| Show pwe rs C aid and L ga aiom xa mixed carnations that bloom the first summer START SEEDS IN HOTBED by L M bennington flower seeds which will have to be started either in the house or in hot beds are as follows one package mixed verbenas one package salvia one eighth ounce mixed pansies one package mixed double petunias one package heliotrope one package mixed geraniums one package hardy garden pinks mixed one package coleus one package bobea scan dens Igns climber mixed one package mixed carnations that bloom the first summer one lackage begonia vernon one package mixed canna seed these should be cut at one end one sixteenth ot of an inch and soaked in warm water 24 hours and sowed in february in the house you will not fall to be extremely pleased with the result this list ot of coarse course may be short ened or increased according to the size of flower bed or garden but these lowers flowers I 1 consider the best varieties for a really useful and handsome show ing they can all be picked and used for decoration and the more you pick the more you may for picking the flowers does the plants good and you and your friends will be benefited SOME EASILY MADE BEDS by EBEN E REXFORD personally I 1 am not much of an adaler admirer of carpet or ribbon bedding or the designs which the enthusiast tic amateur gardener attempts but is pretty sure to abandon later in the season because he discovers that de signs work out unsatisfactorily in annuals the fact is carpet bedding plans are not only effective when such foliage plants as the coelus cooing arc hyran thes centuria cen turea pyrethrum and alter nan thera are used because they can be kept within their proper limits by shearing and pruning while the an duals have too much sprawl to be tract able and very few kinds give a gulf chent mass of blooms to produce the desired color effect we are likely to think that because a plant has yellow red or blue flow ers that it will prove effective aher ever these colors are desired but we lose sight of the tact fact that the flowers will be so few in number and so far apart that there is seldom any solid color effect such as is necessary in properly working out patterns this being the case only the sim pier designs should be attempted with ith annuals and only such effects aimed at as can be produced by contrast in which harmony plays an important part ribbon beds are easiest ot of all to make very pleasing ones can be made with pink pale yellow and white phlox drummondo Drum planted in rows if it darker colors are preferred the scarlet and crimson can be used al ways combining them with white to give the necessary contrast con centre st and re liet lief do not use the soft delicate colors with the stronger tones as there la is a lack of harmony between them asters can be planted in rows ot of white and lavender with very pleas ing results provided the same kind is used in each row it if we were to use the tall branch ing variety in one row and dwarfs in another the effect would be factory though the tall growing sorts could be used in three rows one each of the colors named with the dwarfs as an edging or border with very good results ribbon beds would become tiresome if it we were to con fine ourselves to them therefore it Is advisable to have something else tor for a change next to them the circular bed ia Is easiest to make I 1 would not advise too many colors have the center of one color say lavender if it asters are used then a row of pale pink with white in the outside row this arrangement of colors can be varied to suit individual taste if sweet alys alyssum surn or white candytuft la to used as an edging the effect is height ened as these plants bring a mass of foliage and bloom down to the ground and hide the tall stales ot of the asters A very brilliant combination Is made by filling the center of a circular bed with calliopsis and the softer shade of the same color in the phlox Is charming it if another color seems advisable use pink phlox this harmonizes beautifully with the stronger tones of the calliopsis the center of a circular bed can be filled with scarlet salvia with nas as a border the contrast between the fiery scarlet and the rich tones of yellow and orange and sul chur found in the latter plant is ex cee lovely while the pe pea green agreen foliage of the nasturtium affords just the right amount of that color to bring into strong relief the blossoms of both plants such a bed anyone can make with very little trouble look to it that the ditches and drains are in good order f I 1 A T I 1 P ot 41 91 14 1 where nature left little for the landscape gardener to do |
