Plants continue to bloom for a longer period if they are not allowed to produce seeds. The flowers should be picked, if possible, as soon as they begin to fade.

In the selection of the kinds of annuals, one’s personal preference must be the guide. Yet there are some groups which may be considered to be standard or general-purpose plants. They are easily grown almost anywhere, and are sure to give satisfaction. The remaining plants are mostly such as have secondary value, or are adapted to particular purposes or uses.

The groups which most strongly appeal to the writer as staple or general-purpose types are the following: Petunias, phloxes, pinks or dianthuses, larkspurs or delphiniums, calliopsis or coreopsis, pot marigold or calendula, bachelor’s button or Centaurea Cyanus, clarkias, zinnias, marigolds or tagetes, collinsias, gilias, California poppies or eschscholtzias, verbenas, poppies, China asters, sweet peas, nemophilas, portulacas, silenes, candytufts or iberis, alyssum, stocks or matthiolas, morning-glories, nasturtiums or tropæolums.

Annual flowers possess a great advantage over perennials in the fact that they appeal strongly to the desire for experiment. The seeds are sown every year, and there is sufficient element of uncertainty in the results to make the effort interesting; and new combinations can be tried each year.

Do not cut the old stalks down in the fall. They will stand in the snow all through the winter, and remind you of the bursting summer time and the long-ripening fall; and the snow-birds will find them in the short days of winter.

Some of the most reliable and easily grown annuals for the north are given in the following lists (under the common trade names):

WHITE FLOWERS

YELLOW FLOWERS