But then, as I once heard, "A man's garden is like his wife, whom he never would think of comparing with anybody else's." So you don't have to follow any one's choice. Just make a list of the flowers that you like, find out when they bloom, and then choose as few or as many as you have room for, remembering to plan for something lovely every month of the blooming season.
One note of warning, however. After you have made your list, consult some friend that is a successful gardener, and make sure that what you have chosen will thrive in your particular locality. If you find it does not, strike it off, and put in something that will.
FLOWERS THAT COME UP EVERY YEAR BY THEMSELVES
A GUIDE TO THE COMMON PERENNIALS
Note.—A few of these will blossom the first summer, if started early. Also, some varieties of the same plant will flower in the spring, others in the fall. Make sure which kind you get.
| Name | Color | Height | Sow Indoors | Sow Outdoors | Good for | Place | Blooming Season |
| Alyssum (Alyssum saxatile) | Rich yellow | 1 ft. | May June | Rockery Edging | Half shade or sun | April, May | |
| Anemone, Japanese (Anemone Japonica) | Rose White | 2 to 4 ft. | May June | Border Bed | Half shade or sun | Sept., Oct. | |
| Aster, Hardy (Aster Novæ-Angliæ) | White Pink Lavender Purple | 2 to 5 ft. | May June | Anywhere | Shade or sun | Aug. to Oct. | |
| Baby's Breath (Gypsophila paniculata) | White | 2 to 3 ft. | May June | Rockery Border | Sun | June, July | |
| Balloon Flower (Platycodon) | White Blue | 1 to 3 ft. | May June | Border | Sun | July to Oct. | |
| Begonia, Hardy (Begonia Evansiana) | White Pink Rose | 1 to 2 ft. | May June | Border | Sun | June to Aug. | |
| Bellflower (Campanula) | White Blue | 1 to 3 ft. | May June | Border | Sun | June, July | |
| [E]Blanket Flower (Gaillardia aristata) | Red Yellow | 3 to 5 ft. | May June | Border Bed | Sun | July to Oct. | |
| Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis) | Pink | 2 ft. | May June | Border Bed | Likes half shade | May, June | |
| Boltonia (Boltonia latisquama) | Lilac | 2 to 6 ft. | May June | Border Bed | Sun | Aug. to Oct. | |
| Candytuft, Hardy (Iberis sempervirens) | White | 6 to 12 in. | May June | Border Edging | Sun | April, May | |
| Chrystmas Rose (Helleborus niger) | White | 12 to 15 in. | May June | Border | Half Shade | Dec. to March, outdoors | |
| Chrysanthemum, Hardy | No blue | 2 to 3 ft. | May June | Border Bed | Sun | Sept. to Nov. | |
| Columbine (Aguilegia) | All shades | 2 to 4 ft. | May June | Rockery Bed | Sun | May to Aug. | |
| Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) | Yellow | 1 to 2 ft. | May June | Border Bed | Sun | June to Oct. | |
| Daisy, English (Bellis perennis) | Pink White | 3 to 6 in. | May une | Bed | Sun | April to June | |
| Delphinium (Delphinium to formosum, D. Belladonna, D. Chinense) | Blue to white | 2 to 6 ft. | March | May June | Border Bed | Sun | June, July, Sep. Oct. Cut down after each flowering |
| Flag, see Iris | |||||||
| [F]Forget-me-not, Perennial (Myosotis palustris) | Blue | 6 to 18 in. | May June | Border | Shade or sun | May to fall | |
| [G]Foxglove (usually biennial) (Digitalis) | White Purple Rose Yellow | 3 to 5 ft. | May June | Border Bed | Half shade | June, July | |
| Fraxinella, see Gas Plant | |||||||
| Gaillardia, see Blanket Flower | |||||||
