92 
House & Garden 
HelpThat Makes HouseWork 
Home Pleasure 
T HE housewife wedded to her home should 
be divorced from drudgery. When there 
are too many things to do, too many are left 
undone. No piled up tasks, no dragging hours 
of toil are for the woman who uses “Universal'’ 
Home Needs. 
T HE home with complete “Universal” 
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and good cheer. Cooking, cleaning, washing, 
ironing—every form of work in the daily rou¬ 
tine is done without physical tire or nerve strain. 
P URCHASE of “Universal” Electric Appliances, 
Aluminum Utensils, Cutlery and other home aids 
is more like investing money than spending it. 
You get helpful things of lasting worth that pay big 
dividends in comfort and labor saving. 
Put “Universal” Usefulness 
On Your Christmas List 
W HEN useless trinkets have faded from 
sight and memory, “Universal” Toast¬ 
ers, Grills, Percolators and other home 
needs remain treasured posses¬ 
sions. In the “Universal” line 
you’ll find the most useful gifts 
that money can buy—and little 
is needed to buy them. 
Sold by Hardware, Elec¬ 
trical, Drug, Housefurnish¬ 
ing and Department Stores. 
Write lor Book¬ 
let No. 109 r The 
U niversalized 
Home” 
me" 
Landers. Frary ^Clark 
New Britain, Ct 
Middle Plants for the Perennial Border 
(Continued from page 90) 
in early May and until early June in 
self colors and combinations of white, 
yellow, bronze, purple-blues, and 
lavender almost to rose. Flowers 
large and borne at the ends of stiff 
stalks 1 y 2 ' high in clusters of four or 
more. Leaves blue-gray green and 
rather coarse. Effective for texture, 
but are apt to burn at the ends after 
blooming. Then cut back. Any moist 
soil, sun or partial shade. Propagate 
by division after blooming. Increases 
rapidly. Fertilize in fall. 
Japanese Iris (Iris Kaempferi )—Large 
showy flowers often 10" across at the 
end of stalks 2' to 3' high, borne in 
clusters of two or three. Colors white, 
blue, and deep purple, sometimes mot¬ 
tled and deep veined. Leaves narrow 
and grass-like, light green, graceful, 
and persistent. Late blooming, mid- 
June to mid-July. Plant needs mois¬ 
ture and sun. Do not disturb often. 
Propagate by division and plant in 
early spring or fall. Many named 
varieties. 
Siberian Iris (Iris sibirica acuta )— 
This iris is valuable in the border be¬ 
cause it tides over the early German 
iris until the late Japanese iris, for 
it comes the latter part of May and 
blooms until mid-June. It is a very 
well formed plant, with a fine foliage, 
which is 2' to 3J4' high, persistent, 
and forms heavy clumps. The flow¬ 
ers are a deep blue and are borne in 
clusters of three or four at the ends 
of long, slender stems. Also white 
variety. Rich soil and full amount of 
sun required. Plenty of water, espe¬ 
cially in blooming time. Propagate 
by division. 
Flax (Linum perenne) —Masses of bril¬ 
liant sky-blue flowers on a bushy 
plant about 2' high in early May and 
lasting until August. The dainty but 
very showy flowers are short lived but 
almost continuously borne. Leaves of 
little value. Plant needs propping 
sometimes after rains. Prefers an 
open situation and rich, light soil. 
Propagate by seed and division. 
Lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus) —Long 
spikes thickly set with deep indigo- 
blue flowers from mid-May until mid- 
June on stalks which rise from 1' to 
1 l A' above heavy clumps of hand¬ 
some dark green foliage. Grows in 
any soil, even very dry places, except 
where there is lime. Prefers sun. 
When once established should not be 
moved. Propagate by seed and di¬ 
vision. 
Double Catchfly (Lychnis viscaria 
splendens fl. pi.) —An erect growing 
plant about T high with scarlet-crim¬ 
son flowers in short stalked clusters 
which form tufted heads at the ends 
of upright stems 6" to 18" high. The 
leaves are grass-like and form good 
clumps. Resists dry periods. Pre¬ 
fers full sun, and any soil. Propagate 
by division in early spring. Many 
other varieties which have different 
blooming seasons and colors. 
Loosestrife (Lysimachia cletliroides) — 
A handsome plant growing about 2' 
high and covered in July and August 
with long terminal spikes of white 
flowers. Leaves are large and attrac¬ 
tive. Remain in good condition long 
after blooming season. Any good soil 
and in full sun. Readily propagated 
by division. 
Peonies (Pceonia)— Old garden favor¬ 
ites and numberless in varieties as 
well as a number of species which 
have different characteristics and 
times of bloom. They all do well in 
the sun, but blooms last longer in 
partially shaded places. Persistent, 
handsome foliage, but they have a 
tendency to have bare feet and should 
be edged down with smaller peren¬ 
nials. Greatly appreciate well dug-in 
rotted manure in the late spring, or 
watering with liquid manure, espe¬ 
cially just before time of bloom. Like 
leaf mould and other fine mulches. 
Propagated by division after bloom. 
Set roots 2" to 3" below ground rather 
carefully, and be sure they do not 
come in contact with fertilizer. 
Usually requires two or three years to 
become established. Best time to 
divide is September or October. It is 
inadvisable to move them in spring. 
Oriental Poppy (Papaver orientale) — 
Gorgeous deep orange flowers in June 
at the ends of long hairy stems, and 
above coarse but decorative foliage. 
Stems 2' to 3' high. Foliage forms 
thick tuft, but as soon as the plant is 
through blooming it disappears until 
the cool nights of early fall. Space 
left should be covered with some 
spreading plant. Prefers the sun, and 
any soil. Do not disturb after it is 
established. Propagate by division or 
seeds sown as soon as ripe. Plant 
about 18" apart. 
Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandi- 
florum) —From July until September 
this plant has many large blue flowers 
and is covered with curious inflated 
buds. It grows about 3' high, and is 
inclined to flop over unless staked or 
held in place by other stiff plants. 
Leaves are good looking and persis¬ 
tent. If the dead blossoms are picked 
it will continue in bloom. Light win¬ 
ter protection. Propagate by seed or 
division with difficulty in spring. 
Var. album. Also a blue and a 
white dwarf variety. 
Blue Bonnet (Scabiosa caucasica )— 
From June through September large 
light blue flowers at the terminals of 
stems 2' to 2J4' high, rising from 
masses of gray-green leaves which 
are insignificant and should be reen¬ 
forced with heavy foliaged neighbors. 
The excellent color will last as long as 
seeds are not allowed to form. Any 
soil, and full sun with a slight protec¬ 
tion in winter should secure success. 
Propagate by seeds, or division. 
Variety alba is also good for white 
color masses. 
Meadowsweet (Spiraea astilboides var. 
floribunda) —There are many astilbes 
on the market and all of them are 
lovely additions, but this old one with 
its large, graceful terminal plumes of 
small white flowers in June rising to 
the height of 2' is the best of the 
smaller varieties. The foliage is dark 
green, persistent, and very decorative. 
Plant prefers moist soil and will 
thrive in sun or partial shade. Pro¬ 
pagate by division either in the fall 
or early spring. 
Speedwell (Veronica longifolia var. 
subsessilis ) — A fine blue flower, 
blooming in mid-June and lasting until 
mid-September. Numerous slender 
spikes 6" to 10" long and rising from 
a fine bushy plant with narrow green 
leaves which are persistent. It grows 
from 2' to 3' high. Prefers rich loam 
and open situation. Propagate by 
seed or division. 
