The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-06-23
or Interest to
 FloUer GroUers
THE ALTHEA.

nave DteI uOHc py Out Sity dtuCio HI the recent past, we may number its renewed energy in the care of Oak wood. While much remains to be done. let us note what has been done. The clearing away of the undergrowth, the daily inspection and clearing of the avenues, the removal of the southeast ern fence and the planting of Althea trees along the southern bounds. Surely some floral up-to date artist must have made the selection of that flower. its pure white blossims are in themselves mathematical of the city of the dead. Why flowers always beautiful in them selves should have their day and then seemingly reign no more we could never understand. but must neverthe- less admit the fact. In the forties and fiftics, no flower was more familiar to our ancestors than the Althea, there was the white, single and double, then the rosy purple, and more artistic than all others the violet purple, the tint of the heavenly purple seen in the bow of heaven. Often in olden days the AL thea row shared with the young oaks and elms in screening the passer- by from the summer sun, then why and wherefore we never knew, but the AL thea became a thing of the past-in the nineties the tree with its many colored flowers was revived, and at the North and East 1t Is now the favorite for parks. cemeteries and public gar dens. In Berchman's and Hendersons' catalogue the Althea Is called the Rose of Sharon-certainly while those fam ous florists may be well versed in twentieth century flowers, they are conspicuously ignorant of Biblical flowers. We are not lawyers enough to quote our authority just now, but travellers from the Holy Land bring pictures of the Rose of Sharon as growing on a bulbous plant and define 1t as the Autumnal Crocus. We are sorry to have such knowledge. it has robbed the Althea of our childhood of much of Its charm we had thrown around that familiar flower, the dignity of antiquity, we looked upon 1t as sacred, being ever present In the paths where our blessed Savior had walked now that the Althea Is no longer to us the Rose of sharon we must love it for it's own sake, and for the sake of those days so beautifully described by the poet when he writes:
 I remember. I remember
 How my childhood fleeted by
 The mirth of its December
 The warmth of its July.
 A smart girl of Tennessee has sent a history of her mothers last years garden. Some friend gave her kodak and she conceived the idea of donating 1t to her mothers garden, saying she would make pictures of every bush and corner, when it's beautiful season was at hand. paste them in a blank book lable them and as the girls and boys married off she would give them their mothers garden to carry to their new homes. It was a sweet idea. I have wandered through that garden as l turned the pages of the copy sent me and enjoyed it all. feel that am in possession of dear bright garden growing in that far away State that many of my friends may enjoy with me. I sent it to cripple confined to a chair who is barred the pleasure of other gardens and when I went to claim 1t, thinking she was tired of look ing at 1t she said, Please let me keep it. It Is the only complete garden have been through in many years, and love to go often" Think of the pleasure that garden will give those boys and girls and even their children in years to come. That is one of the things that may be done in a garden these beautiful mornings in June when the light is so good. How would like to own my mothers garden or have my own perpetuated. Now Is the time that a diligent, gardener must ply the hose pipe or else red spider will get in its hateful work.
 This, too, is the proper time to be planning your winter garden. Not enough attention Is paid to winter gardens here. Flower growers who go away for the summer should diagram their walls and order their bulbs and know just what they want to have in their gardens in the winter.
 No 1t is not too late to put in dah- lias for fall blooming The dahlia is a native of Mexico and should and will give us grand results in the fall if properly cultivated. It does not re- quire disbuding and is easy to grow.
 I wonder how many flower growers will exhibit at our State fair. Surely Montgome erians have flowers worth ex- hihitinp