Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-09-15
Iaaies' 0G0I0llsls.
SOWING HARDY FLOWERS
IN AUTUMN.

| uSdo WITH ilJdCiulnS, JulipS, CiOo"oCo
and similar early howering bulbs,
/ such varieties of flowers as phlox
drummondii, sweet alyssum, candy
tuft, mignonette, danthus and memo
phila are about ready to commence
Towering when the bulbs are past
blooming, and long before they could
be if not planted until spring.
When it has been necessary to COW
er the beds in which the bulbs are
planted, with manure or any other
material, for protection, it is requi-
site to remove it just as soon in the
spring as the weather gets warm and
the ground dry; for as soon as any
of the harder kinds of plants begin
to grow, any of the above mentioned
Towering plants will start, beside
some other kinds which / shall men
ton hereafter.
For bulbs and all kinds of annual
flowers wanted to bloom early in
spring, it is necessary to have the soil
in which they are planted finely work
ed, well-drained, and somewhat shell
tered if possible. Soil which has
imperfect drainage is not suitable for
any kind of early crops, more espec-
ally any kinds in which the seeds or
| bulbs remain over winter. Having
the beds we'll MANFRED with the most
rotten kind of compost (bulbs of any
kind do not like to come directly in
contact with fresh manure) plant the
bulbs-hyacinths six inches apart
and about three deep, tulips about
| the same, crocuses about half the dis
lance. Do not mix the kinds when
planting. If you want them all in
the same bed. plant each row of a
separate kind.
The bed should be round, which is
the most desirable shape, with the
exception of an oval one for small
place. Heart-shaped, triangular,
scalloped, or any fancy-shaped beds,
look best before they are planted
| for unluss suitable plants are put in
them, which can be kept in distinct
shape to suit the form of the bed, it
is merely clump of flowers with no
definite shape. If a round or oval
bed is planted with anything like
care, it maintains its shape all the
time, and always looks well, plant
the tulips in the center, if of large
growing kinds, the hyacinths next,
and the crocuses next the outer edge.
Sow the seeds of the different flowers
in rows between the bulbs, but if
phlox, petunias or similar rampant
growers are used, give them more
room, and plant in every second row.
A very pretty bed can be had, if it is
say six feet in diameter or over, by
sowing around the edge sweet alys-
sum next, crimson candytuft; third,
white candytuft, the large towering
kind; fourth, scarlet phlox drum
mondii, the brightest scarlet, and in
the center SOW white phlox, and you
have a bed of ANIMALS which, well
thinned out and not allowed to over
crowd, will bloom the whole summer,
and the sum of twenty-five cents will
purchase all the seeds required.
\ Another operation must be attend
ed to during the summer to maintain
the Towering. This is not to allow
any seeds to mature on the plants.
People often wonder why their phlox
and candytuft quit Towering so early
in the season. 1t is by allowing them
to mature seed. 1t takes the full en-
ergy of the plant to ripen seed, and
these being ANIMALS, when this is ac-
complished their life's work is done.
Keep the seed off them, and they keep
on making fresh growths and produc-
ing additional flower spikes until the
end of the season, trying to repro
duce themselves by maturing seed,
which can only be done by first pro-
ducing flowers.
There are other ANIMALS which not
only succeed when planted in the fall,
but give much better results by be-
ing sown then, as they get chance
of making their growth before the
dry, hot weather sets in. Some of
them are the pansy, petunia, sweet
peas, myosotis, morning glory, CALI
opsis, BELLS, and in dry places port
ulaca. There are others but those ]
have mentioned are the best for all
planting Country Gentleman.