Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-04-23
The Season Of Flowers.

WHAT SHALL We PLANT IN orr SLOWER
BEDs?
With the lengtheninG days Of March
come the florists catalogues, brilliant
with colored plates of 'novelties"
novel, in fact, that their like was never
seen elsewhere. And already we cast
longing gIanccs at the flower-beds, now so
sere and brown, and fancy them covered
with lovely flowers, OdOrous with per-
fume, and then come the questions,
What shall We plant this coming spring?
And how shall We arrange our beds Of
ANIMALS, shrubs, bc,ldingout plants and
bulbs? For no garden Is complete with
out all these beauties None Of them can
be left out of our collection each has its
own peculiar niche to fill 1t is surpris-
ing what rich returns of happiness a
small investment of money in seeds and
plants and small amount of time and
labor will secure. Even dollars worth
Of ANNALS will make small plat of
ground "a thing of beauty" And they can
be planted early in April, in boxes placed
in a warm south window, where they
will quickly terminate. and when the Sec
ond row Of leaves appear they can be
transplanted into pots and left to grow
until the May sunshine invites them to
come out of doors and take their places IN
the garden. by this means one can have
flowers in June that will continue to bios
som until autumn, ii they are not allowed
to go to seed.
Novelties always possess great attrac-
tons for American gardeners, in spite OF
their tendency To- disappointment. Ii Is
such great pleasure to anticipate some
thing rich and rare in the flower garden,
and to watch the unfolding of leaf and
bud that, even when the flower fails to
fulfil the promise held out by the florist,
We are not angry at the failure.
Asters shall have the precedence, not
alone because their initial letter common
ces the list, but because they are SO
! brightly beautiful in the autumn, and
| hold then own, even after the blighting
touch of the first frost The black-blue
dwarf p;eOny- howered aster is really a
new color in asters, being a dark indigo
blue. 1t grows only 10 or II inches In
height, and will prove very effective as a
/ bedding-out plant, when contrasted with
| the rose ard white aSter of the same
| dwarf habit and pnony-hke flowers. There
are also two new cOlOred asters, silver
| gray and white rose of the Washington
aster variety, which produce enormous
| flowers from four to six inches in diane
| ter.
| In candytufts the new carlnire is a desir-
able flower of n vivid red, that contrasts
charmingly with the old white variety,
and being of n dwarf. compact habit, Will
make fine bordering to beds of gladlO-
| las or verbenas.
Uutdricufid EriHia Is an improve
ment on the double white feverfew with
| beautiful foliage curled like double pars-
/ lev, which is often used for green leaves
with verbenas and balsams.
The delicious little darling mignonette
has also been improved by the florists.
when there did not seem to be Il POSSIBLE
! ity of improvement, and The Prize
claims to be fully twice the size of the old
-nricty, while it holds its precious fra
GRANGE unabatcd
Sweet peas, which are rs indispensable
as mignonette, are now grown Ill varle
ty of shades, and the Butterfly" swee
pea is white, variegated with lavender
blue, and possesses the same robust hab
it and sweetness as the old favorit,
Painted Lady"
Petunias have been So skilfully hybrid
lied by the florists that in three year
every imaginable shade of purple, Grim
son, violet, carmine and rose have beer
obtained, while the petals are blotched
striped and mottled in great varieties
the timbriata has beautifully fringe
petals, and strata are striped and spot
ted III all shades of red and purple an,
white So beautiful and rare are thes,
novelties" that the packets of seeds ar,
- cents each. PCtoHia hybrjdG robHS
Ia tore l1ieno is Of such upright, robus
growth that it rarely needs support
while it is of dwarf habit, not exceeding
II inches in height. PctlUlia mana COM
pactd muitiRord is n compact dwarf
plant. as it name implies, of s inches ii
height. the flowers being cherry red III
hue. each marked with white star. Ii
is beautiful for the window, garden Ol
greenhouse culture.
There are also two novelties in ever
lasting flowers for winter bouquets
with many syllabled names-viz., NcTal-
HcDum dAH,tm suPorbiSSiD'uD' .forc al
6a-which is said to be globulnr shape
and beautiful for wreathcs and crosses,
especially the latter variety, which is
Of pearly white hue.