Garden Notes - Gaillardia to Kniphofia

Gaillardia
(Blanket Flower)
Variety: Monarch Mixed

Hardy perennial. Height: 3 feet. Blooms July onwards. Color: yellow and red in varying zones. Useful for cutting. Very showy in the flower border. Blooms continuously if faded flowers are removed. Sow the seeds outdoors in prepared seed-beds. Transplant when large enough to handle. A dusting of artificial fertilizer when the flowers begin to show makes a vast improvement. Will grow in almost any soil, but prefers a chalky one. Avoid coddling the plants, especially in the early stages. In poor soil Gaillardias give feeble results. It is very striking among other flowers in the mixed flower border on account of its distinctive coloring.

Geum
Variety: Orangeman

Hardy perennial. Height: 2 feet. Color: orange yellow. Blooms from June to October. Useful border plant being very floriferous. If the old blooms are cut down, the roots will continue to throw up fresh flower spikes throughout the summer. Makes an effective group near the front of the mixed flower border. Useful for cutting. Propagate by division of the roots in September or February. It is a between-season flower following the spring flowers. Makes a useful group beneath a standard rhododendron, its foliage making a smother growth, completely hiding the soil. Other varieties can be grown from seed sown in April in the open.
 

Gypsophila
Variety: Bristol Fairy

Hardy perennial. Height: 3 feet. Double white. Three times as large as the old variety. Excellent for cut bloom. Makes a break between more brightly-colored flowers in the mixed flower border. Prefers a limy soil. A dainty cut flower, useful for arranging with heavy flowers in table decorations. The variety is only increased by cuttings, or division before growth commences. Plants are obtainable from any nursery. The best time to plant is October. It is advisable to cut some of the flowers early; otherwise the plant is so floriferous as almost to exhaust itself by over flowering.
 

Iceland Poppy
Variety: Papaver Nudicaule

Hardy perennial, grown as a biennial. Height: 1 foot. Colors: exceptionally pure salmon, orange, flame, pink and cream. Useful for cutting. Sow the seed early in July outdoors. Sow thinly to avoid transplanting, and remove the plants to where they are to bloom in early October. If the faded flowers are removed, the flowering period will be lengthened. This poppy likes a rich, light soil. Best results are obtained by sowing fresh seeds each year. Cut the flowers in the early morning when they are half open. Effective for planting near the front of the mixed flower border or filling large pockets in the rock garden, but it prefers a sunny position.
 

Kniphofia
(Red Hot Poker)
Variety: aloides grandiflora

Hardy perennial. Height: 4 feet. Blooms July to October or later. Color: orange, scarlet and yellow. Bears its spikes of flowers on long graceful stems. Makes a fine display in the mixed flower border. Good for cutting. Best propagated by division of the roots in early autumn. Leave the old leaves on the plant to protect the crowns from winter weather. It needs a rather clayey soil with plenty of rotted manure to get the best results, but the site must be well drained. Makes a brilliant display planted in a group against a dark green background or in a bank where it is seen against the sky line. In some districts it needs protection from sings.