HOUSE AND GARDEN 
May, 1911 
Merry Widow, a brilliant scarlet single, with 
the very desirable velvety texture of petals 
of each in a small garden. My policy has 
been to plant two good roots of each of the 
chosen varieties, so as to be fairly sure of 
success. 
The white flowers which I have found 
satisfactory are the following: Yvonne 
Cayeux, a pure ivory white Cactus dahlia 
with narrow evenly curled petals; Gloria de 
Lyon, a white Show dahlia; Madam Heine 
Furtado, a beautifully formed flower, 
one of the best Show dahlias in exis¬ 
tence ; and Schwan, probably the most 
perfect white Cactus. This flower 
has long rigid stalks. 
Some of the good red varieties are: 
Wildfire, one of the best Single 
dahlias known—the color is vivid, and 
it is a most prolific bloomer, forming a 
cloud of brilliant red blossoms in a 
few days after cutting; Alfred Vacey, 
a reddish amber tinged with pink; 
Ami Bethier, a light carmine Cactus; 
Columbia, a curious Cactus which is 
vermillion with petals tipped and 
striped with white; F. H. Chapman, 
orange red; William Agnew, a very 
beautiful and prolific red; G. W. 
Childs, a deep garnet with rich velvety 
appearance, with long twisted petals; 
Standard Bearer, a rich light carmine; 
Danish cross, a pretty and effective 
Single dahlia of light scarlet color 
striped with white. 
The flowers of yellow tone which I 
found satisfactory are: Dainty, a 
lemon yellow Cactus shaded with rose 
pink ; Clifford W. Bruton, a very beau¬ 
tiful lemon yellow; Goliath, a very 
satisfactory Cactus shaded yellow and 
pink; H. J. Jones, light yellow; Mrs. 
Hobart, pale orange and yellow beau¬ 
tifully blended; William Marshall, 
Another of the Cactus Hybrid or Decora¬ 
tive type. Few cultivated plants have 
such a wide range of colors 
A dahlia cut back ready for storing— 
showing the typical root formation 
A new seedling dahlia, the Queen Queen. Can you 
get such a variety in form and color in any other 
fall flower? 
Twentieth Century, a single white, having 
unusually broad petals 
orange and yellow; Gold Medal, a very 
handsome Fancy dahlia of lemon yellow 
striped with crimson. 
A very fine Decorative dahlia is Eloise, of 
bluish pink shaded to deep red and magenta. 
A hybrid of this is Uncertainty, which well 
deserves its name. I have had one plant 
produce a pure white blossom, another rose 
pink and another a deep magenta. 
Some of the most beautiful flowers 
for cutting are: Mrs. Roosevelt, a 
large blossom of pink and white; W. 
W. Rawson, of similar color ; Madame 
Van den Dael, a delicate silvery pink 
fading to creamy white in the center; 
and Madame Jeanne Charmet, one of 
the best decorative dahlias produced. 
It is a soft light pink with large 
flowers borne on long graceful stems. 
Probably the most showy flower is 
the Souvenir de Gustave Duzon, which 
often has blossoms from six to eight 
inches across, the color being similar 
to that of the Oriental poppy, a very 
deep red. The stems are long and very 
strong. A curiosity worth growing is 
Viridi Flora, a perfect green flower, 
and another is Belle of Springfield, the 
blossoms of which are little pompons 
of rose and red—one of the smallest 
known dahlias. 
I have found that a good method of 
arranging cut dahlias where the blos¬ 
soms are large is to put them in hya¬ 
cinth glasses, one blossom in each 
glass, and arrange them in a circle in 
the center of the table. A more gor¬ 
geous centerpiece could not be im¬ 
agined, provided that harmonious col¬ 
ors are selected. 
Finally, I can only say to those who 
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