Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-15
Proper Time for Planting
Flower Seeds.
SOME PRACTICAL HINTS
AVOID NOVELTIES AND STICK TO
ESTABLISHED VARIETIES.
How the Back Yard May Be Trans
formed Into an Attractive and
Ever-Gratifying Retreat.

GbeT-0Idt11y1uS 0etIeat.
The blue-jay and the robin. gaily return
ing from the south. are no surer harbingers
of spring than the brightly colored pack
ages Of seeds which. simultaneously, have
| made their appearance in the merchants
show windows. Together they announce
that winter is spent, and In unison they
turn the Observers attention garden-ward.
For those who. with care and forethought.
set out a variety of hardy plants and
bulbs last fall, this Is a season Of pleasant
surprises and well-earned rewards. and for
those who have not yet made a beginning
1t is a time for initial effort. 1t Is the
old story of the early bird-the sooner the
seeds are in the ground the better and
quicker will be the results.
1t is a comparatively simple matter to
purchase plants from professional horti-
culturist and stock garden. but it Is far
more interesting to raise them yourself,
and In the END much more satisfactory.
Flowers poisoning in a greenhouse have,
as rule, been forced, and frequently fail
to accommodate themselves to the open
naturally hardy. and bloom more abun-
dainty. Then, too, the pleasure Is OF long
er duration. First. in the cold. unpromis-
ing days of February. come the sediments
of floral wonders and their bewildering
lists of desirable acquisitions: then there
Is the choice, the order. the planting, and,
finally-if you have good luck-the appear
ance of the tiny green spears above the
black ground which. in midsummer. are
destined to turn your back yard into a
picturesque little garden.
Not a Difficult Task.
1t Is not difficult to accomplish this meta
morphosis Plants are kindly little things
and will lend themselves to your schemes
IL you will give them half a chance. Too
much pampering Is as distasteful to them
as utter neglect. so that the inroad upon
the gardeners time is, in the end. not OF
necessity momentous. Neither Is 1t need
full to expend a great deal of money in
the cause; seeds and plants are wonderfully
cheap, and judicious selection will, with a
small outlay. produce excellent results;
Gardens have of late years become a fad
and garden literature is superabundant, but
for some reason we hear more of results
than of the process. and gain more knowl-
edge of the gardener than the garden. Ter
races, pergolas, sun-dials, fountains and
orderly hedges are doubtless charming
when rightly placed, but the space of
ground allotted to most city jewellers i'm
peratively forbids their use. The spirit OF
the time is to require for any undertaking
superintendent equipment but the wise gar
dener is one who withstands the temp
tation of elaborate schemes, and beginning
humbly make the best of unpromising con-
ditions.
A plot of ground the width of the dwell
ing and, possibly. half its length surround
ed by a six-foot board fence traversed by
a pathway and covered by a fair crop of
grass and weeds, IS the material within the
reach of the majority of local household
ers. This admits of little elaboration. but
1t will yield large harvest of delight
and furnish>fiowers for at least six months
of the year.
Leave the Center as a Lawn.
1t is best, as rule, to leave the central
portion of the yard in grass for a little
lawn and place the flower beds as borders
against the fence. This will give broader
effect and in measure, protect the bios
SONS from the weekly onslaught of the
merciless laundress. The weekly wash is,
in fact, next to the pests which creep and
crawl. the city gardens worst enemy, but
it can be robbed of much of its horror by
dispensing with the old-fashioned, fence
strung line, and procuring in its place
circular, portable post. In preparing the
beds for the plants it should be remembered
that 1t is more essential to have deep than
fertilizers must always be used with eau
ton. Red clay can be very satisfactorily
broken up with common lime, and judi
ciously enriched, will serve admirably for
most purposes. If the soil, native to your
garden is altogether unpromising have. or
better still dig. your bed trenches from
eighteen 1ncheS TO TWO rect deep, and nave
them filled in with earth and well rotted
manure, purchased from reliable job gar
dener. This is perhaps, the most difficult
and disheartening part of garden making,
for men of this sort are extremely rare
and the search for one is not always sue
cessful. Coal dust, unfortunately, blackens
earth as well as curtains, and the nettles
and weeds indigenous of the dump will
often cheerfully endure transplanting.
But taking 1t for granted that you have
been more successful than Diogenes and
that finding an honest man you have filed
your trenches and got them ready for
In them.
Cover the Fence With Vines.
Hardy plants, by all means, for spring
or fall, these require the least care and
yield the greatest pleasure. But II 1t be
spring and you are just beginning you may
not want to wait two seasons for results,
and as few hardy. plants blossom the first
year 1t may be well to have a variety
Back against the fence you will want to
plant honeysuckle, clematis, both the small
white known as paniculata, and the large
purple. the jackmanni; climbing roses, the
ramblers the Baltimore Bell and the EN-
press of China are all good, and possibly
wistaria and trumpet creeper; but as these
will not flower this year you may want to-
plant with them some rapid growing vines
to cover the boards and add color and in
terest for a season. OF these the cypress,
madeira, balloon ana HoWerlng bean vines
are the best, though the moon flower,
morning glory and gourd vines are also at
tractive. The objection to the morning
glory is the persistence with which it pos
sesses itself of any space to which it, is
once given admission, and the gourd vine
may be rejected from the fact of its leaves
whiting almost as soon the fruit is
formed, and thus becoming early in the
season forlorn and unsightly. If, however,
there Is any isolated place where you can
plant these vines. which you want quickly
covered, nothing you can find will prove
more temporarily satisfactory. /, myself,
persuaded gourd vine, large enough to
cover long. ."possioie renee 70 grow. last
tupely afforded by a crack in an asphalt
walk.
The Tall Fall Plants.
Navt fo tho vines nIace vour fall foil