The Portland daily press., 1899-04-29
THE HOME.
THE GARDEN-HARDYA NNUALS.s

THE GARDEN-HARDY ANNUALS.Y
The miracle of nature which we call
termination cannot be carried out ex-
cept under certain conditions, and the sc
are, unfortu nately, but little understood
by the ordinary gardener, who sows most
of his seeds on tho same plan in circular
patches about foot across, covering them
up with the same amount of soil, and
then leaving them to their fac which is
not always happy one.
One Of the most common mistakes Is to
sew seeds too thickly, for this results in
dwarfed, miserable specimens; which can
never come to perfection.
Shirley 7oppies. for instance (those ex-
Quisite ANIMALS which are now so popu-
lar). need TO be at least nine inches apart
from each other to grow sturdy and
strong ana this seed should be sown
broadcast by means of small perforated
tin or pepper box. in which six times the
amount of the seed in silver sand has
been gently shaken togther, SO as to mix
the two thoroughly.
April, If the frost is out of the ground,
is good time for sowing hardy ANIMALS.
and the border should be well forked over
to receive them, mulch of good fresh
soil being added at the same time, unless
manure has been lightly forked into the
soil in February. A sunny, open day.
when the soil is neither too wet nor too
dry, should be chosen for the work. and
the surface soil must be broken up finely,
when no covering will be desirable for
poppy seeds, which can be just settled In
to the soil with the back of the rake, the
to cover them when treated In this way.
Mignonette, too, of good variety, can
be treated in the same way. and also blue
cornflower, the three seeds. when sown
in the same border, prpducing charm
ing effect of color and of fragrance.
Directly the little plants appear above
ground they should be carefully looked
over, to thin out or remove any which
should be within nine inches OF another.
the point of the trowel being used to
take up such tiny seedlings as may be
necessary to fill any gaps in the torder,
without shaking the soil from them. A
showery day in April will be the best
time for this work. and the border should
be locked over again in week or two to
I'LL up any possible gaps.
Another handsomely hardy ANIMAL Is
the pink mallow, which grows to the
height of three feet and produces mass
of bright, rose -colored flowers for many
weeks in succession. Where large borders
requireIpienty of color this plant is very
useful, but it must be som very thinly,
in good soil, and carefully thinned out
in the same way as the 9th ers, the pure
white variety Of this lavatera mixing we'll
with the pink.
Coreopsis Drummondii, with yellow
flowers, each with rich brown center. Is
both handsome and delightful for cutting,
as it's blossoms are very decorative; Core
opsis AtrosanRuinea, too, dwarf variety
with deep crimson blooms is handsome
plant, especially in good soil, and With
plenty of room.
Sweet peas are perhaps the most indis-
pensabe OF all the hardy ANIMALS; for
they supply plenty of fragrant cut flowers
through ont the summer months, and the
new varieties are rarely beautiful Yet
In many gardens they are not succe
and this probably results from loor soil
or insect enemies.
Where considerable number OF these
blossoms are needed, ii Is best TO sow the
seed in the Kitchen garden, in exactly the
sam, way as peas for the table. The soil