It's Time For... 
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fashioned light-lavender Heliotrope, 95 cents, far 
easier and more fragrant than the better-known 
Black Prince. Other perennials, of which we have 
the largest and best selection ever, include DWARF 
WHITE summer-blooming cushion Mums; Gail- 
lardia Sun Gold (all lemon yellow); numerous vari- 
eties of Campanula including the tall blue C. primu- 
laefolia; dwarf white Michelmas Daisy; Silver Ribbon 
Grass, ten inches; blue and white Platycodon; Sal- 
via pitcheri (tall, bright blue, late summer); Santa 
Barbara Daisy (Erigeron Karvins Kianus)—the ever- 
blooming pink and white groundcover; yellow 
Geum, and a new dwarf Shasta Daisy called White 
Swan, eight to ten inches. All 85 cents to 95 cents 
each in one gallon cans. 
SUMMER AND SMOKE 
Purple Smoke Bush is Continus coggygria atro- 
purpureus, a European native which bids to become 
one of California's most distinguished deciduous 
shrubs. It's the foliage that amazes—budding deep 
red in February—March, opening airily in early 
April to an irridescent plum purple, three-inch oval 
leaves of a hue unmatched in any other plant. With 
early summer the purple Smoke Bush pales slightly 
to a smokier tone and hangs out lacy much- 
branched eight-inch panicles of incredibly delicate 
flowers fringed with long deep purple hairs further 
emphasizing the illusion of smoke. As cut material 
for the house Smoke Bush is incomparable. 
Hardy in almost any climate (a fine present for 
a friend in the east), this out-of-the-ordinary orna- 
mental which should achieve six feet by six feet in 
two years, is at long last available in some quan- 
tity, well-established in five gallon cans, $7.50. 
These plants were personally selected by one of 
our salesmen last summer at the Royal Moerheim 
Nurseries in Holland. Smoke Bush (also known Rhus 
continus atropurpurea) prefers well-drained soil 
and not too much fertilizer. 
Summer annuals are not new but some are dif- 
ferent from those of the past. Zinnias in separate 
colors include the new flame Blaze. Recent Petu- 
nias include single Celestial Rose; salmon Ballerina: 
and the giant, fringed, white La Paloma. Flat stock 
40 cents to 75 cents a dozen. And don't forget 
Fuchsias. The new plants will soon be coming into 
bloom and you will discover a great variety of re- 
vived old favorites as well as the new strains, 60 
cents to $1. ie 
eR LT a 
On March 10, Milo Armitage 
died as a result of coronary 
thrombosis. 
Milo Armitage came to Evans 
and Reeves in 1944, when, seri- 
ously ill as a result of a World 
War | gassing, he was advised by 
doctors to exchange his banking 
career for a vocation which would 
keep him outdoors. He substituted 
his avocation, horticulture, and 
joined our staff as a salesman. 
Born in Ontario, California, in 
1898, he moved with his parents 
to Canada in 1906. After his serv- 
ice in the Canadian Field Artillery, 
he returned to California where 
he lived in Santa Monica with his 
wife and son. 
His friends were legion; his 
business associates at the nursery 
and bank, his church contacts (he 
was an active member of St. Au- 
gustine's Episcopal church), and 
his customers feel a personal loss. 
His myriad friends are his me- 
morial. 
FOUR OF A KIND 
Current craze for Hawaiian 
Tree Ferns, calculated to convert 
Southern California into a rain 
forest, has brought increased in- 
terest in the many varieties of 
tree ferns offered by Evans and 
Reeves. Cibotium Chamissoi, the 
Hawaiian fern with the luxurient 
high-arching fronds gives evidence 
of acclimating itself here, and is 
generally suited to any area where 
Fuchsias flourish. (A handsome 
combination for a moist, shady 
location, incidentally.) 
Other tree ferns, longer in our 
midst and perhaps more generally 
suited to Southern California are 
Cyathea medullaris, with the huge, 
dark green fronds; Alsophila au- 
stralis, the most familiar of the 
tree ferns with light green, lacy 
fronds; and Dicksonia antartica 
which raises a multitude of 
straight-ribbed fronds. 
Tree ferns are greedy; a prodi- 
gal hand with moisture and food 
is required to keep them magni- 
ficent. (Gallons, $2.50; five gal- 
lons, $7.50, larger sizes to $75.) 
