The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-06-08

Hozv to Grou Hoqvers
In City Backyards.
All Brooklyn knows about the Block
Beautiful that is planned over on Column
bia Heights. But the Heights is a fine
part of town anyway. There is no rea-
son why all its blocks should not be
| blocks beautiful. Nor is there any rea-
son why there should not be blocks beau
| tiful scattered all over the city. with
| just little help nature will attend 10
| that.
Unfortunately there are whole lot or
| people who can't live on the Helsnts'
who can't afford gardeners to keep flower
teds abloom in fine yards, who cant az
ford decorative flower urns, or possioiy
even well-built zinc-lined boxes IN tnelr
windows. who say TO themselves . ,sta
they can't buy plants from the florists
and keep boxes filled because plants are
expensive and plants die and have 10 De
replaced; all of which costs money.
This is all very true. Plants brought
up to the air Of Z. hot house, grown IN
rich, constantly fortified soil, under eS-
| pert caro- from the moment that their
first leaves sprout do die when put out
| Of doors in poor soil perhaps, unshelter-
eel from icy winds or from burning sun,
denied through carelessness the cup or
cold water that would put new n!e ll.o
them It is unreasonable, lnconsioerate
of tfenl-but they do "just up and die
IN ,-ou" But with reasonable care plants
grown out of doors will live out of doors
| and be a delight to the eye and a refresh
ment to the soul of many weary CITY
| dwelier: and now is the time to start
| them. ..,.
| Pt1t
| lovers. those who are willing to work
against odds for a bit of bloom are not
so many The odds ave not SO great mere
| as they are across the river. Brooktsn
| has more homes and fewer tenements.
| There are more small houses surrounded
| by bits of ground where flowers and vines
may be planted, and fewer srimy brick
| human rabbit warrens, occupying every
| inch of their "lot'' where pot IN
window or a box on the sill is the only
possible suggestion of greenness attain
able
Men don't always own up to the taste
| for flowers. They regard it, like religion,
as a thing for women and children, but
beneath their dignity. That however, Is
| merely pose. They may not care LOT
religion But they do like flowers. MOST
of all children like them. was there
ever a child yet who taken for i walk
for walk in the country did not run 10
right and left filling it's hands with flow
ers who did not hunt in carefully under
the leaves for the earliest little sllllen
Stoned hepatica, who did not crow JOY
fully over the first violet that opened Its
blue eye to the bending blue of theskW
who did not treasure the gold of even the
despised dandelion? If the mothers have
not time let the children turn to and
| make Brooklyns blocks beautiful. Let
them begin now and let them understand
that it will net hurry matters to dig up
their seeds. or their seedlings to see why
they don't grow.
First Of all, for those who are FORUM
ate enough to have q home and a gar
den plot and whose problem is compare
lively simple. If the earth is packed
hard don't scratch an inch or so of the
surface and expect your tender spro1t-
ing seeds to run their slender little roots
TIL ough bedded clay that it would take
a pickax to break. They will do 1.-THE
wonderful little thfngs-but the effort
will exhaust them. Dig up your gardens
! we'll and loosen the soil. Remember that
the farmer though he sows the seed on
the surface, has his fields plowed, and
| plowed deep. before he begins. He does
! not scatter seed on a field beaten hard
| by winter rains. If you can afford to
| put in a little money fertilizing, so ahead
and fertilize. There's very little soil IN
! city yard that would not be improved
| by something of the sort. But if You
| can't, go ahead and plant. Even in poor
| soil wonders can be accomplished by
| little attention. Don't plant delicate
| exotics that even the florists have. trou-
| BILE with Remember that you want
| plants to flourish in an atmosphere of
| smoke and to survive the strong salt
| winds that sweep up from the bay even
| in summer-to say nothing OF the neigh
| bors' dogs and the neghbors cats. who
are no respecters of persons or places IN
the selection of their nightly battle
| grounds.
over the Associated Charities Building.
| in sTwenty-second Street the League for
| Social Service seems to be largely occu-
| pied in collecting all sorts Of information
| on all sorts of subjects In which society
| lin its lage sense-may be interested.
| lage Improvement societies over there and
| more especially the experiences Of the
| Home Gardening Association of Cleve-
| land and of the National Cash Register
| Company of Dayton both of which have
| devoted much time and thought to help
| ing people-just ordinary people-the COM
mon people. whom Lincoln said the Lord
| must have loved since He made so many
| of them-improve their surroundings. just
! their ordinary everyday surroundings.
| They have found that the fifteen varieties
| OF seed which will grow best under un-
| favorable circumstances are in the order
| Of their popularity bachelors buttons
California POPPY. verbenas, nasturtiurn
| climbing pllox nasturtium (bush), candy
| tuft Detuna. zinnia, balsam. marigold.
| four o'clock. morning glory, calliopsis and
| calendu1a.-Brooklyn Eagle