Ribsam’s Manual 
02 > 
Martin C. Ribsam & Sons Co. 
HARDY PERENNIAL PLANTS 
We have listed a collection which will give you blossoms from early Spring until late Fall. However, 
we can supply many other varieties. Send us your list. 
Rock gardens are yearly increasing in popularity, as rockery building is a fascinating pastime and if 
one has only a few square yards of ground this will be found sufficient to grow quite a variety of plants, 
affording a great deal of pleasure in caring for them and watching the rockery develop. 
All varieties listed on following pages are 25c. each, $2.50 per doz. 
*The asterisk marks those plants best adapted to Rock Gardening 
ACONITUM ( Monkshood) 
fischeri. A dwarf variety growing 18 in. high with large, 
hooded blue flowers in September and October. Does well 
in semi-shade. 
ALYSSUM ( Madwort) 
♦saxatile compactum ( Basket of Gold). Produces masses of 
broad, flat heads of bright yellow flowers in May. Attrac¬ 
tive gray foliage. 
ANCHUSA (. Alkanet) 
italica. Showy dark blue flowers. Coarse foliage, about 
4 ft. high and blooming in May and June. 
♦myosotidiflora (Forget-me-not Flowered). An entirely differ¬ 
ent and distinctly dwarf species growing about 12 in. high 
and producing during April and May sprays of beautiful 
Forget-me-notlike flowers of a rich blue. 
ANTHEM IS ( Marguerite ) 
tinctoria. Beautiful yellow Daisylike flower with very 
attractive, finely cut foliage. A rapid grower about 3 ft. 
high, blooming nearly all Summer and especially fine 
for cutting. 
A QUI LEG IA ( Columbine) 
Mrs. Scott Elliott. Mixed colors of all the pastel shades, 
growing from 18 in. to 3 ft. high. These beautiful flowers 
have a fairy grace all their own and bloom in late Spring 
and early Summer. Foliage attractive throughout the entire 
season. 
ARABIS ( Rockcress) 
♦alpina. A very showy white; May flowering creeper. 9 in. 
April. 
ARMERIA (Thrift, Sea Pink) 
Compact tufts, grasslike foliage, blooming in May and June. 
Has globular heads of shades in pink and also white flowers. 
ASTER (Starwort or Michaelmas Daisy) 
3 yi to 4 ft. high with coarse foliage, with large bright 
rose flowers in September. 
ASTER (Dwarf Alpine) 
*alpinus. A very dwarf variety with large, bluish purple, 
Daisylike flowers. May and June. 
BELLIS (English Daisy) 
perennis. Improved double-flowering in pink and white. 
CAMPANULA ( Bellflower) 
medium (Canterbury-bells). A very showy biennial rose, 
lilac and white. 
carpatica (Carpathian Harebell). Compact and 8 in. high, 
blue flowers, ideal for the rockery or border. 
COREOPSIS ( Tickseed) 
grandiflora. The very common large yellow Daisy, very 
good for cutting and most graceful in habit. The more it 
is cut the more it blooms. 3 to 4 ft. high. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS 
We have these gorgeous Autumn-blooming plants in a 
large number of popular colors and varieties. 
DELPHINIUM (Larkspur) 
Belladonna. Light blue spikes of flowers. 3 ft. high. Fine 
for cutting throughout the season. 
Bellamosum. Same as above, except that it is a much 
darker shade of blue. 
DIANTHUS (Hardy Pinks) 
barbatus (Sweet-william). An old-fashioned favorite espe¬ 
cially for edging borders. We offer pink beauty, dark crim¬ 
son, white and mixed. 
*caryophyllus (Hardy Carnations). Handsome double sweet- 
scented flowers in separate colors of red, white, yellow 
and pink. 
DI CENTRA (Bleedingheart) 
Formosa, A dwarf variety suitable for borders or rock 
gardening. Grows about 8 in. high and blooms profusely; 
rich, rose shaded lyre-shaped flowers with most attractive 
fernlike foliage. Semi-shade. 
DIGITALIS (Foxglove) 
Shirley Strain. Truly handsome spikes from 3 to 4 ft. high. 
Large, bell-shaped flowers closely crowded on the stalks. 
These are the aristocrats of the garden. Mixed colors of 
pinks, whites and purples with spotted throats. A biennial 
which self sows. 
DORONICUM (Leopardbane) 
excelsum. Large yellow, Daisylike flowers, very early in 
Spring. 2 ft. Succeeds everywhere. 
GAILLARDIA (Blanketflower) 
grandiflora. Handsome, Daisylike flowers of great variation 
in shades of red and yellow. Grows 2 ft. high and blooms 
all Summer if kept cut. 
GEUM (Avens) 
♦Mrs. Bradshaw. Very showy rosettes of orange scarlet 
flowers on slender stems. Leaves rather coarse and fairly 
close to the ground. May and June. 
GYPSOPHILA (Babysbreath) 
paniculata. This is the favorite old-fashioned variety hav¬ 
ing tiny single white flowers of great grace and symmetry. 
Grows 2 to 3 ft. high and blooms in July and August. 
Most useful in forming bouquets with other flowers. May 
also be dried. 
HEUCHERA (Coralbells or Alumroot) 
Beautiful plants for front of borders with slender, fairy¬ 
like spikes of richly colored flowers. June to July. 
IBERIS (Candytuft) 
♦sempervirens. Dwarf plants about 8 in. high with ever¬ 
green foliage which is completely hidden by dense heads 
of pure white flowers in the Spring. 
LIATRIS (Gayfeather) 
pycnostachya. Rich purple flowers on a tall spike 3 to 4 ft. 
high are oddly conspicuous. Midsummer bloomer and lasts 
well. 
MERTENSIA (Bluebells) 
♦virginica (Virginia Cowslip). One of the most beautiful of 
the early Spring bloomers. Large, glaucous gray leaves 
and bears drooping clusters of clear blue flowers that fade 
to pink. 12 to 18 in. high. May. 
MYOSOTIS (Forget -me-not) 
♦alpestris. The well known Forget-me-not in shades of blue- 
pink and also white. May and June and a scattering of 
bloom throughout the season. 
OENOTHERA (Evening-primrose) 
youngi. A pretty, clear lemon yellow-colored flower growing 
2 ft. high. 
PAPAVER (Poppy) 
♦nudicaule (Iceland Poppy). Dwarf, free flowering plants, 
bearing solitary blossoms on stems about 12 in. high. Good 
for cutting. Yellow, rich orange, also white. May-August. 
Oriental. Large orange scarlet flowers, 2 to 3 ft. high. 
Handsome, fernlike foliage in the early Spring which dies 
down when the plant is through blooming. 
PHLOX, HARDY GARDEN 
A good collection of Named Varieties. 
PHYSOSTEGIA (False-dragonhead) 
virginica. Long, slender spikes closely covered with pale 
pink, tubular flowers. 3 ft. high. July and August. 
