36 
House 
& Garden 
A DOZEN GOOD ANNUALS 
Certain Flowers IJ'hose Colors and Characteristics Qualify Them as 
a Basis for fitarting an Annual Garden 
G. T. HUNTINGTON 
T here was once a landscape architect, a 
recognized authority in the profession, who 
wrote an article in which she set down a list 
of twelve annual flowers and said they were 
the best out of all this great class of plants. 
Now, tliis was a rash thing to do, as events 
I)roved. It seemed to the editor of the maga¬ 
zine which published this article as if all the 
exjierienced gardeners in the world immediately 
wrote in and told him how particularly poor a 
selection these twelve innocent, harmless flow¬ 
ers represented. Not only that, but each of 
them presented a list of the really best dozen 
kinds—and no two lists coincided. 
There you have it. 'Ehere are no twelve—or 
fifteen, or tw^enty—“best” annuals. Local con¬ 
ditions, individual preferences, a thousand and 
one varying circumstances, must be taken into 
consideration. If we are going to set any defi¬ 
nite limit to our list, let us call our selection 
merely “good,” and let it go at 
that. This is what I have de¬ 
cided to do, anyhow, and I 
have tried, too, to face the 
problem in a broad and non¬ 
partisan manner. 
The flowers which follow 
are chosen with the assumption 
that they are to lie grown under 
average normal conditions. 
Briefly, these consist of mod¬ 
erately rich, w-ell-drained soil; 
plenty of sunlight and fresh 
air circulation; and freedom 
from the encroaching roots of 
trees and shrubs. Granted 
these, here is a basic list on 
which you can start an annual 
garden. 
Cosmos. 'Lhe photograph in 
the center of this page gives a 
better idea of this splendid 
flower than I could in many 
jiaragraphs of text. Its colors 
are red, {link and white—great 
saucer-sha{)ed blossoms borne 
4 ft. to 6 ft. high above a mass 
of feathery foliage. For mass 
The annual poppies are splendid 
flowers where vividness and pro¬ 
fusion of color are desired 
effects far into the autumn, after most of the 
other flow'ers have succumbed to the chill 
nights, it is unexcelled. 
Asters. Not the bushy, perennial kinds with 
the {lurjile and gold flow'ers, but the Giant 
Comet, King, Royal and Imperial sorts. They 
reach a height of 1 ft. to 3 ft., and furnish 
abundant Idoom in a wdde variety of colors 
during late summer and autunm. These asters 
are good not only for garden effects, liut also 
for cutting. 
Alyssum. Free-flowering and quick-grow¬ 
ing, a s{ilendid bedding and edging plant 
wdiich begins to bloom early in the spring and 
continues throughout the season. The flowers 
are white, {irofuse and low' growing; together 
with the foliage, they form a thick mat a few 
inches thick. 
Snapdragons. Good for border planting and 
as cut flowers. Long blooming season and ex¬ 
quisite flowers in {iractically 
^ every color excejit blue. They 
grow from 1 ft. to 3 ft. high 
and if given wdnter protection 
will bloom a second season. 
Candytuft. One can hardly 
imagine an annual garden 
without this charming hardy 
flower. For edgings and bed¬ 
ding effects it is esjjecially good, 
ancl it is well adapted to cut¬ 
ting. The blossoms are wdnte, 
pink or red, borne 1 ft. to 2 ft. 
high in large heads or s{)ikes. 
Forget-Me-Not. No, one is 
not likely to—forget it, I mean. 
Of all garden flow'ers, this 
comes as close as any to being 
a tradition. There is no need 
of describing it here—it’s too 
well known. 
Annual Larkspur. Not to 
be confused with the {perennial 
sort. It comes in all colors ex- 
ce{Dt yellow, and is good for 
garden masses as wtII as cut¬ 
ting. Grows 2 ft. to 3 ft. high 
{Continued on page 92) 
Cosmos is the fall flower par excellence, if we overlook the 
chrysanthemums. Its large, saucer-shaped flowers have con¬ 
siderable range of color, and the whole plant is delightfully 
delicate in appearance 
Petunias may he old-fash¬ 
ioned, but their popularity 
is unfailing. It is based 
largely on their brilliancy 
and the ease with which 
they can be grown 
Salpiglossis, or Velvet Flow- | 
er, comes in practically all | 
colors and grows from 1 ft. | 
to 2 ft. high. It is admir- | 
able for both garden effects | 
and cutting 
