The Minneapolis journal., 1903-03-07
SIIRRINGS OF THE VERNAL SPIRIT
ALL PLANS FOR GARDENING SHOULD BE MADE AT ONCE AS
OUTDOOR OPERATIONS ARE BUT FEW WEEKS AWAY -
INDOOR PLANTS AND SELECTION OF SEED

sweet peas in the house / am neutral on
this question. for have been amply sat
lshed with the results by both methods.
1 have not succeeded in getting blossoms
any earlier by starting them indoors, but
the vines gain in vigor by transpianting
and think it fair to conclude that they
will stand drought better and will con-
tinue in thrifty bloom longer. However,,
l am certain on one point, that if you are
going to depend on outdoor planting you
can't do it too early. For this reason
there is no time to be wasted in choosing
your varieties and getting your seed
Last year my first garden labors in the
open were induced by the early spell of
mild weather that came unexpectedly I
had ordered some choice and novel yarie
ties from a house specializing on sweet
peas, but they had been delayed in deliv-
cry. That weather was too good to be
wasted. and in rummaging in the seed
drawer found handful or so Of leftover
mixed seed given to me by a boy gar
dener who sympathized with my tastes
ana wanted hand in my operations For
want OF anything better, these were thrust
into the ground just on a venture. The
carefully selected varieties had to wait
untli the ground thawed again after the
relapse into winter, and were put in by in
stallments from April to TO-
Pleasure of Extra Early Sorts.
always make it a point to get a
packet of what promise to be the very
earliest peas. Each year brings a new
strain guaranteed to excel any previous
oilerlns and these promises have been
ihade good. The earliest thing l found
last year came from Philadelphia and it's
name II strung together was and is "a
re-selectlon of the extra-early Earliest
OF All. l picked my first treasured plos-
SONS from these on vines not much more
than foot high on June Z. When the
ma n f,1o
Win the usual testimonials. on this par
t1cular brand, the firm announced with
hourlsh of trumpets that in its seed
| testing ground at Philadelphia this re-
. markable strain had blossomed on June
| }. Considering the difference in climate
! thlnk my story is an even better one
| BY all means get the very earliest thing
| you can find or hear Of. for the pleasure
is we'll worth the expense and the bother
You may have to send away for that but
! it isn't worth while, in fact it is quite
mistake to do so for the rest of YOUR
! sweet peas and the bulk of your seeds and
| plants. particularly the latter Get
everything from home growers and seed
men that they carry. for they will assist
you with their advice. you save the ex-
pense of shipping well as the time and
If there are mistakes. they can readily
be made right. The experimenters Of
course, will deal to some extent with
| edSCeli ilELlS lildl Oller many novelties
and to them may be left the trying out of
questionable investments. Where they
succeed, their friends and even the seed
men and nurserymen will be glad to reap p
the benefit of their experiments.
Choosing Well Tried Varieties.
:. Tastes differ in regard to colors in
sweet peas in millinery or Clothes but
as a general proposition it may be sa id
that plain colors give the best satisfac-
ton. and it is more artistic as well as
more convenient for cutting and arrang-
ing flowers to plant each variety by it,
self. However, I like occasionally a mixed
bunch and also to see mixed hedge. so
I plant few in mixture, but the striped
and spotted and splashed varieties seem
to me garish. All of the very early va =
rieties are the old fashioned pink and
white. developed from the stock of
Blanche Ferry. and thisvariety can be add
ed if one wants continue ton of pink and
white through the whole season. For
soft pink, Apple Blossom may be recon-
mended; Katherine Tracy is a fine
brighter pink and Mrs. Dugdale gor-
geous rose carmine; the best white are
Emily Henderson and Sadie Burpee; in
| crimson I should choose Salopian certain
: ly; in primrose yellow. Mrs Eckford; in
lavender. Emily Eckford. red mauve.
and Lottie Eckford. white suffused with
2 lavender blue; in maroon. Othello. and
$ blue, Navy Blue or Captain of the Blues.
=, Martha Scott Anderson.