| Gas Plant (Dictamnus albus) | Rose White | 2½ ft. | Long lived | May June | Border Bed | Sun | June, July |
| Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata) | Yellow | 6 to 8 ft. | May June | Back of border | Sun | July to Sept. | |
| [F]Hollyhock (Althæa rosea) | All shades | 4 to 6 ft. | May June | Back of border or bed | Sun | July, August | |
| Iris | White Purple Yellow Maroon | 1 to 3 ft. | May June | Border Bed Clump | Sun | May to July | |
| Larkspur, see Delphinium | |||||||
| Lupin (Lupinus) | White Blue Pink Yellow | 2 to 5 ft. | May June | Border Bed Clump | Sun or half shade | May, June | |
| Madwort, see Alyssum | |||||||
| [E]Mallow, Musk (Malva moschata) | White Rose | 1 to 2 ft. | May June | Border | Sun or shade | July to Sept. | |
| Michaelmas Daisy, see Aster | |||||||
| Monk's-hood (Aconitum napellus) | Blue to white | 3 to 5 ft. | Slow to start | May June | Poisonous | Sun or shade | July to Sept. |
| Moss Pink, see Phlox subulata | |||||||
| Mullein Pink (Lychnis coronaria) | White Red | 1 to 3 ft. | May June | Border Bed | Sun | June, July | |
| Myosotis, see Forget-me-not | |||||||
| Myrtle, see Periwinkle | |||||||
| Pansy (Viola tricolor) | White Blue Yellow Purple | 6 to 8 in. | March | April May | Border Bed | Sun or half shade | All summer, with care |
| Peony (Pæonia officinalis) | White Rose Crimson | 3 ft. | Slow grower | May June | Border Clumps | Sun or half shade | May, June |
| Periwinkle (Vinca minor) | Blue White | 6 to 10 in. | March | May June | Trailing vine | Shaded bare spots | All summer |
| Phlox, Perennial (Phlox paniculata) | No blue or yellow | 2 to 3 ft. | Slow | May June | Border Bed | Sun | Aug., Sept. |
| (Phlox subulata) | White Pink Lavender | 2 in. | May June | Carpeting Border | Sun | April, May | |
| Pink, Grass (Dianthus plumaris) | White Vari-colored | 1 ft. | May June | Rockery Border | Sun | May, June | |
| Platycodon, see Bellflower | |||||||
| [E]Poppy, Iceland (Papaver nudicaule) | White Red Yellow | 1 ft. | April May | Border Bed | Sun | June to Oct. | |
| Poppy, Oriental (Papaver orientale) | Scarlet Orange to pink | 3 ft. | March April | Border Bed | Sun | June, July | |
| Pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum coccineum) | Whit Rose Crimson | 3 ft. | May June | Border | Sun | June, July | |
| [E]Rocket, Sweet (Hesperis) | White to purple | 2 to 3 ft. | May June | Border Clump | Sun | June to Aug. | |
| Rockmadwort, see Alyssum | |||||||
| Rose Campion, see Mullein Pink | |||||||
| Rudbeckia, see Golden Glow | |||||||
| Sage, see Salvia | |||||||
| Salvia (perennial) | White Blue | 2 to 4 ft. | May June | Border Bed | Sun | May to Sept. | |
| [F]Snapdragon (Antirrhinum) | No blues | 1 to 3 ft. | March | May 1st | Border Bed | Sun | Jun to Oct. |
| Sunflower (Helianthus) | Yellow | 2 to 8 ft. | May June | Back of border | Sun | Sept. to Nov. | |
| [E]Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) | White Pink Maroon | 1 ft. | May June | Border Bed | Sun | June to Aug. | |
| Tickseed, see Coreopsis | |||||||
| [G]Wallflower(Cheiranthus cheiri) | Yellows to browns and purple | 1 to 2½ ft. | May June | Rock garden or border | Part shade | May | |
| Windflower, Snowdrop (Anemone sylvestris) | White | 1 to 1½ ft. | May June | Clump Border | Part shade or sun | April to July |
FOOTNOTES:
[E] Will bloom the first year from seed sown in March.
[F] Perennial in the South, but should be grown annually in the North.