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Iowa Seed Company, Des Moines, Iowa.
[image]
[text in image: CENTROSEMA GRANDIFLORA]
[text in image: “LOOK AT ME”]
[text in image: COPYRIGHTED 1892]
[text in image: BY A.BLANC.PHILA.]
SOMETHING ABSOLUTELY NEW.
Many old and neglected plants are really valuable, and prove eminently satisfactory, but, after all, it cannot be denied that one which is absolutely new to cultivation, and at the same time is one of the very best in actual merit, is decidedly the most desirable.
Just such a plant is Centrosema Grandiflora. It is a hardy, perennial vine of rare and exquisite beauty, which blooms early in June from seed sown in April, and bears in the greatest profusion, in verted pea-shaped flowers from 1½ to 2½ inches in diameter, and ranging in color from a rosy violet to a reddish purple, with a broad feathered white marking through the center, while the large buds and back of the flowers are pure white, making it appear as if one plant bore many different colored flowers at one time. Occasionally plants produce pure white flowers, while others are broadly margined with a white feathering. The flowers are produced in the greatest abundance, sometimes six to eight in a cluster. They remain fresh several days after picking.
The stem and foliage are very graceful, and of a delightful odor. It is well adapted for every garden purpose, and especially as climber, running six to eight feet in a season. It will bloom until frost, and if potted will flower freely in the house. One of its most attretive [attractive] features is the way in which the flowers look up at you in the face. Every imaginative person sees faces in the pansy, and this is even more suggestive in Centrosema. Therefore, “Look at Me” is not a bad name for it. We certainly predict for it a great run and immense popularity. It is most highly endorsed by all the leading botanists and horticulturists who have seen it. Per packet only, 15 cents.
NEW VARIVEINED SALPIGLOSSIS.
This is one of the handsomest and richest colored annuals with which we are acquainted. Flowers are beautifully variegated and veined, and attract great attention. It is much larger than the common Salpiglossis. The surface is soft and velvety, and the wealth of color marvelous. The plants are easily raised. and on good soil will grow from two to three feet high. Colors range from pure white to dark yellow, dark red and purplish black, with all shades between beautifully striped, veined and mottled. Blooms all summer and until severe frost in the fall. They are, indeed, very satisfactory garden flowers, and we cheerfully recommend them to our patrons. Seeds were saved from the finest flowers grown on our Adair County Seed Farm. Don’t fail to try them. Per pkt. 7c.
MAMMOTH PASSION FLOWER.
This is one of the most desirable of all climbing plants, sure to be popular with all lovers of beautiful flowers and lovely climbing plants. Seed can be sown in winter in a hot-bed or a box in the house for early spring planting, and if well cared for and seasons are favorable. vines will send out magnificent blossoms the first season, three or four inches in diameter. Its color is odd, comprising a combination of blue, pink and white, which is beautiful, very large and showy, of a feathery and velvet-like appearance. very rich and attractive; foliage is a dark green, with handsome leaves; vines begin to throw out blossoms when only one or two feet high, followed in the fall by beautiful golden fruit about the size of a hen’s egg. They make a beautiful appearance planted over a mound. Is very desirable for window-garden, etc. If left in the open ground in winter must have some protection. Per pkt., 10c.
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[image caption: SALPIGLOSSIS. ]
[image (Mammoth Passion Flowers)]
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Seed Catalogue and Garden Guide.
WILD CUCUMBER.
A well-known vine, common in many sections, and the quickest climber known for covering verandas, old trees and houses, trellises, etc.; never suffering from the heat, but retaining its fresh and lively green color; never infested with insects, and very profuse in bloom. It will sow itself and come up every year in the same place. Pkt. 10c.
CENTAUREA CYANUS fl.pl.
New Double Flowered Ragged Sailor, Corn Flower or Blue Bottle.
The National Flower of Germany and celebrated as the late Emperor William’s favorite flower.
