for the busy woman who has but a modicum of time to spare for the growing of flowers, but is loath to relinquish entirely their cheerful presence about the grounds and house, the annual garden with its wide diversity of color, season and charm affords the greatest possible returns for the outlay required. a few packets of seed, most of which may be purchased for from five to ten cents, will lay the foundation for sheets and sheets of bloom and the labor of planting and caring for them will be less than is required for perennials.
one great advantage in growing annuals is that the beds may be freshly prepared each spring, there is nothing in the way to retard spading—no perennial growths to be carefully worked around, that the roots may not be injured or the new growth, not yet above ground, be destroyed.262 it is all straight ahead work, and the first early crop of weeds is completely eliminated, grass eradicated and all is in order for the reception of the plants which may have been started in flats in the house or in a hotbed or cold frame or, in the case of such annuals as do not take kindly to transplanting, in the open ground.
nor is it necessary in the case of annuals that there should be a regular, formally laid out garden or permanent beds. a border about the base of the house along the fence or walks, will give room for several kinds of flowers, flowers that will be a mass of bloom from early summer until late frost.
a very satisfactory place for annuals i have found is down through the vegetable garden. i like their company while i am at work among the useful but less ornamental vegetables, so always plan to have a row of something mid-way of the garden; usually the row takes the form of tea roses which never do so well for me as in this homely situation. the culture is more thorough than can be given to plants in beds, there is less263 crowding, hence fewer insect pests and i always plan to have the adjacent vegetables of as ornamental a character as possible; a fine row of mossy parsley on one side, feathery carrots on the opposite row gives a charming background of green. lettuce, beets, parsnips, any of the pleasantly leaved greens are attractive companion rows and although the rose is the aristocrat of the garden, objecting decidedly to sharing her bed with less royal plants i have never found that she objects to their presence when they keep to their own allotted row.
this long row through the garden is an excellent place to start seeds of hardy perennials for transplanting into permanent beds the following year, but only for this preliminary growth, for the annual plowing makes their permanent tenancy impracticable, but bedding plants such as dahlias, gladioli, tigridias and the like will be at their best here and in their summer culture have all the characteristics of annuals.
for early blooming it is always worth while to sow the seeds of annuals early in the spring in264 flats in the house or in a hotbed or cold frame. usually one can spare room in the hotbed for a few plats of seeds and these should be sown at the same time the seeds of the vegetables are sown, sowing each separate variety in little plats by itself, separating the plats from each other by narrow strips of wood pressed into the ground, and labelling each plat with the names of seed, date of sowing and, if known, the length of time it takes for the seed to germinate. annuals, however, germinate more rapidly than perennials, many appearing above ground in from three to five days after sowing, though a few, like the arctotis grandis, nicotianas and ricinus, may take from ten to fifteen days. this is where the forethought of labelling the seed plats with date of sowing and period of germination is of practical value—it prevents undue impatience and discouragement when the plants fail to appear as soon as we expect them to; but with a mixed planting of seeds of varying characteristics, there will always be early comers to encourage one and265 keep alive faith in the ultimate appearance of the least and last.
any considerable planting of annuals should include those that will give a long season of bloom for scenic effect, those that will be especially desirable for cut flowers and above all those special flowers which most appeal to our sentiment and are dear to us through associations or suggestions.
for mass planting about the base of buildings or in front of shrubbery there are few plants more effective than the celosias, especially the varieties known as prince's feather; many of the varieties in red and yellow effects are very good and they seem to stand the heat and drought and even the early frosts remarkably well. usually a spray of the plumey blooms is a whole bouquet in itself. if cut before killing frosts and brought into the house they will retain their freshness for a long time, and potted make excellent fall and early winter plants.
the argemone or prickly poppy is a little known plant of rather recent introduction that266 is rather slow in getting started in spring, but once on its way produces a continuous succession of large poppy-like blooms in golden yellow, pale yellow and pure white, the latter especially attractive with its crown of golden stamens. its chief merit, however, consists in its immunity to frost, continuing in full bloom well into november—a quality shared by few annual flowers. perhaps as close a companion as can be cited is the tall-growing lupine, a beautiful annual that comes in purest white, rosy mauve, sky blue, purple and scarlet and white and mind not at all the frost of late october and early november. the soft foliage would seem ill suited to cold, but if one looks closely one will notice that the foliage is dry, not succulent like many annuals that succumb readily to the first cold wave. balsams and portulacca are notable examples of this susceptibility.
