Part 4
Balloon Flower (_Platycodon_); blue, purple, white; July to October.
Phlox, Hardy (_Phlox paniculata_); no blue nor real yellow; June through September.
Golden Glow (_Rudbeckia laciniata_); yellow; August.
Blanket Flower (_Gaillardia aristata_); yellow, red; July to October.
Boltonia (_Boltonia latisquama_); lilac; August to October.
Sunflower (_Helianthus_); yellow; July to October.
[Ill.u.s.tration: KIM AND COLUMBINE]
The fault that I would find with the gentleman's list is that he has omitted chrysanthemums, which could be subst.i.tuted for sunflowers to most people's satisfaction,--and which also would bloom as late as November. Also I should prefer columbine to his bleeding hearts,--and the golden-spurred variety will bloom from early May to early August!
Above all, instead of boltonia, I would use the adorable snapdragons, which, although considered a "tender perennial," will survive cold weather if well protected.
But then, as I once heard, "A man's garden is like his wife, whom he never would think of comparing with anybody else's." So you don't have to follow any one's choice. Just make a list of the flowers that you like, find out when they bloom, and then choose as few or as many as you have room for, remembering to plan for something lovely every month of the blooming season.
One note of warning, however. After you have made your list, consult some friend that is a successful gardener, and make sure that what you have chosen will thrive in your particular locality. If you find it does not, strike it off, and put in something that will.
FLOWERS THAT COME UP EVERY YEAR BY THEMSELVES
A GUIDE TO THE COMMON PERENNIALS
NOTE.--A few of these will blossom the first summer, if started early.
Also, some varieties of the same plant will flower in the spring, others in the fall. Make sure which kind you get.
------------------+--------+-------+-------+--------+-----------+------+----------
SOW
SOW
BLOOMING NAME
COLOR
HEIGHT
INDOORS
OUTDOORS
GOOD FOR
PLACE
SEASON ------------------+--------+-------+-------+--------+-----------+------+---------- Alyssum (_Alyssum
Rich
1 ft.
May
Rockery
Half
April, saxatile_)
yellow
June
Edging
shade
May
or sun
Anemone, j.a.panese
Rose
2 to
May
Border
Half
Sept., (_Anemone
White
4 ft.
June
Bed
shade
Oct.
j.a.ponica_)
or sun
Aster, Hardy
White
2 to
May
Anywhere
Shade
Aug. to (_Aster Novae-
Pink
5 ft.
June
or sun
Oct.
Angliae_)
Lavender
Purple
Baby's Breath
White
2 to
May
Rockery
Sun
June, (_Gypsophila
3 ft.
June
Border
July paniculata_)
Balloon Flower
White
1 to
May
Border
Sun
July to (_Platycodon_)
Blue
3 ft.
June
Oct.
Begonia, Hardy
White
1 to
May
Border
Sun
June to (_Begonia
Pink
2 ft.
June
Aug.
Evansiana_)
Rose
Bellflower
White
1 to
May
Border
Sun
June, (_Campanula_)
Blue
3 ft.
June
July
[A]Blanket Flower
Red
3 to
May
Border
Sun
July to (_Gaillardia
Yellow
5 ft.
June
Bed
Oct.
aristata_)
Bleeding Heart
Pink
2 ft.
May
Border
Likes
May, (_Dicentra
June
Bed
half
June spectabilis_)
shade
Boltonia
Lilac
2 to
May
Border
Sun
Aug. to (_Boltonia
6 ft.
June
Bed
Oct.
latisquama_)
Candytuft, Hardy
White
6 to
May
Border
Sun
April, (_Iberis
12 in.
June
Edging
May sempervirens_)
Chrystmas Rose
White
12 to
May
Border
Half
Dec. to (_h.e.l.leborus
15 in.
June
Shade
March, niger_)
_outdoors_
Chrysanthemum,
No
2 to
May
Border
Sun
Sept. to Hardy
blue
3 ft.
June
Bed
Nov.
Columbine
All
2 to
May
Rockery
Sun
May to (_Aguilegia_)
shades
4 ft.
June
Bed
Aug.
Coreopsis
Yellow
1 to
May
Border
Sun
June to (_Coreopsis
2 ft.
June
Bed
Oct.
lanceolata_)
Daisy, English
Pink
3 to
May
Bed
Sun
April to (_Bellis
White
6 in.
June
June perennis_)
Delphinium
Blue
2 to
March
May
Border
Sun
June, (_Delphinium
to
6 ft.
June
Bed
July, Sep.
formosum_,
white
Oct. Cut _D. Belladonna_,
down after _D. Chinense_)
each
flowering
Flag, see Iris
[B]Forget-me-not,
Blue
6 to
May
Border
Shade
May to Perennial
18 in.
June
or sun
fall (_Myosotis
pal.u.s.tris_)
[C]Foxglove
White
3 to
May
Border
Half
June, (usually
Purple
5 ft.
