The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-09-29
FZouers

quisite pleasure to be derived from
the culture of hardy dubious plants,
| wish l might persuade all who have
never done SO, to plant few beds
of them this fall. Anyone can grow
them, they are the easiest plants in
the floral kingdom to succeed with;
in fact, when you buy the bulb, in
almost every instance the flowers are
all snugly cuddled up in its heart
only waiting for heat and moisture
to cause them to push their heads
through the soil, open their beautiful
eyes, and smile up at YOU. do not
know how I got the idea, whether l
ever heard it expressed. or whether
1t was born of my intense love of
flowers, but, ever since early child
hood have felt that the flowers were
Gods smiles, and l ever think of
them as such. 1t is beautiful
thought, and the pleasure it can give,
Is unreasonable. fervently wish
that all flowers lovers might think of
them as such, and make a vow to
help produce as many as possible of
those smiles each season. to brighten
and make beautiful the earth. and the
dark places in their own lives, and
the lives of others. For there are
dark places in their own lives. and
we who have lived long. know that
nothing can brighten them or soften
the sharp edges of sorrow, as can the
soft sweet whispers of the flowers.
I wish might persuade every
flower lover to set out few bulbs of
the snowdrops. crocuses. hyacinths,
tulips and narcissus this fall They
are all sure to bloom and to afford
not only the one who grows them, but
all who behold them, pleasures such
as the later flowers can never give,
coming as they do after all natur.
has awakened and shaken out the
folds of her beautiful spring gar
ments.
The SnowdrOp.
Although this brave little beauty
will grow in almost any position, still
they should If possible. be given a
nice sunny sheltered neck close to
the house, where after once being
planted. they may be left to care for
themselves for years, opening their
pure waxy cups before the cold freez-
ing weather has become a thing of
the past, and If sometimes snow and
ice-clad storms should beat upon
them, still will they be found unfold
ing their dainty buds and smiling a
glad welcome to spring, as If to suffer
such hardships were but the natural
price to be paid for the pleasure of
living. The snowdrop, and in fact
all hardy bulbs, should be planted in
September or October. Place the
bulbs about three inches below the
surface of the soil, in good mellow
deeply spaded bed. and from two to
four inches apart each way. pack the
soil in carefully about them, and ex-
cept for mulching with light blanket
of stable litter. after the ground is
frozen, they require no further care.
Crocuses.
For outdoor planting use the early
Dutch bulbs, they are of the earlier
blooming sorts, closely following the
snowdrops. Bright beautiful little
saucy fellows, scarcely waiting to
develop the least bit of leaf before
Haunting their pretty blossoms to the
cold spring breezes. They may be had
in the following colors. white, yellow,
blue and purple, also in the following
combinations of stripes, violet striped
with white, white striped with lilac.
white striped with blue. blue bordered
with white and other pretty combina-
tiOns. Like the snOwdrOps, the bulbs
are small and should be planted and
treated in exactly the same manner.
And since one may purchase either
variety of bulbs for fifty cents hun
dred, no one need fail to have a pretty
bed of each.
While the earlier bulb beds give us
delights and pleasures ineXpressibly
sweet. still. lovelier and more subtly
satisfying to all the finer human SELL
sibilities is the bed of fragrant hya-
cinths, delighting the eye with their
wealth of soft col0rs, their graceful
bell shaped blossoms so delicate as TO
appear as il fashioned by fairies from
purest wax, yet able to endure severe
ly cold weather with no apparent
HARM I have had the bloom stalks
frozen perfectly hard, yet in few
days they thawed out and seemed in
no way harmed. filling the air as
before with their sweet fragrance and
smiling as brightly as if the sun had
never withheld his life giving warmth
from them. The single flower in the
hyacinth is much more graceful and
more satisfactory than the double
sorts. Yet, since they are each as
hardy as the other one may we'll grow
them both. for it has not yet been re-
corded that anyone ever regretted the
money invested in a hyacinth bed.
Tulips.
Closely following the hyacinth and
much more brilliant and snowy. If less
satisfying, we have the numerous vari-
cites of tulips. Earliest of them all
is the Due Van Thol which blooms
almost with the hyacinth: they are
rather dwarf in habit Of growth, but
the bulbs never fail to produce their
beautiful blossoms. a few days later
than the Due Van Thol comes the early
single varieties. showing almost every
conceivable shade OF white. red and
yellow, and any amount of stripings
and variegations in those colors.
Closely following the early single vari-
cites come the early double flowers.
being but few days later, and identi-
ca! in every way except that the flow
ers are quite double.
To keep continuous show OF bios
SONS. plant also the single late, and
the double late varieties and then the
ragged edged open blossomed parrot
tulips. which are the latest to bloom,
and remain in blossom longer than
any other variety. producing gorgeous
flowers from six to eight inches in
diameter The late sorts all grow