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House & Garden 
SNAPDRAGONS FOR BEDS AND BORDERS 
Planted In Masses The Newer Varieties of Antirrhinums 
Give Broad Effects of Color 
A. H. COLT ART 
T HE present popularity of the 
old-fashioned snapdragon is 
undoubtedly derived from the 
profuse blooming of the new and 
improved varieties. Though the 
scent is scarcely noticeable, the antir¬ 
rhinum is greatly favored by bees, 
and although this causes a great dif¬ 
ficulty in securing tree seed from 
one’s own garden, it has contributed 
to the variation of color now obtain¬ 
able. Moreover, by careful planting 
many of the subtlest tints have now 
become fixed in the skilled hands of 
the seedsmen. 
Since such variety is offered in 
seed with so many improvements in 
type and color, it is without doubt 
advantageous to obtain fresh stock 
annually. At the same time until a 
standardization of names and colors 
is accepted by the growers, the con¬ 
fusion of choosing from a descriptive 
catalogue can only be avoided by 
noting the exhibits of seedsmen dur¬ 
ing the season at the horticultural 
shows, and making up a list to one’s 
own choice. 
A few years ago the colors offered 
were limited to white, yellow and 
red, together with mixed variations 
of the stripe and spot kind—now, 
happily, rarely seen. Innumerable 
new shades are, however, now avail¬ 
able, and will remain true to color. 
The chief development has been in 
pink and coral, and the shades from 
buff to orange. Some of these have 
Wj d 
“The Queen of The North” is a beautiful white variety 
and is remarkable for its prolific flowering. This and the 
other nevjer colors promise to give us a revival in antir¬ 
rhinum popularity 
become very popular, such as “Nel- 
rose” (which is described as “old 
rose, shaded blush, with a small lem¬ 
on blotch on lip”) and “Bonfire” 
(intense apricot, shaded old gold, 
with deep golden lip). The blend¬ 
ing of pink, apricot and orange 
snapdragons is extremely effective 
when they are planted in isolated 
borders, while the yellow and white 
varieties are admirable in the main 
flower border in conjunction with 
blue perennials and silver foliage. 
The latest development is an ef¬ 
fort to produce a mauve shade, which 
in time will, no doubt, be called 
“blue” by the seedsmen. Recently a 
variety of this has been offered under 
the titles of “Mauve Beauty” and 
“Lilac Queen”, but the shade is 
somewhat unsatisfactory as yet, and 
lacks the brilliancy of the other 
varieties of snapdragon. 
Antirrhinums are still classified in 
three sections—tall (2' to 3'); me¬ 
dium (12" to 18") and dwarf 
(under 12"). In planting out, the 
question of height must be consid¬ 
ered with the object of getting the 
taller varieties to the back of the 
border. In the foreground, or in 
beds near a path, the dwarf type is 
very effective with its close set mass 
of blossom, and it deserves to be 
more popular, although some years 
ago this type was pilloried in a 
popular book on gardening as “an 
(Continued on page 88) 
Nelrose 
{Pink-) 
White 
(Dwarf) 
Crimson 
( Dwarf) 
These four effective ar¬ 
rangements of snapdragons 
for separate beds afford 
nicely blended groupings 
of color. In setting them 
out the tall varieties should 
be planted IS" apart, the 
medium 12" and the dwarf 
types, 8" 
Momma 
Glorr 
(Apricot) 
Pink. 
(Dwarf) 
Yellow 
( Dwarf ) 
Afterglow 
(Orange) 
Roseum Superbum. 
(Soft Pink ) 
Prima Donna 
( Fawn) 
This bed will make 
a subtle variation 
from full pink to 
flame. Taller va¬ 
rieties are set at 
the back 
A Thirty-Five Foot Border of Snapdragons—Rose shaded to Orange 
About twenty-five 
plants of each 
variety are r e - 
quired on the scale 
shown in this plan 
for a 3S' bed 