June
Bed
shade
July biennial)
Rose
(_Digitalis_)
Yellow
Fraxinella,
see Gas Plant
Gaillardia, see
Blanket Flower
Gas Plant
Rose
2 ft
Long
May
Border
Sun
June, (_Dictamnus
White
lived
June
Bed
July albus_)
Golden Glow
Yellow
6 to
May
Back of
Sun
July to (_Rudbeckia
8 ft.
June
border
Sept.
laciniata_)
[B]Hollyhock
All
4 to
May
Back of
Sun
July, (_Althaea rosea_)
shades
6 ft.
June
border
August
or bed
Iris
White
1 to
May
Border
Sun
May to
Purple
3 ft.
June
Bed
July
Yellow
Clump
Maroon
Larkspur,
see Delphinium
Lupin
White
2 to
May
Border
Sun or
May, (_Lupinus_)
Blue
5 ft.
June
Bed
half
June
Pink
Clump
shade
Yellow
Madwort,
see Alyssum
[A]Mallow, Musk
White
1 to
May
Border
Sun or
July to (_Malva
Rose
2 ft.
June
shade
Sept.
moschata_)
Michaelmas Daisy,
see Aster
Monk's-hood
Blue to
3 to
Slow to
May
_Poisonous_
Sun or
July to (_Aconitum
white
5 ft.
start
June
shade
Sept.
napellus_)
Moss Pink, see
_Phlox subulata_
Mullein Pink
White
1 to
May
Border
Sun
June, (_Lychnis
Red
3 ft.
June
Bed
July coronaria_)
Myosotis, see
Forget-me-not
Myrtle, see
Periwinkle
Pansy
White
6 to
March
April
Border
Sun or
All (_Viola
Blue
8 in.
May
Bed
half
summer, tricolor_)
Yellow
shade
with
Purple
care
Peony
White
3 ft.
Slow
May
Border
Sun or
May, (_Paeonia
Rose
grower
June
Clumps
half
June officinalis_)
Crimson
shade
Periwinkle
Blue
6 to
March
May
Trailing
Shaded
All (_Vinca minor_)
White
10 in.
June
vine
bare
summer
spots
Phlox, Perennial
No blue
2 to
Slow
May
Border
Sun
Aug., (_Phlox
or
3 ft.
June
Bed
Sept.
paniculata_)
yellow
(_Phlox
White
2 in.
May
Carpeting
Sun
April, subulata_)
Pink
June
Border
May
Lavender
Pink, Gra.s.s
White
1 ft.
May
Rockery
Sun
May, (_Dianthus
Vari-
June
Border
June plumaris_)
colored
Platycodon,
see Bellflower
[A]Poppy, Iceland
White
1 ft.
April
Border
Sun
June to (_Papaver
Red
May
Bed
Oct.
nudicaule_
Yellow
Poppy, Oriental
Scarlet
3 ft.
March
Border
Sun
June, (_Papaver
Orange
April
Bed
July orientale_)
to pink
Pyrethrum
White
3 ft.
May
Border
Sun
June, (_Chrysanthemum
Rose
June
Bed
July coccineum_)
Crimson
[A]Rocket, Sweet
White
2 to
May
Border
Sun
June to (_Hesperis_)
to
3 ft.
June
Clump
Aug.
purple
Rockmadwort,
see Alyssum
Rose Campion,
see Mullein Pink
Rudbeckia,
see Golden Glow
Sage, see Salvia
Salvia
White
2 to
May
Border
Sun
May to (perennial)
Blue
4 ft.
June
Bed
Sept.
[F]Snapdragon
No
1 to
March
May 1st
Border
Sun
June to (_Antirrhinum_)
blues
3 ft.
Bed
Oct.
Sunflower
Yellow
2 to
May
Back of
Sun
Sept. to (_Helianthus_)
8 ft.
June
border
Nov.
[E]Sweet William
White
1 ft.
May
Border
Sun
June to (_Dianthus
Pink
June
Bed
Aug.
barbatus_)
Maroon
Tickseed, see
Coreopsis
[G]Wallflower
Yellows
1 to
May
Rock
Part
May (_Cheiranthus
to
2 ft.
June
garden
shade
cheiri_)
browns
or
and
border
purples
Windflower,
White
1 to
May
Clump
Part
April Snowdrop
1 ft.
June
Border
shade
to (_Anemone
or sun
July sylvestris_)
------------------+--------+-------+-------+--------+-----------+------+----------
FOOTNOTES:
[E] Will bloom the first year from seed sown in March.
[F] Perennial in the South, but should be grown annually in the North.
[G] Really a biennial.
CHAPTER VI
Flowers that Spring from a Storehouse (Bulbs and Tubers)
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
--_Matthew_ vi, 28, 29.
IF you are going to be a really-truly gardener, you will want to know something about the plants and flowers that you try to grow, so let's have a few words right here about the difference between the bulb and tuber families. They can be cla.s.sed together because they both spring from what is in fact a storehouse filled one season with food to help them through the next season's bloom!
Hyacinths and daffodils, for example, come from BULBS, which are built up, layer on layer, exactly like an onion.
