Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1910-04-14
BEAUTIFUL YARDS
AND GARDENS.
oLD-FAsHIoNED FLOWERS HAVE
STRANGE LURE FOR MOST
or US.
READINESS TO PLANT AS SOON
AS CONDITIONS FAVOR IN
APRIL.

The first thing to do as sool as Inc
ground permits in April is to mako
the bed for the sowing OF the flower
seeds, for the plants that do best II
started in the open. The seed Deo
should be, if possible, In a location
that gets only the morning sun. II
should he shady in the afternoon. II
would be best to select a spot to meet
these requirements and make 1t q
permanent scientifically made
Do not select a new corner each veal
for the seed bed if you would haSe
the best results. For this bed tne
SOIL should be old and mellow. The
best way to prepare it is to. mix ole
sods from the roadsides with thiI
layer of we'll rotted horse manure
When well mixed sprinkle with lime
if the loan, is sandy, Or with sand Il
the loan IS heavy with limestone. Re
move the top layer of soil from the
bed and, ii the foundation is of hare
clay, remove enough of it to make
place for couple of inches of bal
last for drainage. On top of this put
the good soil, which you have pre-
pared and pulverized we'll.
AS soon as the soil is warm enough
sow the seeds one inch apart in neat
rows. This is better than sowing them
broadcast, for that would only neces.
state thinning out the plants later,
and the ones that were left would be
sadly disturbed. When they are plant,
ed in rows an inch apart the thinning
out process is simple. When the
plants are couple of inches high,
remove every other plant, leaving "a
space Of two inches. When they arr
four inches high remove every other
plant, leaving a space of four inches.
This is all Of the thinning out that
they will require.
All of the hardy perennials should
be well worked in April, and if there
seems to be drought in view it will
be best to mulch them Unless this is
done their progress will be slow for
want of moisture, and they will not
bloom satisfactorily.
The old-fashioned flowers are ia.
vorites this year, and the box-bordered
formal flower gardens, with the neat
little walks between, are almost
as popular as they were in the days OF
our great-grandmothers. A striking
example of one of these gardens may
be seen at Mt. Vernon, where the gar
dens have been preserved just as they
We're in the days when Martha Wash
ington lived.
1t would be good idea to plant one
bed OF Old-fashioned perennials. Have
a large assortment so that some of
them will be in bloom every day from
May until frost. A bed of this sort
would require a little expense and
trouble the first year, but it would be
worth while, as very little attention
would have to be paid to it for sew
eral years afterward.
Arrange For Drainage.
The. permanent beds and borders
should have deep soil-two feet at
last. To accomplish this it will be
nj cessary to remove two feet of the
soil, throwing out all of the soil and
taking away the subsoil. If the latter
is Il sandy loan no more attention
need be paid to the drainage, but if it
is limestone put in four inches of
stone. The soil should be the best
that can be obtained. Sods from the
ROADSIDE. vegetable rubbish from the
garden, refuse from the kitchen
mixed in alternate layers with we'll
rotted manure, bonemeal. and air.
slaked lime make an ideal soil. and
VIII last in the bed for many years
without renewing. 1t should be well,
mixed and sifted before filling in the
bed.
There are a great variety of flowers
which might be planted in this inter.
esting garden. The larkspur, which is
very SNOWY plant, producing splen.
uld spikes OF flowers in profusion
throughout the summer, is very popu-
lar. The Chinese variety is the most
desirable, growing about Is inches
nlgn. Ii the seed is planted earlv in
April they will bloom the first year.
Cover this and all of the other
seeds, which will be mentioned below
or this bed with several inches of
he rich soil you have prepared. The
corn flowers or Ragged Sailor is bean.
,liui for cnt-fower purposes and is
very pretty growing. They grow on a
ong, strong stem, so should be planr-
"a near the back of the garden. a.
ne mowers of this garden should grac-
late from the smaller ones in the
ront to the taller ones in the bach
WITH this arrangement all of tbo
lowers may be seen. The corn flowers
mould be planted from seed toward
ne middle of April. They spread ran
uiy' SO VIII need much thinning out
alter. ou'
me Columbine is a small plant
rowing from one to three feet high
M blooms profuseiy through the /
pring and early summer. It may be |
Wanted from seed any time in Apri, !
Inc perennial varieties of Chinese,
nd Japanese Pinks are always fa-
orltes. They grow about one foot /
AL, are very fragrant and easily cub
waited. Sow the seed in the garden
ate in April or the first of May, and
hey should bloom freely the first
ear. Fox glove. which grows to a
eight of three feet, and the hardy
'alifornia poppy should be planted
rom the seed some time in April or
ne first of May. The golden glow
Tould be pretty planted in the back
DIV of the garden, for it grows four
= 6va foof tell on5 h1orr,,. ~.