72 
House & Garden 
“William Russell , Nephew of the Artist ” John Russell 
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\ 
The Best Purple and Lavender Flowers 
(Continued from page 70) 
an equal part—but save in some special 
instances, it is hardly worth while to go 
to this trouble. A scheme devoted alto¬ 
gether to the deep rosy purples and ris¬ 
ing from these to the exquisite glow of 
rosy mauve is so beautiful that it is a 
pity to mar its perfection by carrying it 
further. 
Truly Purple Flowers 
The purplest flower in the world, 
probably, is the velvety leaved iris, in a 
true purple variety. Black Prince, a 
German iris, is one of these. Iris pu- 
mila cyanea is another, of smaller 
growth and even darker color. Amongst 
the Japanese species there is a variety 
called Shuchiukwa, which is a warm 
and glowing color, veined with white. 
A bright and lighter purple is Oniga- 
shima. This is not veined but pre¬ 
serves its pure color throughout. It is 
not as dense, however, as the Shu¬ 
chiukwa. 
Differing as completely from iris in 
every way as one flower possibly could 
differ from another, the hardy asters— 
some of these are the Michaelmas dai¬ 
sies of folk speech—alone might furnish 
material for planting a purple garden, 
and one moreover that would be in 
bloom perpetually from May to Octo¬ 
ber. Here is a plant whose merits have 
not gained the recognition they deserve, 
and I would very seriously call attention 
to the opportunities they present. Be¬ 
ginning in May, the dwarf Alpine spe¬ 
cies (Aster alpinus ) which may be used 
as an edging anywhere, though it is dis¬ 
tinctly a rock plant and very useful in 
rockeries or in rocky places, opens the 
hardy aster season with flowers that are 
almost over the line into the blue-purple 
class. This is a low growing species 
usually reaching only 6 " to 8 ". Larger 
flowered is Aster alpinus nixe, a variety 
which has lately been introduced. Fol¬ 
lowing this comes Aster sub-cceruleus, 
lifting aloft from a tuft of leaves flow¬ 
ers of exceptional size and texture, on 
bare stems 1' high, in June and July. 
These are representatives of the 
dwarf Alpine class. Next there are the 
summer flowering asters, of which 
ter amellus preziosa is the deepest in 
color, a fine and lively shade of purple. 
These blossom in July and run over 
into August. Aster acris has lighter col¬ 
ored flowers, while Aster amellus (Beau¬ 
ty of Rondsdorf) is an exquisite shade 
of mauve, warm and glowing. 
Michaelmas Daisies 
Next come the true Michaelmas 
daisies (Aster Novce-Anglice leading the 
procession) with their delightful, bright 
purple flowers waving as high as one’s 
shoulder. Nearly all of these asters 
are from 4' to 5' high. Aster formosis- 
simus is lighter and also bright, but not 
quite so tall, being usually only about 3 '. 
Aster Curtisi is another three-footer of 
a pale shade of lavender, blossoming a 
little earlier than the others, and so 
bridging the barely possible little gap 
between the summer flowering kinds 
and the Michaelmas daisies. These are 
expected to bloom during September 
and October; but the variety just men¬ 
tioned is forehanded and starts in Au¬ 
gust, continuing through September. 
Another that begins in August but does 
not leave off quite so soon is the splen¬ 
did Aster Novii-Belgii Climax, a new 
variety growing as high as 5', and form¬ 
ing a very strong and fine bushy plant. 
The flowers are most abundant, lav¬ 
ender in color and 'usually considerably 
more than 1 " in diameter. 
Last of all to flower is the Aster 
grandiflorus , familiar to many who do 
not know the others, and one of the 
finest of all. Its flowers are dark in 
color and large—sometimes 2" across. 
This blossoms in October and Novem¬ 
ber and is one of the smaller kinds, 
growing usually only about 2 ' high. 
One might have a purple garden 
just of these alone, and run the whole 
gamut of color as well as of period of 
bloom and height; and there are few 
flowers more satisfactory both as to 
hardiness and ease of culture. Get ac¬ 
quainted with them, if you do not al¬ 
ready know them. There are other col¬ 
ors—that is, there are real blues, and a 
rose, and white, of course; so they are 
candidates for favor if you are not con¬ 
fining yourself to purple. 
Campanulas and Others 
Among the campanulas there is the 
sort known as Coventry bells, which is 
Campanula trachelium. It offers per¬ 
haps as clear a purple as anything you 
may choose. This is a sturdy growth, 
3' in height, with spikes of bloom in 
June and July. It is a perennial, which 
the Canterbury bells are not. The so- 
called blue spirea (Caryopteris masta- 
canthus ) is another lavender flower of 
peculiar beauty; and as it blossoms 
from September until frost stops it, it is 
especially desirable. Its height is usual¬ 
ly 3'; and its blossoms are borne all the 
length of the branches, making it a mass 
of the color. The perennial cornflower, 
which is an all-summer bloomer, is one 
of the most desirable forms of this well 
beloved plant; and although it does 
seem that cornflowers ought never to be 
anything but blue, this variety is its own 
excuse for being in a purple garden. 
I do shrink from naming the lark¬ 
spurs as possible candidates for a place 
in this color scheme; for even more than 
with the cornflower does it seem that 
blue is the one true color for them to be. 
But I would be doing the purple gar¬ 
dener a very great injustice if I did not 
give him the opportunity to have such 
a plant as Delphinium Queen Wilhel- 
mina in his picture. It has large flow¬ 
ers, and they are of that exquisite warm 
color that flushes the sky during certain 
sunsets—blue overlaid with a rosy- 
mauve. For one of the remote masses 
in a purple garden, I think there is 
nothing as fine. 
Funkia and Hollyhock 
Several of the plantain lilies show 
traces of purple or violet, and Funkia 
fortuhei gigantea is distinctly lavender 
in color. As the foliage of funkias is 
decorative and well adapted to edging, 
these are worth considering for such a 
position. This variety grows about 2 
high, blossoms in July, and has very 
large and attractive foliage. Either in a 
clump or as a long continuous line edg¬ 
ing a mixed border, it is good. 
No one ever thinks of a hollyhock as 
purple—or even near purple, I suppose. 
But there is a double maroon which is 
so deep and vinous that it is decidedly 
an acquisition to the purple color scheme 
when used just as a single clump, in the 
foreground. This color is one of the 
most beautiful hollyhocks; and the hol¬ 
lyhock is one of the few flowers that 
carries this color successfully. 
Blazing Star and Phloxes 
The native “blazing star” or “gay 
feather” is another thing not often used, 
but which should be in the purple gar¬ 
den if nowhere else. The flowers are 
very tiny, set along a very stubby yet 
long and slender spike. The top ones 
open first, and thus it is always a top- 
heavy looking spike; though I would not 
be understood, from this, to mean that 
it is clumsy. It blossoms in July and 
August, and rejoices in the name of 
Liatris. Liatris pycnostachya has light, 
warm purple flowers and is all of 5' 
high, while Liatris scariosa has flowers 
of a dark and rich shade, and is 1 ' or 
(Continued on page 74) 
