The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-05-31
spring oardpnins.


piitsburg Commercial Gazette.
A bright little woman once said 10 me-;
III feel an attack OF the blues approaching
pat on my ohamois gloves, take my little
gardening tools and go into the garden and
dig about my plants. Nothing 10 so potent
to drive away low spirlts as the fresh air and
contact with the earth" There is certainly
great CO afoft aud pleasure Ia caring for the
beautiful treasures of the garden. the EVAN
gelists OF beauty, grace aud contentment"
The value and power OF flowers as direct
agents OF good can hardly be overesimated.
There is something human, too, about them /;
they appeal to US as directly as do our Eel
low.men, vet with greater tenderness and
rarer eloquence. What hosts OF associations
are connected with them. There is no event
Of life which they are not needed to beau
tify and refine. They are closely associated
with religion, typifying much that could be
presented in no other way. The lily ana the
rose are the emblems OF the Virgin; daisies
adorn the robes OF st. Margaret; the snow
drop Is the flower of the Publication, called
Also tina Fair Maid of February" the
"crown imperial is dedicated to King Ed
ward the Confessor, while the anemone, or
"Pasque Flower" is revered as typical OF tie
Resurrection.
Many beautiful flowers may be cultivated
even in the confined space afforded by a city
yard with its conventional grass plot In the
center and t1e border extending around the
three sides. Care must be exercised, OF
course, in the selection of plants for sunny
places and shady corners. IL the gfass plot
be not sacred to the bleaching of the family
linen, it is Just the place to have a bed of
coleus. Have the bed made In the center
and plant q Gamma or two, caladium CT
castor oil plant (Ricinus) in the middle and
surround them with the rich c0lored coleus.
Great taste may be displayed in the arrange
ment OF color. If there are clothes posts
the corners of the grass plot must be left TO
them but if these wooden sentinels are not
needed, charming little triangular beds may
be laid out at each angle. In one may be
massed white verbena, In another the dwarf,
tawny nastustium, in the next the purple
verbens, and in the last scarlet verbena.
In the shady places have fuchsias and lil-
les of the valley. The English ivy thrives in
perfect shade, and may be trained on fence
or wall. making Ii one solid mass oil green.
Pansies like shade, but need some sunlight;
they make right royal bed. They are, too,
SO intelligent, every blossom seeming to
greet you as you pass.
In the sunny borders, there may be superb
geraniums, single and double; double portu-
lacas which only blossom under the direct
rays of the sun and are glorious with their
crimson, yellow and white flowers. Double
balsams, so often neglected, are constant
adapted 10 finger bowls, a single flower with
q rose geranium leaf affording dainty bit of
color There must be plenty OF mignonette,
which NAV be used along the edge of the
borders, heliotropes, light and dark and car
nations. Then there are the vari-colored
phloxes, sweet alyssum- marigolds, the dwarf
morning glory, csndy-tuft and the beautiful
petuniss. Have place for few choice
and for some clematis
plants, which are 60 effective If trained on a
stick six or seven feet high. They thrive
best If in the morning sun. Do not forget
the sweet geraniums and the lemon verbena.
The cobea scandens, Mrs. Bro Sning's ''pur
pie claret cup" which grows forty feet in the
season, is a graceful climber, and with the
fragrant Madeira vine will cover the verands
or bay window. There are so many beauti-
ful roses that will repay the care spent upon
them, that it is only necessary to
choose those which may be preferred
For those who live in the suburbs and have
q large garden, what glory and wealth of
bloom may be hadl There are the beds of
all manner of shapes, the Towering shrubs,
the vines of fragrant bloom covering the |
verandas and the summer house, the wild |
garden and the rose garden. A very effect |
i've bed is made in the shape of a cornucopia. |
The small part OF the horn Is formed OF vari- |
colored coleus, arranged according to fancy, |
while tumbling out of the generous opening I
pie and so easy to care for, owing to the |
dense growth of the plants, that the amateur
would have no fficulty in keeping 1T in or
der. The coleus must be kept short to pre-
serve the contour of this horn OF plenty.
A shady spot is best for the wild garden. |
A rich leaf mould is needful for this and it
may be found in the woods with the wild |
flowers Hepatica, wood anemone, arbutus,
yiolets, columbine and ferns, jewellers in the
woods, are quite thrifty if transplanted with
large bali of earth to their garden home.
Fleur de lis and the the lily of the valley are
in harmony with the wild flowers.
Bitter.sweet will bear transplsnting and
locks charming climbing over q stump. |
Plant vines wherever you can make then |
grow. The hop vine grows rapidly and is
very beautiful.
Coffee dregs and tea leaves are good fer |
tilizers and may be worked lightly in the |
soil about your roses or other plants that re-
ouire gross feeding. Plants need nourish- |
ment in the same degree as animals, so do |
not starve them.