 
they bring in June a wealth of bloom that truly is incomparable. 
All the peony asks is to be well fed. Set out the dormant roots in 
the fall, and the only labor to follow is an annual rich mulch of 
manure in Novem¬ 
ber, an application 
or two of liquid 
manure as a stim¬ 
ulant w hen the 
f 1 owering begins, 
and every three 
years or so a divi¬ 
sion of the clumps. 
Here again, I shall 
leave the selection 
with yellow anthers; the well known Dorothy Perkins, a pink 
double; Gardinia. a yellowish white double; Tausendschon, pink 
double; Lady Gay, shell-pink double in clusters, and others. And 
there is another reason for adding a climbing rose to our list; it 
will help to blend the house with its site more satisfactorily than 
shrubs alone or border flowers alone, or the two together. 
For August the 
lily would be my 
choice. It brings to 
the list a new note 
in its stateliness and 
cool purity. And 
Lilium speciosum, 
it seems to me, 
should form the 
backbone of the 
display. The aura- 
of colors and types of flowers to your own 
good judgment. Just a word of caution, 
though: Choose largely from the good old 
tried-and-true sorts; there are magnificent 
new varieties constantly being put forth,but 
many of them are only different from, not 
better than, the thoroughly fixed varieties. 
For July 1 would suggest hollyhocks — a 
stately row of them, preferably nod- 
ing in at the window along the sunny 
side of the house. Do not 
neglect the old-fashioned 
single-flowered varieties — in 
pale pink, yellow and red—in 
favor of the newer double 
sorts, though some of the lat¬ 
ter will add to the interest of 
the showing. Hollyhocks are 
supposed to be biennials— 
that is, the plants from last 
fall’s seed will bloom the sum¬ 
mer after the one that is com¬ 
ing. As a matter of fact 
though, the plants continue to 
bloom usually for several 
years after that, and as the 
seeds sow themselves you will 
never lack for thrifty young 
bloomers, provided only that the soil in which they grow is 
really deep — three feet of loose loam if possible. And with the 
hollyhock, to add to my inconsistency, and at the same time throw 
a sop to the man who refuses to live without some sort of a rose, 
I would brighten July with one of the hardy climbing roses—by 
preference a hybrid of the good old Memorial or Rosa wichur- 
aiana. There are plenty from which to choose — Hiawatha (see 
illustration), a charming combination of ruby-crimson and white 
turn lily, from Japan; blooms at about the 
same time, and is considered by many to be 
the most beautiful of all the family, but 
it is apt to die out after about three years, 
so it is well to plant only a few bulbs of it 
with the speciosum. With the lily will 
come into bloom one of the finest shrubs 
that we have—the hardy hydrangea, and 
it must be added to our list to carry on into 
the fall the burden of bloom. The great 
heads of white turn pink with 
the cool weather and if cut off 
they will hold their color 
after the first severe frosts 
throughout the winter in¬ 
doors. Put a large bunch of 
them in a brass bowl on some 
high shelf or other out-of-the 
way place. Severe pruning in 
the late fall or winter is all 
that the hydrangea needs; the 
bloom is borne on the new 
wood each season. 
The dahlia is the reigning 
star of the September garden, 
and if you have not recently 
seen the amazing variety of 
form and color in which it is 
now obtainable, there is a rare treat in store for you. It alone of 
the list will need annual planting; each fall, late, the bulbs will 
have to be taken up, hung in a dry place indoors to ripen, and set 
out again in May. The best way to choose the varieties you want, 
is to visit a dahlia exhibition in the fall, or note the ones that 
appeal to you in some other garden. 
In October the late varieties of phlox are fully able to keep up 
(Continued on page 290) 
The dahlia is unquestionably the reigning 
flower of September 
Let the phloxes rule October—the late-flowering sorts, with plenty 
of white 
Speciosum lilies occupy the stage in 
August. Plant with them a few auratums 
—Japanese lilies 
Many varieties of the hardy chrysanthe¬ 
mum will brighten the garden to Nov¬ 
ember fifteenth 
