Evening star., 1902-03-11
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WILD FLOWERS FOR EASTER.
Plants From the Woods That Will
Bloom Indoors.

Plants From the Woods That Will
Bloom Indoors.
From the New York Tribune.
The most beautiful centerpiece for the
Easter table, when Easter comes so near
the opening Of spring as 1t does this year,
is Que of blue hepaticas and spring ferns.
The hepatica is usually the first flower Of
spring. Close to the russet earth in the warm
light which drifts through the bare wood
land boughs, it opens it's abundant azure
blossoms, as blue as the wings OF the
bluebird or the sky of March. Like the
sky and water of March, the flower has
so perfect an azure hue that 1t seems to
have been purified by frost. 1t has none
of the purplish color Of the violet that
blossoms, later, in the green grass Of May.
The hepatica, the trailing arbutus and
nearly all the early spring flowers perfect
their flower buds in the autumn, wrapping
them up In furry little covers close to the
earth, where they rest through the winter,
under the snow, to wait the awakening
suns of the vernal equinox. Sometimes it
seems to be race between these early
flowers as to which shall open it's petals
first and earn the right to be called the
first bloom of spring. 1.-THE brave SPEARS
Of the skunk cabbage" however. often
push themselves through the frozen earth
before the blue hepatica or the trailing
arbutus breaks its furry sheaths.
Any of these early flowers may be easily
forced in a wild window garden, 50 that
they will blossom indoors long before they
appear in the forest. The plants must be
taken from the woods In the fall or at the
beginning of March, brought into the house
and thawed out, and then planted in q
sunny window where they will soon come
into perfect bloom. They are extremely
pretty planted with the evergreen spleen
wort ferns, which are so characteristic OF
SDrinQ
are more filmy and delicate thap the most
delicate maidenhair ferns that grow in the
summer forests.
The maidenhair spleenwort, or asplenium
trichomania, Is an abundant fern on lime
stone rocks In shady places 1t grows
in thick tufts, in pockets in the rocks. its
delicate leaflets mounted on thread-like
ebony stripes.
When the blossoming hepatica is massed
In thick clusters. In a deep center dish of
Delft, with only the spleenwort fern 1t Is
exceedingly effective. as 1t has no leaves
until after 1t blossoms. The leaves that
cling to the flowers are the half withsred
leaves of last year, and they should be
trimmed away. These flowers grow in
such clusters and are SO intense in hue that
they are much more attractive as table
which Is sometimes forced into bloom in
the house and used in the same way.
The hepatica comes into bloom IN the
open woods late in March or at the begin
ming of April. To force it into bloom at
as early date as Easter Sunday falls Upon
this year 1t will be necessary to start the
plants a week or more in advance See
that the plants selected have abundant
roots and show full cluster OF buds in
their little. hairy sheaths close to the 1oots.
Thaw out the plants at first with cold
water, and place them in the cellar. Do
not bring them into warm room until
all the frost has disappeared from the
earth around the plants. After few
days place them in the dish in which they
are to grow, in sunny window. Water
them daily. If they develop too rapidly
ana are In danger of blossoming before
Easter, put them back in the cellar for a
few days. These flowers, massad with
spring ferns. make an attractive piece for
the Easter altar.