Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-02-22
The Garden.

although one may often do very well to
begin at this time. 1t is necessary to
determine first of all, what shall be
raised and the best method for attain
ing that end. Those who attempt to
raise everything usually succeed with
nothing. Commence with but few
things and those the most common and
hardy. One good variety of either flow
ers or vegetables, well cultivated, is
worth more than many varieties unsuc-
cessfully grown. The beginning requires
a careful selection of seeds and plants,
which can be cultivated with profit in
ones own soil and climate. What will
succeed well in New England will not
succeed in Iowa, though the lat
itude is about the same. We have
found this true of peas which developed
well in the moist atmosphere near the
sea coast, but which proved utter fail
ures in prairie gardens. 1t is not
always best to select seeds Of either
vegetables or flowers which have not
endured the test Of western gardeners.
In Vicks new monthly magazine for
January we find something which so
fully comedies with the idea which we
are trying to convey that we take the
liberty of quoting it. The writer says i:
Many | have known to fail in flower
gardening because they commence at
the top Of the ladder instead of the bot
tom, and l thought it best that they
should be told this fact. A lady has
seen beautiful flowers in her neighbours
gardens, and resolves to have flowers
next season. Qhave a friend partic-
ularly in my mind.) OF course she
wants the very best, and sees pulled in
the papers, perhaps by editors who
know nothing Of the matter, or, adver-
tised by some scotsman, a wonderful
thing from Japan or Timbuctoo, or some
other outlandish place. All the money
that can be spared is invested in a few
Of these new and wonderful things.
The fancy seeds are committed to the
ground with a feeling of exultation. The
neighbors, perhaps, have not heard of
these wonderful acquisitions, and will
open their eyes pretty wide when the
flowers appear in their glory and they
find their flowers and gardens left en-
tirely in the shade. AS usual, a fall fol-
lows pride. Half of the new things not
being adapted to our climate never reach
a Towering state ; others are only slight
ly different in color or form varieties
we 10Y possess, very interesting, per-
haps, to the florist, or ever the curious
and experienced amature, but of no use
to the beginner. The good old Asters
and stocks, and Balsams and Petunias
that any M a grow, were neglected,
and disappointment is the result"
What is rue with reference to the
cultivation Of flowers is also true of
vegetables. a beginner should first try
only the simple, hardy varieties which
almost grow of themselves if they once
become rooted in the soil.
For a display of flowers without much
care OF labor we prefer Petunias and
Drummond Phlox. The Perennial
Phlox is very snowy and is easily cult
waited, but no one need be told of this,
for w do not know of a farm yard with
out it if it makes any p%retensions to art
ificial display. Most Of the June roses
grow well in Iowa soil, and if planted in
orchards or beside fences they can wan
der at their own sweet will and produce,
in return for their liberty, an abundance
of bloom. We do not like coarse flow
ers, destitute of perfume. If one cult
Yates flowers at all, why not select those
which possess elements Of real beauty.
They have a language of their own, and
whether we can or cannot interpret it,
they convey to us a sentiment which
cannot mistake. Does the cocks
comb ever impress one with that deli
cate sentimate which the rose or the
lily conveys? Does the gaudy sunfow-
awaken the feeling which the modest
violet inspires? We would rather see
coarse flowers than no sign of vegeta-
ton about the door.
The selection which one makes for a
flower garden is to some extent an index
Of her sentiments, and her real native
refinement will in some way find ex-
preston in her front yard. A well kept
lawn, with here and there a shrub or a
mound of blooming plants, is far pretti-
than a yard crowded with beds of
plants of every conceivable variety.
Those who have followed our directions
for wintering Zonale Geraniums find
that each spring they have enough to
ornament their yards without the addi-
ton of many other plants. If any de-
sire the scarlet or pink Geraniums for
the garden and have not wintered any
for that purpose, they can procure them
by buying one or two plants and cutting
them into as many slips as possible. If
rooted in the house in sand, with a little
rich soil underneath, but few will be lost.
now and you will have an
abundance for bedding by the time the
soil is warm enough for them.
Asparagus is one vegetable which we
heartily commend to every farmer, and
were we fortunate enough to pos
sess a farm, we would not do without.
But a farm is by no mean necessary
for it's cultivation. A little bed in the
is all any one needs. We give
below Vick's direction for the culture
Of Asparagus, and assure our readers
that if a good bed is once started it will
last a lifetime and grow better with age:
"The quickest way to obtain Aspara-
gus is to purchase plants, because by
doing so the beds are fit for cutting one
or two years earlier than would be the
case were they started from seed. To
with the beginning, however,
obtain seed as early as possible in the
spring and SOW in wide drills, say five
in width, and fifteen inches apart,
about as peas are sown. Keep the soil
and the weeds destroyed, and in
the autumn, if the soil is good, you will
have ~one-year-old plants to transplant.
One-year-old plants are pretty small,
and many prefer to keep them in the
until two years of age. An
ounce Of seed is sufficient for a drill
about twenty-five feet in length. In
making a bed for the plants select a
good, mellow soil, if possible, and make
It deep and rich. An Asparagus bed
made will keep in good condition
for half a century, so the work should
be well done. The beds must be mar
row, so as to permit of cutting to the
center without stepping upon them.
Set the plants not less than twelve inch
es apart in the clear, spreading the roots
out naturally, and not crowding them
into a hole, and so deep that the crown
or top of the plant will be about three
inches below the surface. In removing
the weeds have care not to %injure the
young shoots, and it is best to do this
by hand as much as possible. Salt is a
good manure for Asparagus, and may
be used with such freedom as to keep
the weeds pretty well subdued without
much further trouble. II strong two