Who does not know and love the old-fashioned Ragged Sailor or Bluets, cherished in our gardens, and its praises sung by poets? It retained its primitiveness for years, but at last has sported, and produced what may be justly called double flowers of unusually large size and filled up to the center with florets, forming handsome globular heads. We offer the seed in mixed colors, which contain, in addition to the usual colors of light and dark blue, white, pink and red, several striking new shades, such dark red with light blue edges, white striped with red and blue, etc. A continuous bloomer of great value as a cut flower, destined to popularity and highly recommended. Per pkt. 10c.
EUPHORBIA HETEROPHYLLA.
(The Gorgeous Annual Poinsetta.)
“Mexican Fire Plant,” or “Fire on the Mountain.” This novelty is an annual of the easiest culture, forming bushy plants three to four feet high, with glossy green fiddle-shaped leaves, which form at the ends of the branches into large whorls or bracts, among which small green flowers appear in summer, and immediately after the leaves commence to color up. The smaller bracts among the flowers are of a brilliant orange scarlet, and the large surrounding leaves soon become blazed with a darker fiery scarlet, so that only a tip of green is left. these colored bracts almost cover the plant, the effect is indescribably grand. Retain their superb beauty from May until December. Pkt. 150.
COSMOS.
A magnificent race of plants growing about four feet in height, and in the fall literally covered with graceful flowers resembling single Dahlias, but neater and better for cutting. They are about two inches in diameter; rose, purple, flesh color and pure white. As a cut flower for vases or personal wear their grace and beauty are unequaled. They commence to bloom in September and continue through October, the flowers bearing a slight frost remarkably. Cuttings struck in August in rich soil make fine dwarf plants covered with bloom. Potted and taken indoors in November (like Chrysanthemums) the plants will bloom freely and last for a considerable time. Easily raised from seed and if sown early bloom the first season. Our strain is the true “American Improved,” and much superior to imported seed. Perennial. Mixed colors. Per pkt. 10c.
MARTYNIA.
A handsome, large free-flowering annual, deserving of more extensive cultivation, It is quite ornamental in growth, quickly forming large bushes and bearing showy flowers, as large and beautiful as Gloxinias, of various colors, red, white, yellow, purple, cream color, very handsomely spotted, stained and striped. The flowers are of the shape shown in our engraving, and are produced in great abundance. These are succeeded by the fruit, or seed-pods, which are large and curiously shaped. When young and tender (test by pinching with the nail) these seed-pods make excellent pickles, and as they are produced in great abundance a few plants will suffice for an ordinary garden. When allowed to fully mature the pods will split open at the end, and become very hard and horny, and are sometimes called “Devil’s Claws.” Per pkt. 10c.
The garden seeds received from you are O. K. and doing nicely.
Νοv. 26, 1892.
W. W. Woodby,
Mt. Auburn, Ia.
Your seeds turned out most satisfactory this season.
Wm. Crawford,
Prop. Fairview Gardens,
Plattsmouth, Neb.
[text box]
$1.25
IN PACKETS
FOR
$1.00
[end text box]
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[image caption: WILD CUCUMBER.]
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[image caption: DOUBLE CENTAUREA.]
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[text in image: THE ANNUAL POINSETTIA]
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[image caption: MARTYNIA.]
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[image caption: COSMOS]
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Iowa Seed Company, Des Moines, Iowa.
MARGUERITE CARNATIONS. It is seldom that any novelty produces such a general and deserved sensation as this new race of carnations has created. Their distinguishing characteristic and the one which makes this race of supreme importance, is the fact that they will commence to flower four months after the seeds are sown. The plants are of healthy and vigorous growth and develop their stalks with great rapidity. The stems are strong enough to keep erect without support, and the flowers are produced in the greatest profusion. They run through quite a variety of colors, white, scarlet, carmine, rose, striped, purple, violet, salmon, etc. Seed sown under glass in March and transplanted to the open ground in May, will commence flowering in August, and will give an endless supply of their beautiful blossoms for a long time. The flowers are exceedingly brilliant in color and the calyx does not burst. This new race has received the indorsement of some of our most prominent horticulturists, and are acknowledged to be a wonderful acquisition. About 80 per cent of the plants will come full double. Per pkt. 15c.
