The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-03-08
FLOWERS.
Texas the Home for Nearly All
Varieties.
Something of Interest for the
Ladies and All Lovers of
the Beautiful.

Mr.. Radam, the well-known florist and
hort'culturist, has kindly furnished The
STATESMAN with the following, which will
interest the ladies aud all lovers of beauti-
full and fragrant flowers:
Texas is the home for flowers; in fact,
have not seen country where such
variety will grow. We have two seasons
for howers--spring and fall In the
months of April, May and June the
prairies, hills and valleys are nearly Gov
cred with them. To name most of those
wild flowers takes a very experienced
betanist. l will only mention few,whlch
can be found almost anywhere. The
lupimus nanus covers the hillsides during
the month of April with most beautiful
purple color, while the old plox drumondii,
which grow through the winter, is scat
tered all over the country. Then there
are anemorus of the most vivid scarlet
color spread over the hills and valleys
like beautiful carpet. Our wild verbena
is the mother of those beautiful varieties
in cultivation, and it can be found almos
anywhere. Later during the summer, the
coreopsis drumondii takes possession of
the ground. 1t is really nice flower,
but here an obnoxious weed, and there ls
another beautiful yellow flower which oc-
Gu pies all uncultIvated fields and fence
corners. mean the sunfower. On top of
the hills, just on the driest and hottest spot,
we find the "cactus." Some of them are
only few inches high, and are hard to be
found; the little barefooted boys gener-
ally find them first. Down in the ravines,
under the trees, grows the maiden-hair
fern, covering the earth like a sheet vi
green, soft velvet. Whoever secs these
green plots of ferns for the first time is
greatly impressed with the beauty of ma
ture's creation. Ladies hunt for these
ferns, and take them home to plant
around their fountains and rockerles.
If we want to be successful in raising
beautiful flowers with very little work, we
must look around and study nature. 1t
will mot do to SOW pauzy, phiox, rockets, and
pinks late in the spring. We have to sow
them in the fall, as they are hardy here,
and then they will flower very early and
bloom long time. Before the summer
heat comes on they have done their duty.
great many ANIMALS we have to plant
very early to get the full benefit of their
flowers. Bulbus plants, such as tuber
roses, gladiolus, dahiias, caladiums, We
leave in the ground, as frost scarcely
reaches them. Verbinas and chrysanthe-
NUNS mostly survive our winters, and the
old lady that bought few plants in the
spring, raises stock enough for the next
spring to supply the whole neighborhood.
Greenhouse plants, such as geraniums,
heliotropes, caleus, plumbagos, you had
better plant out in the open ground IN
Nav, and before the sun gets too hot they
have made nice bushy plants 30 that they
shade their own roOts-otherwi5e you
have to make shade by mulching them
with hay, trash or moss, and good mulch
ing is half watering. Plants which you
leave in the pots are better sunk into the
ground, and then lay some mulch over
the pots to keep them as cool as possible
and during the months of July, August
and September it is better to not attem of
to transplant or move anything, as this il
the season of rest, and all that the flower:
want now is water. When the first fal
rain sets in, which is looked for in Sep.
TENDER, new life commences and new
vegetation springs up. In fact this is thu
second season, and whatever has beer
saved from the hot, burning sun, is saft
now and repays for all the trouble. Sep
TENDER, October and November is GU
Indian summer, and the everbloo ming
roses are in their full glory sometime
until Christmas. The rose is, think
the finest flower for Texas. There is N
garden without a rose bush, and tn
lady of the house takes peculiar pride il
having a fine collection of ever blooming
roses. 1t repays very we'll in preparing
the ground extra for roses. A sandy
loamy SOIL mixed with we'll rotted manure
from the COW lot, and spaded in at leas
two feet deep, is the best. The spo
should be an open, sunny place. Plan
the roses on such bed, mulch them, ant
water when very dry, and you will fint
your roses profusely blooming on such {
bed for good many years. Do not plan
such roses which bloom only once, lik,
the prairie queen, Baltimore belle, anC
such spring bloomers. We want, and cal
raise, such roses that will bloom from tn,
early spring until winter sets in again
Don't bother around with the o-calleC
florist roses like Nyphetos, Cook, Franci
Bennett, and most of the hybrid teas
they die too quick, and want to be petteC
under glass. There is large list of eve
blooming hardy roses that will stand GU
Texas climate, and those only should b
planted, and you will have no reason t
complain. 1 could give you list of them
but I am afraid that some of your reader
will get tired, especially such of them VIII
make it their business to raise "cows an
| horses"