The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-02-19
Notes From a Carolina Garden.

We have Just passed through one
of the coolest spells that ever affiict-
ed the South. And yet here, shelter
ed by the high mountains west of us,
the mercury was but degrees lower
than Jacksonville, Fla. So We think
that we are fortunate in our climate,
for down at Atlanta, 400 miles south,
IL was degrees colder than We had
it. On this sunny slope from the
mountains to the sea. winter touches
rather lightly for the latitude. and for
all the cold, we arc still getting good
green onions and Chinese radishe5
from the open garden and are only
delayed In the planting Of our early
peas by the unusual cold and wet.
Hence the planting OF peas and Irish
potatoes win come close together in
February. The land where the pota-
toes will go is now covered with n
good growth OF rye, which we will
turn under for the potatoes There
is nothing like u good coat of green
for clean crop OF potatoes. On this
land (about one acre. We will use
1000 pounds Of the potato fertilizer
we have so often advised our readers
to ucc.. and will follow the potatoes
with COW peas for hay, and these with
wheat and yetch for more hay for
our driving horse, bringing the acre
back for sweet potatoes the next year.
The cold set in on us so suddenly in
December that we failed TO get our
strawberry plants set, and will have
this to do In the spring. probably the
latter part of February. We are
planning for the trial of a number of
new things in the way of both vege-
tables and flowers When we visited
Panmure, the seed garden of VIM.
Henry Maule. in New Jersey. last
September. we made some notes Of
what We saw. Among the flowers we
We're struck with the Dropping Spikes
OF the seed and hope to have Il grand
display this summer and fall. Those
who only know the old form of Saliva
Splendens, or scarlet sage, have little
idea of the wonderful profusion of
flowers this one makes. 1t is particu-
larly desirable here, as the Saliva
blooms here continuously from spring
until frost, while northward il is later
in blooming. Then there is hardly
any flower moro welcome than the
cosmos, for it comes when other
flowers are getting scarce. Now, too.
they nave an early blooming strain
of larger flowers. and we will try
these. The Golden Yellow Cosmos
klondyGe. does well here, hut is too
late northward We are going to try
to breed earlier blooming out of this
chief trials this season in the flower
garden will be the sweet peas, which
we are only waiting for the frost and
wet to be over to get into the ground.
They should have been planted in
January. and would have been but
for the unusual frost. We have now
about 50 named varieties, and also q
lot of the finest mixed sorts One
thing VIC envied the Northern growers
at Panmure were the dahlias DO
what we may We cannot get dallas
to amount TO anything here. and have
about given them up in despair as UNI
suited to the climate. OF course they
grow and make some flowers, but
nothing like what they do northward
In contrast with the grand display at
Panmure ours are absolutely worth
less, and we will use something else.
At Briar Crest last fall, we saw the
most wonderful heliotrope, with
flower heads about Il foot across. and
we have noted this mammoth strain
for trial. III the vegetable line we
have so MANY new thing that we will
talk about them as, they appear in
use. Our chief amusement at leisure
times now, is looking over the gor-
geous catalogues the seedsmen send
out. &c the catalogues and study them
and then put your main reliance on
the standard varieties while trying
some novelties for pleasure.