The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-09

which they buried the bulbs of mar
cissi, daffodils, jonquils and other
plants that have their beginning in a
round, ugly ball that looks like an
onion. Narcissus, himself, would not
have admired his transformation could
he have seen himself as he looked be-
fore he was dropped into the little
flower pot, but the gardeners handled
him and his brothers as tenderly as If
he were as beautiful as the blossoms
which will appear next summer.
Flowers Demand Care
This work of taking care of the
bulbs demands considerable time. The
stalks and the flowers of these plants
are never saved because they are
merely ANIMALS, but the roots or bulbs,
which are the perennials, must be
placed in comfortable winter lodgings.
After the pots are filed with the
bulbs the gardeners desire to save,
they will be buried in troughs which
will be covered lightly with earth and
here they will repose until spring when
they will be transplanted in the park
flower beds. ss-s
The Como park officials have no fixed
date for the beginning of their winter
preparations. Everything depends upon
the weather Hothouse plants which
spend their summers out of doors, but
which must be carefully guarded from
the chilling breath of Jack Frost, are
the gardeners first care. Usually, how
ever, the middle of october finds the
workmen very busy indeed, and by the
first of November everything at Como
is prepared to defy wintry blasts.
Some of the roses demand a great
deal of attention. st. Paurs biggest
park is famed for it's roses, and while
some species of the plant, the wild
rose, for instance, can weather Mime
sofas coolest winters, the American
beauty rose, the tea rose, the La
France rose, the sunset rose and other
dollhouse beauties droop in the chilly
air of early fall, or they would droop
If they were left uncared for.
Some roses the dollhouse merely
loans for a few months each summer.
When the days grow short and the
winds cold these are returned to their
places in the greenhouse. A little
clipping and pruning is done, they are
transplanted and left in the dark for
a few days to recuperate, after which
they are ready to begin their winter
blooming.
Cold Box for Roses
For the other roses, what is called
by the gardeners a cold box is pre-
pared. These are long, wide boxes
about a foot deep, in which the plants
are placed after they have been clipped
and pruned. A coverlet Of earth and
straw is laid over the plants and the
boxes are placed in a sheltered spot
in the rear of the greenhouse.
As soon as the weather man an
nounced FROST the Como park gar
deners hustled to get the geraniums
under cover. These were not taken
inside the greenhouse, which was not
quite ready to receive them, but they
were placed in boxes with glass tops
just outside. They, like the roses,
will be repotted before being placed
in winter quarters in the dollhouse.
There is no flower which is not a
perennial that does not require some
care before it is ready for winter and
there are a number of perennials that
would not survive a Minnesota winter
were it not for the fact that they are
carefully protected with straw and
earth.
The peony, for instance which looks
a very robust fellow indeed when 1t
fiaunts itself in all its gorgeousness IN
midsummer. is in reality rather deli
cate perennial and If it's winter wrap
ping of straW was forgotten might
never live to see the spring Of 1905.