Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-07-04
Sumner FlOners.

AT this season OF the year the florists
seed catalogues are sought for by all
lovers of beautiful flowers who do hot
possess the means of purchasing guam
titles of bedding-out plants to adorn
their gardens; and the h9lf-hardy an
nuals Will often prove quite as orna-
mental as the more highly-prized gera-
NUNS, fuchsias, etc. But to obtain a
good show of plants early in the sea-
son the seeds should be started under
glass or in boxes placed in the kitchen
windows. Take shallow boxes, like
those in which Smyrna figs are i'm
ported, and fill them with any soil that
Is at hand, mixing it nearly with half
sand, SO as to make it light and warm.
1t is better if it is baked in the oven in
an old pan, as the heat will kill all the
seeds of weeds ard the larve of worms.
When cool enough to plant the seeds,
I'LL up the boxes and moisten the soil
with water. Then sprinkle the seeds,
not too thickly, on the top of the soil,
and press them in gently with the fin
gers, taking great care not to bury the
tiny seeds-such as petunia, lobeGa and
the ike-too deeply, as they viii often
decay, because they have not sufficient
strength to push through. A very
slight scattering of sand viii be all the
covering they will require. Nasturti-
ums, balsams and seeds of a similar
size can be planted half an inch in
depth; but sweet pease will blossom
much longer if planted like garden pease
from two to three inches in depth, and
they always seem to bloom much hand
4
etable garden than in small circles or
patches in the flower garden. They
are as indispensable for cut flowers in
June as green pease are for the table,
and if their first blossoms are gath
cred and none allowed to go to seed,
they will continue to flower and per-
fume the air with their exquisite fra
GRANGE until frost. For hedges between
a flower and vegetable garden they
are very ornamental, and will also
prove an excellent screen to hide any
disagTeeable objects. As they are quite
as hardy as garden pease, they can be
planted as soon as the frost is out Of
the ground. and in six weeks, if the
season is favorable, you can gather the
bright eOnsummate flower.
Among the half-hardy ANIMALS the
various kinds of asters take the first
rank, their great diversity of color and
beautiful form making them faYOrites
with all florists. But if early flowers
are desired, you must plant the seeds
at once, and the plants viii be of good
size when the garden-beds are ready
for them. Asters vegetate very easily,
the seeds often sprouting in three days,
and as the roots are fibrous, and grow
compactly, they are much more easily
transplanted than the tap-rooted
plants, such as larkspurs and sweet
pease, and if you choose a cloudy day
in May for the work, or plant them
after sunset, when it has been raining,
the plants will not wither. The soil
for asters should be made very rich
with compost, as their roots demand
the choicest plant food to produce the
finest of fowers-and when the buds
appear, liquid manure applied twice
week will increase their beauty tenfold.
Of late years the florists have paid great
attention to the size and coloring of
these flowers, and have succeeded in
bringing them to great perfection and
in numerous varieties. Cocardeau or
crown asters are very beautiful and
differ essentially from all other kinds,
the center of the flowers being pure
white, while the margin may be either
pink, crimson, lilac or purple. The
Washington aster has larger flow
srs than any other variety, and the
plants are very vigorous. The dwarf
bouquet varieties make very beautiful
edgings to beds of variegated plants,
and the latest variety, the Schiller, is a
very abundant bloomer, compact in
habit and flowers, until the frost kills
it. A bed of asters, arranged with the
tallest varieties in the center, and
graduated down to the dwarf Schiller
or chrysanthemum aster, will make as
fine show in a garden as a bed of
geraniums, while the cost of the plants
will be very trifing.
Balsams can also be made highly
decorative if they are trimmed of su-
perduous branches, and trained either
to one stem or three. Thus trained,
the flowers will be very much larger
and the stems will be thickly covered
with them. As they are tender annu-
ais the seeds should be sown early in
April, and after they have the sec
cond leaves they should be transplant
ed into boxes, two or three inches
apart, and not set out until all danger
of frost is past. Trained with three
branches the balsam can be made very
decorative as a house-plant, and if all
the seedpods are nipped off it will bloom
for six months at least.
If a bed of ornamental -foliaged
plants is desired from ANIMALS, the
seeds should be sown as early in the
month as is practicable and transplant-
ed latein May. Castor-oil bean can be
used for the center of the bed, and
one plant will be sufficient if the soil
is made so rich that it will grow rap
idly. Around it place half dozen
plants of amaranthus tri-color. For
the next row, plant euphorbia margin
alta. Of green and white foliage, It is
very Snowy when mingled with the
darker-foiaged plants. 1t is a native
of Colorado, called by the Indians,
"snoW on the mountains" It is a
very common plant, and has been cul-
tiVated for the last forty years; but of
late it has not received the attention
it deserves. The outer row of this va
riegated bed can be planted with
golden feather or 'the yellow-leaved
feVerfew, which has been so much used
for mingling with the bright-leaved CO.
leus. From a packet of seeds at least
one hundred plants can be raised, and
theywin not cost as much as one plant
of cOleus.
The Japan cockscombs are also orna-
mental for the garden, the feathery
celosia making a fine show. The seeds
are very tiny and must be planted and
watered carefully. 1t needs a light
but rich soil to grow in perfection, and
it is well adapted for the house or win
dow garden, as it is very suitable for
bouquets and vases of flowers. Ten
weeks stocks are old-fashoned flowers,
but always beautiful and ornamental,
and the German florists have lately |
produced fine varieties, as exquisite in |
their coloring as in fragrance. Fre-
quent transplantings are needful to in
crease the stockiness of the plants, so |
it is well to SOW the seeds quite early, |
and as the second leaves unfold, trans |
plant into a box and then into the |
garden. A rich, moist soil is needed |
to produce the largest Towering stalks,
yet they will grow in any garden-soil |
after they have been well started, and |
they are very hardy, blossoming when
nearly all other flowers are dead. 1t |
= H. -, L.