this winter, written in 1859, we found the ans- 
wer, which is quoted here withno further comment: 
The beautiful blue of this flower, which is of 
the color of an unclouded sky, has made it the 
emblem of a tender and delicate sentiment, 
nourtshed by hope. 
Her love is pure and glad and true 
As yonder heaven of stainless blue. 
But come back from the clouds to the cutting 
garden and, last but not least, the ASTERS. 
Personally, we still like the “old-fashioned” 
Giant Branching withits straight petals. There 
is a delicate shell-pink that is wonderful to 
behold. But if you don’t like pink, there are 
all the other colors, too. Some prefer the 
curled and interlaced petals of the Giant Grego- 
which comes in a myriad of colors, separate or 
mixed. Then from sunny California come the large 
daisy-like California Giant Sunshine Asters. 
They are composedofa single rowof long narrow 
petals surrounding a small yellow quill-like 
disc. These branching plants grow 2% feet tall 
with strong stems for cutting and come in a 
mixture only. Their fairy-like appearance is 
beautiful. 
And what shall we do with that shady spot? 
We hear it so often! [f it is dense shade, 
plant LILY OF THE VALLEY. Our flower dictionary 
says Lilies of the Valley mean “return of hap- 
piness’’ and, if the soil is well prepared and 
enriched, that 1s exactly what will happen. 
If the shade is only mild, there are several 
flowers we may have. TUBEROUS ROOTED BEGONIAS 
with their wax-like, almost unbelievable beau- 
ty, will thrive. Two lovely companions for the 
begonias are TORENIA (often called the blue 
snapdragon) and BROWALLIA. Many saw both of 
these in front of our store last summer, and 
“Torenia” and “Browallia” were written more of- 
ten than our name while they were in bloom. 
IMPATIENS is one of the hardiest of all shade 
loving plants, It isn’t the most beautiful flo- 
wer in the world but it fills a spot when none 
other will do. All of these shade plants can 
be grown from seed but thatis the professional’ s 
job. We will have plants of all of them when 
proper planting time arrives. 
Along yonder fence must be planted a vine. 
There is no annual vine as showy as HEAVENLY 
BLUE MORNING GLORY. One snowy day this January 
a gentleman came to our store and ordered 100 
of these plants, to be about 1% feet tall at 
planting time. When we could not give him a 
price he asked to be advised. That man will have 
his Morning Glories and the price will not be 
too high. We want to drive past his home some 
summer morning and drink in the intoxicating 
beauty those hundred plants should give along 
his fence. 
There are other quick growing vines, CARDINAL 
CLIMBER, COBEA SCANDENS (Cathedral Bells) and 
the CYPRESS VINE. We once made the mistake of 
suggesting the Scarlet Runner bean as a screen 
on a porch. It grew vigorously but the Japanese 
beet le made lacy windows in the leaves and ruined 
the ‘Screening. ” 
With theheavenly Blue Morning Glories in the 
background, the perennial border of Iris, Del- 
phinium, Phlox, Day Lilies and Chrysanthemums 
needs the additional color which certain annuals 
provide. One of the gayest isCLEOME (Pink Queen) 
which grows tall and erect. It holds fast to its 
seed pods all summer but keeps on blooming. 
When fall comes, the seeds arescattered to the 
four winds and Cleome is in the garden forever 
after, 
A few plants of the night blooming NICOTIANA, 
with its exotic fragrance, will make the gar- 
den an evening delight. 
Red or blue SALVIA will cover up the unsight- 
ly spots left by the Iris when their blooming 
season 1S over, 
A very dear little lady from whom we have 
learned somuch, made the nicest suggestion for 
the asparagus bed, Plant seeds of SENSATION COS- 
MOS or the new RADIANCE COSMOS between the rows 
of aeparagus. The effect is delightful. When 
the planting is finished, make this mental 
note, No staking will be required here. 
And now the sunny 30CK GARDEN. One of the 
really splendid annuals for the rock garden is 
VERBENA. Even in dry spots and poor soil it 
will flourish. It comes in many colors, all 
bright and gay with white eyes winking in the 
sunlight. The annual PHLOX (drummondi) with 
their clear, true colors will also do well in 
the sunny reck garden. AGERATUM, the Riverside 
strain, makes a bushy compact plant with heads 
of blue all summer to offset the pinks, reds, 
and yellows of the other flowers. Dainty LOBELIA 
is another blue flower that many of us omit. 
And the annual NIANTHUS, with their spicy and 
saucy flowers, grow healthily without much care. 
When the rock garden has been planted, take 
a few packets of SHIRLEY POPPIES and broadcast 
the seed over ali. They will pop up in the 
strangest places and their delicate papier-mache 
blossoms will be abundant reward. 

Space does not permit mention of all the an- 
nual flower seeds we have and perhaps your fav- 
orite has not been included here. Rut we have 
seeds of all and hope you will come make your 
selection in person, We always enjoy planning 
the garden with you. 
At themoment, our perennial list is not com- 
plete but wedo not anticipate missing a single 
one of these hardy, satisfactory plants this 
spring. 