the nicotianas are other cold-resisting plants and have the added advantage of self-sowing—not to a troublesome extent but sufficiently to insure a yearly supply of volunteer plants without267 thought or trouble on the gardener's part. the nicotiana does not open up well in bright sunshine, but unfolds its snowy cups in late afternoon and on cloudy days, but in shady positions is more generous of its beauty and is lovely when silhouetted against the flaming red of the salvias.
the arctotis grandis is another of the less commonly grown annuals that should be included in one's garden planting. these, too, are sturdy defiers of the frost and exceedingly desirable as cut flowers, remaining in bloom for a week or ten days and should be placed in a sunny position for best effect as they are real sun lovers. like all the preceding they are of the easiest culture—good garden soil, water if the season is unusually dry, and plenty of room to develop. the distance at which any plant should be set depends, of course, upon its manner of growth, but it is an excellent rule to plant all erect growing plants at least half their height apart. low-growing and trailing plants, of course, are an exception to the rule, many requiring two or three times their height in inches apart, as the verbena.
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few annuals require staking, notable exceptions being the sultanas, tall anterrhinums, scabiosas, the tall stocks and a few others. when staking is necessary it should be done by as inconspicuous means as possible; bamboo stakes painted green are the neatest and most inconspicuous.
for masses of brilliant color there is nothing to equal the scarlet verbena, the scarlet sage, salvia splendens, the various phlox drummondii or the dwarf nasturtium, the scarlet or orange zinnias and the marigold, and for sweetness one must have the sweet peas and the stock.
much is gained by the use of low-growing plants as a border to beds of taller plants. blue lobelias, dwarf morning glories, english daisies, sweet alyssum, candytuft, all require little root room and add materially to the resulting bloom.
for a screen to mask an undesirable view or object there are several very desirable annuals that are of the easiest culture and of most effective presence. with the stately ricinus all are familiar; less well-known is the tall cleom pungens,269 with its curious flowers of pure white and white and rose, the long, curving anthers of which have given it the name of "spider flower." it is a beautiful and desirable plant, and should be started in the house or hotbed and transplanted where it is to bloom when the nights are warm, setting the plants two feet apart. the nicotiana sylvestris is another stately plant, growing to a height of five or six feet in good soil and, unlike n. affinnis, its snow-white blooms remain open all day and are attractive when grown in the rear of beds of salvias. like the cleom it requires room to develop. practically all annuals may be sown in the open ground; the only object in sowing in hotbeds or house and transplanting is to bring them forward early so as to have the longest possible season of bloom.
to speak of asters seems superfluous, as whatever flowers may be absent from the annual garden it is a safe venture to claim that the aster will not be missing; that is quite as it should be; there is really no one flower that so completely meets the requirements of scenic effect and cut270 flower work as the asters. in the stronger colors of crimson, purple and blue it is as effective a flower as one could wish to use for mass planting, while for more refined and delicate beauty no one could ask for anything better than the pure white and delicate shell pinks of the ostrich feather and late branching whites. the comet asters are very artistic, attractive flowers but, unfortunately, do not stand up under wet weather—a hard rain reducing them to a dismal, raggy condition. set the wide branching asters at least a foot apart and see that all asters have clean, healthy soil to grow in to avoid the troubles that arise when conditions are unfavorable. a warm, fibrous loam, well enriched with old manure, is best and water should be given freely during dry weather, especially when the buds are forming. the black aster beetle is the only serious foe of the aster and makes its appearance when the flowers are in full bloom, doing an immense amount of damage in a few hours if not destroyed as they eat the petals of the flowers, rendering them very unsightly. the only satisfactory remedy271 is hand picking in early morning while the beetles are sluggish. if a pan of hot water or water with a little kerosene in it is carried and the beetles dropped into it as gathered it will not be difficult to control them. spraying with arsenate of lead will kill them if one does not object to the use of poisons on flowers that are to be brought into the house. paris green can also be used but discolors the flowers, but hand picking has no objectionable features aside from the labor entailed, and that is by no means prohibitive as it takes but a short time to go over a hundred plants.
try planting a few salvias on the shady side of the house; they will not make as much show during the summer as those grown in the sunlight but will be in full bloom long after those in exposed positions are cut down by frost.
a few very desirable annuals are plants of one florescence and need to have repeated plantings of seed for a continuous bloom. most conspicuous of this class of plants is the candytuft in white, purple and red and the charming little schizanthus, which should be sown every few272 weeks for a succession of blooms. the plants come into bloom in a few weeks from the sowing of seed and are perfect little pyramids of bloom. sow fresh seed of candytuft when the first sown plants are beginning to form flower buds; used in this way the candytuft furnishes a most useful white for window-boxes and vases, and is unexcelled for edgings of taller plants.
