90 
House & Garde) j 
.1 field, planting of daffodils finds them quite at home close up to 
the base of a tree. When the flowers are gone, the grass hides 
their straggly foliage 
The Adaptable Daffodil 
(Continued from page 54) 
seen the choice white daffodil, “Madam 
De Graff,” in a thinly planted cluster, 
showing against a gray boulder in a wall 
where arabis is tucked into the crevices, 
and again, soft yellow ones in longish 
drifts just above a dry laid wall which 
is almost hidden under a cover of lilac 
creeping phlox. 
A Border 
I have planted daffodils in a small 
border not more than 35' long. Sev¬ 
enty-five “Victoria” with broad, creamy 
petals, were planted in an easy, swing¬ 
ing line between clumps of “Emperor” 
daffodils that make accents at either 
end. Such combinations of daffodil 
varieties, simple as these are, are espe¬ 
cially fascinating for the garden, for 
then the contrast of their differences is 
easily noted. Clumps of large trumpets 
with short, thick drifts of lesser crowned 
ones between arranged in a kind of re¬ 
peat pattern along the border are ex¬ 
tremely effective, especially if they have 
dark green foliage to offset them. I 
used the well-known “Emperor” and 
old-time “Barrii Conspicuus” very suc¬ 
cessfully in such combination with 
Pachysandra in the foreground and ir¬ 
regular clumps of laurel in back against 
a hemlock hedge. Last year I added 
hyacinths to the scheme. There were 
several varieties of light blue hyacinths 
and buff and cream and pink ones 
planted just inside the pachysandra edge 
in an irregular line. This is the effect 
in the accompanying photograph where 
the wealth of bloom shows plainly, 
though the fascinating color effect is, 
of course, lost. 
In the same garden I planted daffo¬ 
dils, too, around the grass rectangle in 
the centre. I used only one kind there. 
Formerly they would have been bedded 
out in regular rows, but I spilt them 
out thickly and irregularly until they 
formed a band four feet or more wide 
around the lawn. Above them rose 
Ghent azaleas and abelias scattered al¬ 
ternately through the borders. There 
was still room for more, so I planted 
poet’s narcissus in a solid ribbon band 
a foot or more deep just behind the 
edging row of pansies. As» the poet’s 
narcissus are late in bloom, they were 
still in flower when the azaleas came 
out, all in orange shades, rising above 
the grassy foliage of the daffodils that 
had gone by, where already verbenas 
and heliotrope gave suggestions of the 
summer bloom. This effect was far 
finer than I imagined when I planted it, 
for the clear white of poet’s narcissus 
against the rich orange of azaleas made 
a color contrast that made one quite 
breathless with pleasure and more than 
made up for the work expended. 
The Decorative Value of French Prints 
(Continued from page 39) 
searched for mediums in which to 
imuse themselves. 
__ On the death of the old king Louis 
£IV, the days of great stateliness dis- 
ippeared and a more intimate life took 
ts place. Everyone was building, dec- 
irating and furnishing petits apart- 
nents. Great artists such as Watteau, 
Voucher and Fragonard gave their time 
o designing artistic decorations. To 
teautify everything was the general aim 
nd many exquisite accessories were 
reated by the skillful hands of these 
rtists. The characteristics of the age 
ound expression in the numerous ar- 
istic engravings, which were so per- 
ectly executed that they served not 
nly as the records of the frivolities 
nd gallantries of the beau-monde, but 
ould be absolutely trusted as historic 
ocuments of architectural detail and 
ostume design. 
That scenes such as the “estampes 
alantes” show us were of daily oc- 
urrence, is easily understood, other¬ 
wise engravers such as Launay, for in¬ 
stance, could have never given us epi¬ 
sodes similar to “L’Heureux Moment” 
or “Qu’en dit, L’abbe.” Numerous de¬ 
lightful incidents were rendered by him 
with such delicacy and vivid charm, 
that, once seen, remained in the memory 
as the most characteristic examples of 
that old world elegance of which the 
18th Century can justly be proud. “La 
Consolation de l’Absence” shows well 
the delicate skill of Launay’s burin as 
regards the detail of woodcarving and 
justly proclaims him the creator of 
“L’estampe galante.” These three with 
“Le Billet Doux” would be a graceful 
group of prints for a small room and 
with the soft blues, pinks, pale yellows 
and greens would suggest many ideal 
color schemes. That boudoir subjects 
would admirably lend themselves to 
color treatment was Janinet’s invention 
and he perfected the color-printing, be¬ 
gun earlier by Le Prince. He left us 
such masterpieces as his portraits of 
Marie Antoinette and of the ill-fated 
(Continued on page 92) 
THE BRAND PEONIES 
Originated by O. F. Brand and Son 
America’s Foremost Hybridizers of the Peony 
I T is my sincere conviction, confirmed by an actual field 
experience extending over a period of more than forty 
years, that the true test of a good peony is the field test, 
and that such varieties only as will meet this test are really 
worth having. By this I mean that the peony that will 
stand right up in the open field, take the direct ’rays of the 
beating sun, do this year after year and not go down, is the 
peony most desirable. 
This is the test which I have applied to all my best seed¬ 
lings and for such qualities my best varieties have been 
selected. Such varieties are: Benjamin Franklin, Brand’s 
Magnificent, Charles McKellip, Chestine Gowdy, E. B. 
Browning, Frances Willard, Henry Avery, Luetta Pfeiffer, 
Judge Berry, Lora Dexheimer, Longfellow, Martha Bul¬ 
loch, Mary Brand, Mrs. A. G. Ruggles, Phoebe Carey, and 
Richard Carvel. This short list is the result of the most 
painstaking labor and rigid selection and has given to the 
peony-loving public a line of flowers the all-around gen¬ 
eral standard of which has been excelled by those of no 
other grower. I have an immense stock this year in all 
ages and sizes. 
To this list, I am now adding the results of my more recent labors 
with the peony. Let me introduce to you the latest and most 
wonderful of my productions. They will soon be on sale. Watch 
for them. My three great pinks: Ella Christiansen , Myrtle 
Gentry, and Victory Chateau Thierry. My two great whites: 
Mrs. A. M. Brand, and Mrs. Frank Beach. Flowers you have all 
been waiting for. Flowers which all of you should have. 
My beautiful new 1920 Catalog just out, which describes all 
of my new as well as my older productions, together with more 
than 400 of the best varieties of other growers, is yours for the 
asking. 
Forty-one years 
a Peony Grower 
A. M. BRAND 
Faribault, Minn. 
