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Show Fionas flpppoppiaiG Fop TEis Bicentennial I've been getting a steady number of requests for information infor-mation on red, white and blue flowers from people getting ready for the Bicentennial celebration. Some have in mind creating the American flag or the Bicentennial symbol sym-bol in a floral design in their front yards. ITS EASY to list a lot of different red, white and blue flowers but the task becomes more difficult when people tell me they want the colors as close to the true flag colors as possible and that they also want all three colors in the same flower variety. What often happens is that you can find two of the three colors in a single variety not the third. Added to this is the necessity of using low growing grow-ing plants of the type needed for floral designs. OF COURSE, there is the morning glory.which has good vivid red, white and blue varieties. But these are vines and not suited to a bed. One choice for all colors in a single type of plant would be the petunia. In both single and double petunias it is possible pos-sible to find varieties with our flag colors. These also fulfill the requirements of having the flowers blooming throughout the entire season. These plants have to be kept neat and trimmed during the year because they can become stragglers in some situations. FOR NEAT sharp edges in a design, however, a com- bination of different kinds of flowers would be the best bet. Also, plants that would only grow up to six inches tall. Ageratum Has been the standby for blue edging plants for years. There are several new shades of blue that I am sure would give you that color. There are also some new white varieties. Both will flower all summer and are six inches or under in height. ANOTHER white in this low group of plants would be sweet alyssum. This is another easy-to-grow annual or summer-flowering plant. For a red in our low-growing all-summer conbination I would select one of the new red-flowered begonias. They grow but eight inches tall and if started indoors very early -as early as Feb. - they will flower all summer . The new red wonder is the variety I would select. WHEN GROWING flowers in a design bed, you certainly will want to keep them growing grow-ing as vigorously as possible and free from weeds. Plant them in good soil and keep the bugs away by spraying with an aerosol like Raid House & Garden. Another tip: plant a dozen or more plants of each flower in another spot in the garden. Then if one should happen to die in your design bed, you can replace it with a plant of the same size. PERHAPS YOU have other suggestions for flowers to use in a flag design. Drop me a line with your choices: Bill Meachem, care of Johnson Wax, p.o. Box 3788 , Grand Central Station, New York, N.Y. 10017. |