Garden Notes 
start if you want it at its best in winter, is the rex 
begonia and its hybrids, of which we now have so 
many magnificent sorts. These hybrids are better 
adapted to amateur culture than the ordinary rex 
section, as they are sturdier in every way, and quite 
as fine in foliage. Some of them are of bushy 
habit, while others seldom grow to a height of more 
than five or six inches above the pot. Some persons 
tell me that these begonias cannot be grown in the 
living-room. I know better than that, for I have 
grown them there, successfully, and I have in mind 
as I write, two magnificent specimens, grown by 
amateurs, under the conditions which prevail in 
the ordinary sitting-room. When asked how they 
managed to grow such plants, their owners said that 
they were not aware of having given them any 
special treatment. They simply gave them a light, 
spongy soil, and kept them rather dry at the roots. 
Not really dry, perhaps, but never wet. Years ago, 
I learned that most begonias, and especially those 
of the rex section, were greatly injured by keeping 
the soil too moist. It seems that these 
women had learned the same thing I did, 
and when they found that their plants 
flourished with but little moisture in the 
soil they were wise enough not to use a 
good deal of it simply because their friends 
told them “ begonias need lots of water. ” 
This gives me the opportunity of say¬ 
ing that I would advise every amateur 
to experiment with his or her plants, and 
be governed by the knowledge that re¬ 
sults from these experiments. Study 
things out for yourselves, instead of de¬ 
pending on second-hand knowledge. 
Quite frequently one discovers new meth¬ 
ods of floriculture by simply keeping his 
or her eyes open. Watch your plants. 
Learn their peculiarities. Don’t attempt 
to make the same treatment answer for 
all of them. Vary it as you do that 
which you apply to your children. And 
don’t be afraid to try a new method sim¬ 
ply because you have never heard of any 
one else’s trying it. 
The Marguerite carnation deserves a 
place in every garden. It blooms in 
September if started early in the season, 
and is at its prime when cold weather 
comes. Those who appreciate a beauti¬ 
ful flower will prize it then, when the 
garden has little of bloom left in it. Not 
all the plants produce double flowers, 
but more than half do, I think, and the 
single ones are quite as pretty as the old- 
fash ioned “grass pink” which they 
greatly resemble. The double ones are 
as fine in shape as any greenhouse 
carnation, and often more fragrant, but they are 
never as large. However, they are quite as perfect 
in form, and come in almost as wide a range of colors. 
For several years past I have potted the best of 
my Marguerite carnations in the fall, and from them 
I have had large crops of flowers throughout the 
entire winter. They are much freer bloomers than 
their aristocratic relatives of the greenhouse. 
One of our best annuals for use as a screen is the 
zinnia. This plant grows to a height of three and 
four feet, and branches so freely that it forms a 
thick mass from the ground up. It blooms with 
great freedom throughout the entire season. It 
comes in rich shades of red, yellow, and salmon. 
Its flowers are, for the most part, quite double, and 
nearly the size of the smaller dahlias, which they 
greatly resemble in form and general appearance. 
The illustration shows one end of a mass of this 
plant in bloom, fully four feet in height, used to 
mark the division line between the flower and vege¬ 
table gardens, bordered with sweet alyssum. 
REX BEGONIA 
n 9 
