COLLINSIA BICOLOR. A beautiful hardy peren¬ 
nial from California is Collinsia Bicolor, which 
has been in cultivation since 1833, but is not 
so well known as it justly deserves. The plants 
grow a foot high, bearing downy, erect, 
branching stems, sparingly clothed with deli¬ 
cate foliage, the tips set with whorls of ex¬ 
quisite little snapdragon-like flowers, the upper 
lip and tube whHe, the lower rosy-purple. 
The culture of this annual is simple. The seeds 
may be sown in a sheltered bed in Autumn 
and the plants given some special protection if 
the climate is very cold. Plants thus grown 
will flower during the spring and early sum¬ 
mer, while the weather is cool and moist, and 
make a fine show in the garden. In the South¬ 
ern States the seeds should be invariably sown 
in Autumn and in the warmer sections the 
blooming period will be during the Winter. At 
the north most persons sow the seeds early in 
the Spring. The plants then bloom later, but if 
the season is favorable the flowers afford an 
admirable show. 
NEW LEMOINE'S GIANT HELIOTROPE. Easily 
raised from seeds, the plants may be bedded 
out or treated as pot specimens. They are 
showy in appearance and the exquisite masses 
of bloom, filling the air with their delicious 
odor, make them prime favorites. 
ASPARAGUS 
PLUMOSUS, 
sometimes 
called "Lace 
Fern" be¬ 
cause of its 
delicate 
lace-like fo- 
1 i a g e, is 
readily start- 
e d from 
seeds, and 
it is by this 
means that 
florists prop¬ 
agate it in 
large quan¬ 
tities. The 
seeds usu¬ 
ally require 
from a month 
to six weeks 
to germi¬ 
nate, but 
when the 
little plants 
_ _ appear they 
Asparagus Fern seem hardy 
and few are lost, even when somewhat 
neglected. As a rule, the seeds) germinate 
well, and a large percentage of them will 
form plants, especially if started during sum¬ 
mer. When well grown, they are beautiful, and 
those who have a surplus of plants can readily 
dispose of them at a fair price to lovers of 
handsome window plants. July and August are 
good months in which to start the seeds. Sow 
in rows in a box of well-prepared soil, and 
cover the seeds an eighth of an inch deep 
with sifted leaf-mold and sand. Water and 
HERE and THERE 
From the Pen o£ 
GEO. W. PARK 
in 
Park’s Floral Magazines 
keep moist and shaded until the plants appear, 
then admit more sunlight but avoid the full 
direct sun. Pot the little plants in small pots 
as soon as large enough to transplant, and 
shift into larger pots as they grow. These sim¬ 
ple hints, if heeded, will insure success in 
growing the seedlings. Large plants can be 
divided, but where seeds can be obtained it is 
far better and more economical to raise the 
plants from seeds. 
THE VIRGINIAN 
STOCK is known 
botanically as 
Malcomia 
M a rit i m a, a 
native of Eu¬ 
rope near the 
M e d i t erranean 
Sea. The genus 
embraces twen¬ 
ty or more spe¬ 
cies, mostly an¬ 
nuals, but the 
only one in 
common culture 
is M. Maritima 
or the Virginian 
Stock, which is 
a very pretty, 
free - blooming 
annual, showy 
in garden beds, , 
and excellent Virginian Stock 
for window pots. The flowers have four petals 
and are of various colors from pure white to 
deep crimson. The plants appear to the best 
advantage when grown in masses, and to do 
this the seeds should be sown in rows five 
inches apart and the plants thinned out where 
they seem too thick in the bed. Sown in early 
Spring, the plants will bloom well during the 
Summer. Started in June, they will make a 
fine display in Autumn, the cool weather ap¬ 
parently developing the plants and flowers to 
perfection. A dozen plants in a six-inch pot 
become a grand mass of bloom in a cool room, 
and if the dark, rich-colored varieties are 
grown in this way, the effect is very striking. 
NOLANA. The best spe¬ 
cies of Nolana is N. 
Atriplicifolia, which is 
a prostrate hardy an¬ 
nual suitable for edg¬ 
ings, rock - work and 
baskets. The flowers 
are shaped like a 
small Morning Glory 
mostly blue with 
white center. Sow the 
seeds early where the 
plants are to bloom, as 
transplanting is diffi¬ 
cult. An open, sunny 
place will insure a 
thrifty growth and a 
fine display of flowers. 
Nolana 
10 
