WAKE ROBIN FARM 
calamus.” It grows 1 to 3 feet high; its light shiny 
green sets off the edges of brooks and pools, and will 
camouflage the ugliest domestic ditch. 30c each; $3.00 
for 12. 
Calla, Wild; Water Arum (Calla palustris). From the 
cold slime bogs of the Cape of Good Hope comes 
this immigrant to American garden pools. Its very 
name, “palustris,” points to its swampy taste. Its root 
is a bright green stick which adds yearly shoots to 
one end and dies off at the other, restless and migrant, 
in an inching sort of way. Grows 5 to 10 inches above 
marsh level, upright and sturdy, with white flowers in 
June and bright red berries in August. Easily grown 
by simply pressing into the mud of any boggy nook. 
Arum Family, cousin of Calamus. 30c each; $3.00 for 
12. 
Canada Mayflower; Wild Lily of the Valley (Maianthe- 
mum canadense). A low woodland plant with a small 
fuzzy head of white flowers in May and June, fol- 
lowed by ruby-red berries in the fall. Transplants grow 
into large masses, with creeping tangled roots, form- 
ing close, matted ground cover. 30c each; $3.00 for 12. 
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis). Native to moist and 
boggy soil, or to deep wet woods, this brightest of 
scarlet flowers blazes from July to September, when 
color is scarce, in almost any garden. The astounding 
red draws humming birds, the only agency able to 
cross-fertilize. Grows 2 to 4 feet high in any damp 
place. Subject to freezing in winter unless covered with 
several inches of leaves, which are drawn back in 
spring and left for mulch. Protection is important; ex- 
tinction is imminent; sparse planting is more effective 
than massing. Its name was suggested by the color of 
a Cardinal’s robe. 30c each; $3.00 for 12. 
Cat Tail (Typha latifolia). Grows lustily in bogs and 
wherever it finds constant water. Spreads happily and 
tenaciously by root extension, taking sure possession 
of its corner. Inventive children of the past have used 
its stem for arrows and its plumes for torches. No 
snob, it sways and nods in sentinel rows, as often as 
not, down by the railroad tracks. 30c each; $3.00 for 
12. 
Cinquefoil; Five Finger (Potentilla canadensis). For the 
barren bank; for sandy, stony bald spots in the yard, 
garden, meadow, field or roadside, this weaving, creep- 
ing ground cover is an answer to the old garden prob- 
lem of hiding scars and blotches. It gathers beauty 
from poverty. The five-fingered foliage (French 
‘“cinque feuilles’ means five leaves) is decorative in 
itself; the deep yellow flowers, no bigger than a finger- 
nail, add perfection to beauty all through spring and 
summer (April to August). Its liking for dry soil is an 
added relief to the garden worker. Not to be confused 
with Wild Strawberry, a common error. Both belong 
to the Rose Family, of course, but Cinquefoil is of the 
Potentilla genus; Wild Strawberry is Fragaria, with 
only 3 leaflets or fingers. Less technical distinction: you 
can eat the strawberries. Spreads by runners; fertilized 
by flies, grows anywhere. 25c each; $2.50 for 12. 
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