NEW DOUBLE ANNUAL CHRYSANTHEMUMS. This valuable and most unique novelty has resulted from carefully hybridizing and selecting for several years the semi-double varieties of this useful annual already existing, until a high degree of doubleness has been attained. They are extremely variable and it is impossible to describe the beautiful forms which have been produced, as conveyed by our engraving. Some are pure white, yellow or crimson, but the prevailing types are bronzy yellow, the florets tinged with red or lilac rose, the imbricated ray florets beautifully penciled, others have rich crimsoned centers with clear yellow guard petals. Although mostly very double, there will still be an occasional semi-double or even single, but these are almost equally charming. Per pkt. 15c.
NEW GIANT EMPRESS COCKSCOMB. Very handsome either for pot or specimen plants in beds, where they excite the curiosity of visitors more than almost any plant that can be grown. The Empress which we illustrate is the finest and most gorgeous variety yet introduced. It is not uncommon for the heads of this variety to measure over twelve inches in breadth; very bright purple combs and dark bronze foliage. Per pkt. 10c.
OLD FASHIONED GRASS PINK. The hardy and pretty clove scented flowers which our grandmothers loved. Their fragrance is quickly noticed by any passing by the yard where they are grown, before seeing the flowers. There has been quite a call for these among our customers and for several years we have tried to obtain seed of this old garden favorite and have at last succeed in obtaining a fine crop of seed. The flowers range from pure white to a dark pink, most of them, however, being a clear, delicate pink color. A hardy perennial, very desirable for borders. Per pkt, 5c.
ROSY MORN POPPIES. This new Poppy is a really superb novelty. All who tried it last season for the first time were greatly struck with its beauty. The flowers are extremely double and of good size, forming perfect balls of a most unique and beautiful shade of rose-an entirely new and distinct color in Poppies. We consider this quite an acquisition. It is of the easiest possible culture, belonging to the annual pæony-flowered section and merely requires to be sown where the plants are to flower. Those who have not already tried this novelty should not fail to do so. Per pkt. 10c
LARGE FLOWERING PERPETUAL WHITE STOCKS. This fine variety is one of the most valuable kind of Ten Weeks’ Stock ever introduced. It is of strong growth and fine branching habit. It grows in the open ground, to the height of one and one-half feet, and if sown early will produce a great abundance of bloom from May or June until November. The individual flowers are uncommonly large, of a fine rosette-like shape and the purest possible white. The flowers appear on each little shoot, and the oftener they are cut the better they seem to like it. Indeed it is a veritable “Cut and Come Again.” It also succeeds splendidly as a pos [pot] plant. and the flowert [flowers] are delicately fragrant. Per pkt. 10c.
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[image caption: MARQUERITE CARNATIONS.]
[image]
[image caption: NEW DOUBLE ANNUAL HYBRID CHRYSANTHEMUM.]
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[image caption: NEW GIANT EMPRESS COXCOMB [COCKSCOMB].]
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[image caption: GRASS PINK.]
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[text in image: ROSY MORN POPPIES]
[image]
[image caption: PERPETUAL WHITE STOCK.]
Do You Love Flowers?
If so, be sure and order a Gem Collection of Flower Seeds, consisting of one packet each of ten magnificent floral novelties, sure to delight you, for only 60 cents, and also a Grandmother’s Collection of one packet each, of ten old fashioned favorites which are again be coming so popular, for only 25 cents.
The two collections sent to any address for only 80 cents and will make a most charming flower garden.
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Seed Catalogue and Garden Guide.
CAMPANULA.—Cup and Saucer.
A beautiful variety and most desirable and attractive addition to this class of old garden favorites. The bell or trumpet is nearly four inches in diameter, presenting the form of a saucer, hence its name. The plant is of strong growth, quite as hardy and floriferous as the old blue variety, and is very elegant and handsome when in flower, the blossoms literally hiding the plant. It is highly ornamental for borders or potted for conservatory decorations. Perennial. Pkt. 10c,
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[image caption: CAMPANULA—CUP AND SAUCER.]
