LADY BUG: IT'S A GOOD TIME OF YEAR TO LOOK FOR NEW VARIETIES ON MARKET

Days are definitely shorter at this time of year. Summer gardening is winding down and gardeners must be thinking of the coming seasons. August has had some rainfall and cooler weather, which is most unusual for this area. Many plants, mostly roses, will soon be putting on their very best shows.

If you have not visited the All-America Display Garden on New Madrid Street on the Southeast Missouri University campus, this is a good time to see the more than 400 varieties of flowers and vegetables growing there. It is an opportunity to select some of the new introductions to be included in your next year's garden. Among the many varieties of petunias is a cascading one which may be grown from cuttings, and an outstanding new sunflower.

Colchicum, a giant autumn flowering crocus, is one of the best things that can be planted to obtain a nice display of flowers before the snow flies. Crocus-like flowers in bright blue, light violet, purple and white come from their leafless stems. This autumn flowering crocus is similar to the spring flowering ones, except flowers appear in September or October.

iris may be planted any time when the ground is in proper condition. Many gardeners choose to purchase new plants or divide old ones and replant during this month. Many commercial iris growers choose to fill their orders this month.

The Oriental poppy is one of our old flames that has been away to school and has returned with the "new look." Formerly, an Oriental poppy meant a large, fire red bloom that appears in flower borders, just in time to clash with its next-row neighbor, Mr. and Mrs. Peony. The new educated poppies have discarded their scarlet cloaks and put on new ones of soft and varied hues, and some have become doubles that are pleasing to even an old maid iris or a finicky peony. So now those lovely new poppies are ready to take their places in perfect harmony with other flowers in the perennial border.

The soft pink doubles have reseeded and come up each spring to be admired by the lovely spikes of perennial blue salvia, which were the gift of my good doctor, the late John Crowe.

Poppy plants have died down by this time of year and have become dormant, so may now be dug and moved to a new location. Oriental poppies are heavy feeders and usually remain in one site for many years. Since they come from seeds next year, they cannot be relied upon to come back true to color.

PEONIES

Peonies are the non-gardener's favorite flower because they can often be almost forgotten and will bear a creditable show of blooms. Few flowers are more colorful in May and June and then retain such fine, abundant foliage throughout the growing season as do peonies. Some grow and flourished in our grandmother's garden, where my favorite brother, Carl and I were raised on a fruit farm near Anna, Ill. A small number of them are still growing there where there has been no cultivation. Other records show that some specimen plants of this favorite for older gardeners are more than 150 years old and have not failed flowering annually during that period.

It is strange that tree peonies are still among the rarest and choicest of our garden plants. Some varieties originated by the Chinese are over 1400 years old. Originally they were the exclusive property of the Emperor of China, but about 924 A.D. Japan imported some and made improvements in the flower.

When a quarantine was put into force in 1929, tree peonies were still a novelty in this country, and for lack of stock, this marvelous type of plant was scarce and has been readily available again only in the past few years.

By making a careful selection of varieties, the blooming period of peonies can be extended for about six weeks and longer if singles and tree peonies are included. Those readers who have been with me for several years know how partial I have become to tree peonies. Some here have been in the same location for almost 20 years.

Colors of tree peonies range from white through various shades of pink to red. There are yellows marked with shades of red and some are pure sulphur yellow. We will try to take a couple of them with us when we move to our new home next month.

Most of the varieties of peonies have sturdy stems and make good cut flowers. Often we see them referred to as "The Memorial Flower" since this is the principal flower used for the decoration of graves on Memorial Day. Many persons grow them principally for that purpose. Numerous large commercial growers ship thousands of the flowers for Memorial Day use.

A pleasing and appealing fragrance is usually combined with this charming flower, just another "feather for the peony hat".

This is a good time of the year to look for new and interesting varieties on the market or in the catalogs. It is also a good time to dig, divide and replant.