POULSBO, WASHINGTON 
A delightful trio of new ever-blooming 
pinks. The flowers come in double clusters 
and have the fragrance of carnations, the foli- 
age is a bright crisp green. Plants are very 
hardy and bloom through the whole season. 
Dianthus American Beauty. Rose. 50c. 
Dianthus Beatrix. Daybreak pink. 50c. 
Dianthus Bismarck. Deep rose. 50c. 
Dianthus Lavender Beauty. Another very 
outstanding one with large lavender flow- 
ers and maroon centers. Very fragrant. 1 ft. 
50c. 
FUCHSIA Riccartonii — Hardy, extremely 
graceful, grows 4 to 5 ft. in one season. 
Flowers scarlet. 35c. 
GENTIANA angustifolia (R)—The most daz- 
zling of all the gentians, mats of shiny 
dark green foliage studded with the most 
gorgeous bright blue deep trumpets, with 
five emerald green stripes radiating from 
the throat. A well established plant of this 
is a never-to-be-forgotten sight. $1.00. 
PARRYI (R)—Clustered heads of fine blue 
trumpet-shaped flowers. Rare and very 
fine. 4 in. Summer. 50c. 
saponaria (R) — A decorative and easily 
grown species, spreading habit. Bright blue 
flowers. 50c. 
septemfida (R)—Dense evergreen mats of 
green leaves with erect heads of sapphire- 
blue flowers, white toward center. 9 in. 
July-Oct. 50c. 
HELLEBORUS 
(Christmas Rose) 
An ancient legend tells that it was the only 
flower which Adam and Eve were permitted 
to take with them from the Garden of Eden. 
A later story, however, is better known and 
makes the plant a part of the Yuletide season. 
At the hour when the Christ Child was born 
in the manger at Bethlehem, the mountain 
folks say, this blossom first sprang up into 
the light. And ever since that time it has 
been known as the Christmas Rose. 
But the Christmas Rose is not really a rose; 
for no rose could be happy growing out-of- 
doors in a chilly atmosphere. In fact, it is 
one of the relatives of the Hepaticas and the 
Marshmarigolds and the Anemones and the 
Butterecuns. Unlike them, however, it has 
dark, leathery foliage that stays green the 
year round, and its waxy blossoms actually 
thrive with snow and ice around them. It 
seems a miracle of the garden. 
No one knows in whose garden the Christ- 
mas Rose was first planted to be a delight to 
its owners. But gradually from its rocky home 
in the mountains it was carried into Central 
and Southern Europe and into English gar- 
dens. To most American gardens it is still a 
stranger but it could be grown and enjoyed 
much more than it is, for it endures the win- 
ters of western New York and northern Ohio. 
If the plants are dug in early fall and placed 
in pots, they will blossom at Christmas time, 
providing they are given plenty of light and 
water and rich soil. And no blossoms make 
more charming holiday gifts, not only be- 
cause of their own beauty, but also for their 
association with the Christmases of long ago. 
The foregoing is an extract from the De- 
cember 1929 issues of Better Homes and Gar- 
dens, articles by Hazel Hankinson. 
foetidus—A handsome and interesting winter 
blooming plant, very frost resistant. The 
tall stem is bushy with dark green narrow 
leathery palmate leaves topped by a large 
cluster of light green nodding bells with 
purple penciling near edge. Good deep soil 
and part shade. 3 ft. high. Small plants 
75c; large blooming plants $2.00. 
niger (var. altifolius) (Christmas Rose)—A 
truly wonderful plant by far too little known 
and cultivated. From a clump of dark green 
leathery evergreen foliage that strongly re- 
sembles the foliage of the Peony rises a 
mass of flower stems 12 to 18 inches high. 
Flowers 2% to 3% inches diameter. A well- 
established clump is an indescribably- beau- 
tiful sight. The flowers do not drop their 
petals, but from the purest white they grad- 
ually turn a rosy pink and then a green; 
and, as the seed pods form, the petals be- 
come like a green calyx. Truly it is an aston- 
ishing plant. One New Jersey woman told 
us she had seen a clump 30 years old, and 
that it was a marvelous sight. Blooming 
size plants from 50c to $2.50. 
hybridus or orientalis—These are most ex- 
quisite and so interesting; they come in 
sades of violet rose, white flushed pink or 
green speckled and splashed with rose and 
in maroon; the center is covered with ivory 
colored anthers set in a collarette of little 
pale green tubular florets. There are from 
two to four flowers on a stem which hang 
somewhat in bell fashion; leaves are pal- 
mate, not quite as heavy as those of Helle- 
borus Niger. Blooming size mixed, $1.00. 
These exquisite and hardy plants deserve 
to be better known in this country. They are 
extensively cultivated in Europe, and we are 
happy to be among the first to introduce them 
here. They bloom a little later than Helle- 
borus Niger. 
All Helleborus prefer to be left undisturbed 
-in rich, well-drained loamy soil and in part 
shade such as that of deciduous shrubbery. 
Plant them where they can be seen and en- 
joyed from your window. 
HOSTA (Funkia, Plantain Lily)—Handsome 
massive foliage for the shady border with 
lavender or white lily-like flowers. Very 
effective by the sides of ponds and grows 
to a great size in half-shady places. 
coerulea lanceolata—Handsome leaves, pale 
lavender blue flowers in summer. 35c. 
glauca — Foliage bluish with lovely white 
flowers. 35c. 
