Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1903-04-11
WILD FLOWERS FOR EASTER
Plants From the Woods That Will
Bloom Indoors.

Bloom Indoors.
The most beautiful centcrpcce for
the Easter table when Easter comes so
near the opening of spring rs it does
this year is one of blue hcpaticas and
spring ferns. The hepatca is usually
the first flower of spring. Close to the
ruSSct earth in the warm light which
drifts through the bare woodland
bou@hS ii opens itS abundant azure
blossoms, as blue as the wings of the
blucbird or the sky af March. Like the
SKY and water of March the flower has
so perfect an azure hue that it seems To
have been purified by frost. 1t has
none of the puiplSh 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 au-
tumn. wrapping them up in furry lit
tie covers close to the earth. where
they rest through the winter under the
SNOW to wait the awakening suns of
the vcrnal equinox. Sometimes it seems
to be race between these early flow
crs as TO which shall open its petals
first and earn the right to be called the
first bloom of spring. The brave spears
of the skunk cabbage" however, often
push themselves through the frozen
earth before the blue hepatica or the
@,.,; Il
SheathS.
Any of these early flowers may be
easily forced in wild window garden,
so 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
thawcd out and then planted in Il sun
ny window, where they will soon come
into perfect bloom. They are extreme
ly pretty planted with the evergreen
splccnwort ferns, which are so charac-
tcristc of the spring woods and rocks
and which are more lilmy and delicate
than the most delicate maidcnhair
ferns that grow in the summer forests.
The mandcnhair splccnwort, or As
plcnium trichomania. is an abundant
fern Oh limestone rocks in shady places.
1t grows in thick tufts in pockets in
the rocks, its delicate leaflets mounted
on thrcadlike ebony stripes.
When the blossoming hcpatica is
maSScd in thick clusters in II deep CEN
ter dish of delft with only the spleen
wort fern, il is exceedingly effective,
as it has no leaves until after it bios
SONS. The leaves that cling to the
flowers are the half withcred leaves of
last year and they should be trimmed
away. These flowers grow in such cluS-
tcrS and are SO intense in hue that
they are much more attractive as ta-
ble ccnterpiccc than the trailing arbu'
tuS, which is sometimes forced into
bloom in the house and used in the
same way.
The hepntica comes into bloom in the
open woods late in March or at the be
ginning of April 70 force it into
bloom mt rs early Il date as Easter
Sunday it will be necessary TO start
the plants n week or more i'll advance
See that the plants selected have abun-
dant roots and show full cluster of
buds in their little hairy sheaths close
TO the roots.
Thaw out the plants at first with
cold water and place them in the eel
lar DO not bring them into n warm
room until all the frost has disappeared
from the earth around the plants.
After a few days place them i'll the
dish in which they are to grow in
sunny window. Water them daily. If
they develop too rapidly and are in
danger of blossominS before Easter,
put them back in the cellar for Il few
days. These flowers, massed with
spring ferns, make an attractive piece
for the Easter altar.-New York Trib-
une.