Princess or SNOWBALL ASTER.
A beautiful and distinct variety, the first of a new race, originating from the “Mignon,” introduced some years ago. The flowers are semi-spherical, as shown in our engraving; of refined and faultless form; pure white; beautifully imbricated and very freely, produced, as many as 30 flowers being frequently borne on a single plant. The cut blooms will remain longer in good condition than most other varieties; and this sort has the additional advantage of being well adapted for pot culture. This will undoubtedly prove a valuable acquisition to the Aster family, being a novelty of decided merit, and the forerunner of a distinct new class. Per pkt. 15c.
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[image caption: SNOWBALL ASTER]
GOLEN WAVE CALLIOPSIS.
For a mass of bright colors, this is probably the most effective of all annuals. Plant very bushy and compact, reaching two feet in height, and covered from July to October with hundreds of beautiful golden blossoms, two inches in diameter, with small dark centers. It is indeed a wave of gold, per pkt. 8c.
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[image caption: GOLDEN WAVE CALLIOPSIS.]
HARLEQUIN ASTER.
A new dwarf pyramidal strain of great beauty, with oddly spotted and striped very double flowers of red and blue, the same plant often having a great variety of flowers on it. Every one will be pleased with it, and it will always attract great attention. Per pkt. 10c.
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[image caption: HARLEQUIN ASTER]
IPOMEA—Heavenly Blue.
This beautiful Ipomea originated in California, and is a cross between Ipomea Learl and Mina Lobata. The foliage is very large, heart-shaped, thick and light green; flowers four and a half to five inches across, in large, airy clusters, and of that indescribable heavenly blue so rarely seen in flowers. The throat is yellow inside. spreading softly into the blue. In the morning about 10 o’clock no lovelier sight can be imagined than this climber, which is completely covered with bloom, so much so as to almost cover the foliage. Every one who sees it for the first time is filled with delight at its beauty, exclaiming, “That is the loveliest thing I ever saw.” Don’t fail to try it. Per pkt. 20c.
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[image caption: IPOMEA—HEAVENLY BLUE.]
New Giant Snowball Daisy.
A most charming variety of this handsome little flower. It has unusually large, double flowers on very long stems, making it very valuable for cutting. Color, a pure snow white. Don’t fail to give this little beauty a trial, and it will be sure to please you. Per pkt. 15c.
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[image caption: GIANT SNOWBALL DAISY.]
KIND WORDS FROM OUR CUSTOMERS.
December 5,1892.—I was well pleased with the Blanche Ferry Sweet Peas, received from you las [last] spring. They gave us one continued mass of bloom from the time the first flower made its appearance until killed by the frost. Was much pleased also with the Cosmos. Thos. H. Brinton, Chadds’ Ford, Penn.
February 25, 1892.—I have been plantiug [planting] your seeds for the last five years, and have had the best of success. Mollie E. Bartholow, Yale, Ia.
March 28, 1892.—We received our last order of seeds in perfect order, and am well pleased with them. Mrs. Ellis Jones, Wales, Iowa.
All of your Seeds have done well for me.
Thanking you for past favors, I remain
Mrs. Thos. Lytle, Frederica, Iowa.
October 1, 1892.—The seeds I received of you in the spring grew and blossomed beyond my expectation. I never saw finer blooms than those on my Pansies, and the Double Dianthus were superb, often measuring three inches in diameter, also the Phlox and Asters grew nicely.
Thank you for the pleasure derived.
Eva Gaillard, Girard, Pa.
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Iowa Seed Company, Des Moines, Iowa.
Snow Queen Candytuft.
A new annual variety from southern Europe, grows rapidly, blooms early and remaining in full flower for about three months. The Snow Queen grows very regularly—each plant being almost an exact counterpart of every other—and shows no variation whatever, as it has never been hybridized. It is invaluable for ribbon beds or borders. Per pkt. 8c.
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[image caption: SNOW QUEEN CANDYTUFT.]
Double Pearl Phlox Drummondi.
