Most people start cannas from the bulb.  When one does this, plant a good sized bulb and leave about an inch of stalk above ground.  If the bulbs are smaller use two to a hole or planting.  If cannas are started from seed follow this direction:  File holes in the canna seed.  The reason for this is that the outer crust is tough and filing helps the young plant to get out.  These seeds should be soaked in warm water for a day.  Plant in pots.  When the plants are six to eight inches tall transplant to the garden.  Cannas should stand two to six feet apart.  It depends on variety, whether tall or dwarfed, how far apart to place them.

When the flower garden was first started the question arose:  “Shall we plant annuals, biennials or perennials.”

“For my part,” said Josephine, “I don’t know at all what these words mean.”

Katharine got a dictionary and soon she and Eloise had these botanical terms worked out as follows: 

A perennial is a plant which lives year after year in the soil.  It usually blossoms its second season.  Trees and shrubs are hardy perennials.

A biennial is sown one year, blossoms the next and then dies.  Biennials should be covered lightly with straw or leaves through the winter.

An annual blossoms and dies its first season.  But some annuals sow themselves and so come up again the next season.

The girls worked out a table of planting by months which Ethel called the plant time-table.

Besides the garden which the girls all had together each one did something to improve things at home.

The flower time-table
+--------------+-------------+--------------------+
|    name      | sowing time |  blossoming time   |
+--------------+-------------+--------------------+
|Ageratum      |   May       |  June-October      |
|Aster         |   May       |  Until frost       |
|Balsam        |   May       |  June-September    |
|Calendula     |   May       |  June-October      |
|Cal.  Poppy    |   May       |  August            |
|Candytuft     |   May       |  June-September    |
|Coreopsis     |   May       |  June-August       |
|Cornflower    |   April     |  June              |
|Cosmos        |   May       |  August-September  |
|Four o’clock  |   May       |  July-August       |
|Foxglove      |   May       |  June              |
|Gaillardia    |   May       |  July-October      |
|Helianthus    |   May       |  August-September  |
|Hollyhocks    |   August    |  August            |
|Iceland Poppy |   May       |  June-September    |
|Larkspur      |   May       |  June-July         |
|Marigold      |   May       |  Until frost       |
|Mignonette    |   May       |  Until frost       |
|Morning-glory |   May       |  July-August       |
|Petunia       |   May       |  July-September    |
|Phlox         |   May       |  July-October      |
|Scabiosa      |   May       |  July-August       |