Dahlias and Cannas, however, grow from a TUBER, which is an underground k.n.o.b on the stem, quite a little like a sweet potato, and which sends out the shoots that make new plants.
The crocus and the gladiolus both spring from a CORM, which differs from the bulb in that it is solid (not in layers), and from the tuber in that it is not like a potato in shape but oval.
The iris, though, grows from a RHIZOME, a thickened root running along the ground (often half exposed), which throws up the new plants as it spreads.
The bulb and tuber families are treated very much alike. Some of each are left in the ground year after year, like the daffodils and the lilies, while others, like the cannas and dahlias, have to be dug up, allowed to dry a little in the open air, and then stored in a cool, dark place for the winter. The rhizomes do not have to be "lifted," but are increased generally by root division,--cutting off a piece of the root soon after flowering, and planting where it will get a good start before next season's time to bloom.
Some people today would follow Mohammed's advice: "He that hath two cakes of bread, let him sell one of them--for bread is only food for the body, but the narcissus is food for the soul;" but few individuals--let alone a nation--would grow so wildly enthusiastic as once did the Dutch, as to spend every last possession to buy tulips! But we dearly love all of these groups, and are using them in increasing numbers every season.
The fascinating work of growing certain kinds indoors during the winter I tell you about in the chapter on "The Care of House Plants," so here we will consider the outdoor culture.
The delicate snowdrop is the very earliest of these visitors, and planted in groups in half-shady places,--like under trees,--where they will not be disturbed, will thereafter take care of themselves. Then quickly follow the lovely crocuses, white, yellow, lavender, purple, and the varigated, which often are planted right where they fall after being scattered broadcast over the lawn,--though if the head of the house cuts the gra.s.s before the middle of April they should be set in a bed where they will not be touched.
Hyacinths are beautiful, but personally I do not care much about them in the garden, as they generally have to be planted in ma.s.ses to get any effect, and need, therefore, to be used in large numbers, are more expensive than the other bulbs, and should be taken out of the ground soon after blooming and stored in a cool place until fall. However, one enthusiast that I know plants in rings of 6, and leaves them in the ground!
The daffodil, jonquil and narcissus are three types of the narcissus family, the daffodils usually being distinguished by their long trumpets, while the jonquils and narcissi have the little cup-like centers, and, moreover, are fragrant. They should be planted in the late fall, 4 in. below the surface, in soil that has been enriched 8 in.
below the bulb. They increase rapidly, and do not have to be taken up, or even divided for years. If set in a border where their room is needed after they bloom, simply turn the tops down under the soil, and sow over them any low-growing annual, such as candytuft or poppies. My friend of the tiny "handkerchief" garden described in Chapter II, has--think of it!--over 1500 of these various spring-flowering bulbs in her border that are treated this way, and never taken up! Yet a few weeks after they have bloomed, the s.p.a.ce they occupied is filled with new beauties.
Tulips--but as I told you, they once drove a whole country mad! Today we have probably far more beautiful ones,--and many can be bought in the fall at planting time, for $1.00 per hundred! Some bloom early, some late; some are short, some tall; some are cheap, some expensive. They will grow in partial shade or sun, and can be planted in groups in the border, or in marginal rows for edging. By carefully choosing from both the early and late varieties, you can enjoy your tulips for nearly two months; and by as carefully choosing your colors, have all sorts of artistic combinations. They should be planted 3 or 4 in. deep if the soil is heavy, and an inch deeper in soil that is light, and set 6 in.
apart. They will prove a joy to your heart.
Tuberous-rooted begonias supply a much-felt want for lovely flowers in half-shady or shady places. If the bulbs are started in the house in sand in February, they will be in full leaf when ready to set out in May, and will bloom from June until frost. Don't, please don't, plant them upside down, but be sure that the rounded part rests on the soil.
They require light, rich earth, with plenty of water, given after sundown.
Cannas only too often are planted in big, showy beds where they break our rule of "open lawn centers." In fact, they are a little hard to place, but look well in a corner, in beds along a drive, or outlining a boundary. The ground should be spaded 2 ft. deep, well fertilized, and then kept watered. Set plants 2 ft. apart.
The iris is one of the most beautiful and most satisfactory of all the hardy plants. It grows in almost any soil, and any situation, but does best in rich ground, with plenty of water. It may be planted either in early spring or after August. The dwarf varieties, from 6 to 18 in.
high, bloom during March, April and May; the German iris, standing often 3 ft. high, in May; and the marvelous j.a.panese kinds, sometimes 4 ft., with blossoms 8 to 10 in. across, closing the season in July! (In heavy soil they are not so tall.) When used alone in beds, one prominent grower suggests that the German iris be combined with hardy asters (set in between), and the j.a.panese with gladioli, to keep a succession of bloom until late fall.
Lilies for the garden are of many varieties, requiring different kinds of treatment. As a general rule, however, when the soil is heavy, set your bulb in a nice little nest of sand, and give a blanket of the same before filling in with the ordinary earth.