A grand novelty introduced by us in 1888. Several years ago we procured from a German grower seed of what purported to be Double White Phlox, but only about one half came double from the seed By constant selection each year we have improved it, so that it comes true to name. It is very pretty, and will prove a splendid acquisition for bouquet work and suitable for buttonhole bouquets, etc. Very pretty for borders and bedding. Per pkt. 10c.
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[image caption: DOUBLE PEARL PHLOX.]
Little Gem Sweet Alyssum.
The plants are very dwarf and remarkably uniform in growth; they only grow three or four inches high, and each plant spreads so as to completely cover a circular space twelve to twenty inches in diameter. The plants begin to flower while quite young, and soon become one mass of white, remaining in full bloom from spring to fall—each plant being densely studded with the beautiful miniature [miniature] spikes of deliciously fragrant flowers. More than four hundred clusters of flowers in full bloom have been counted on a single plant. The Little Gem is entirely distinct and very much more beautiful than the popular old Sweet Alyssum. Per pkt. 5c.
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[image caption: LITTLE GEM SWEET ALYSSUM.]
Musa Ensete.—(BANANA PALM.)
This is one of the grandest and most picturesque of the banana family: as a solitary plant or in groups on the lawn, it has a majestic tropical effect. The leaves are very long and broad, of a beautiful green with crimson midrib in striking contrast. An occasional application of liquid manure and frequent watering are necessary. If the seed is sown early in hot-beds and repotted several times the plant will attain a height of over ten feet the first summer. The rapidity of its growth is aston ishing. Packet of 5 seeds, 20c.
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[image caption: MUSA ENSETE.]
Phlox Drummondi, CUSPIDATA OR STAR.
A magnificent novelty, which is of such extraordinary form and beauty that every lover of the beautiful “must have it.” The growth is generally four inches dwarfer [dwarfier] and the habit siightly [slightly] more compact than the common, The pointed center teeth of the petals (five in number) are four or five times as long as the lateral ones, and project beyond them like little spines, one quarter to one third inch long. Thus the flowers appear to have a splendid, regular star-like form, whose beauty is improved by the broad, white margins, which border edges of the petals. A first-class certificate of merit has been awarded to this novelty by the Royal Prussian Horticultural Society. Per pkt. 15c.
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[image caption: STAR PHLOX.]
OTHER NOVELTIES.
Besides the above, many other fine new varieties will be found in the general list of flowers which follows.
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[text in image: A.BLANC PHIL]
MIXED BIENNIALS AND PERENNIALS.—About fifty varieties. Every garden should contain a good assortment, and it will be easily secured in this way. Oz. 75c., ½ oz. 40c., pkt. 10c.
MIXED EVERLASTINGS.—A grand assortment of all sorts of everlasting flowers suitable for bouquets, Oz. 60c., pkt. 10c.
Mixed Flower Seeds.
INTERNATIONAL NOVELTIES MIXED.
Each year we make a grand test of Floral Novelties, obtaining seed therefor from various sources of new varieties of flowers from all parts of the world, and our trial fields exhibit a truly magnificent display of flowers never before grown here. A few of the new varieties did not do well with us, but they may prove valuable in other climates or on different soil, but by far the larger number are excellent acquisitions, and we would like to have all our customers try them. We have saved seeds of most of the varieties, but instead of listing them in our catalogue separately, at 10 cents to 25 cents per packet we have decided to mix them all together and offer our customers this grand assortment at the low price of 10c. per pkt.; 3 pkts. 25c.
WILD GARDEN MIXTURE.—A mixture of over 400 kinds of such flower seeds as are suitable to be planted together; altogether forming a mass of bright colored flowers and beautiful foliage which is sure to interest and please. Our cut will give some idea of the possibilities in growing flowers from this mixture. Select a light, rich soil, as free from weeds as possible, and plant in this latitude about the first of May. Oz. 35c., pkt. 5c.
MIXED CLIMBERS.—Contains a mixture of all the climbing plants suitable for growing together. Oz. 30c., pkt. 10c,[.]
MIXED GRASSES.—A mixture of the best ornamental grasses nice for making winter bouquets. Pkt. 5c.