The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-04-02
FLORAL ADORNMENT
OF THE HOME.
Professor Nassey's Delightful De-
scription of His Flowers and How
He CrOuC Them.

scriptiOn of His Flowers and How
He Grows Them.
My vegetable garden is a large lot,
adjourning my home lot, when l
bought in order to nave a kltchen
garden, since all the space IN my
home lot is devoted to
plants, for home-adornment, and IN
some things for profit too.
My house stands on a corner lot OF
about o~ne-fOurth acre. Next the
street is a hedge Of Amoo RIVER
privet. I do not trim my hedge like
a wall as is generally done. Nature
does not make square corners, and
we want a hedge to look natural
rather than artificial.
When the privet hedge is trimmed
with perpendicular sides~and fiat on
top, it soon gets Ope ~nderneath,
and the hedyge viii soon look up
side down. l trim my hedge wide
at the base, and sloping up in a
rounded conical cross section. The
sun thus has a chance at the sides,
n it grows thick to the ground and
shows no bare stems below.
My porch runs around two sides OF
the house, on two streets, with some
a between the house and the
hedge, and all along the base Of the
porch is a bed planted in a variety
Of s~hrubbery to Gloom at different
times from early spring into summer.
This border is edged with spring
bulbs, such as hyacinths and mar
cissus; and as they fail, h border
is made with Phlox Drummondi that
flowers the rest Of the season.
There is a walk leading from the
side street to the kitchen yard. On
each side Of this walk I have wide
borders planted with cannas of the
best types Of the large-foWering vari-
cites.
In winter these are covered deeply
with garden-refuse, ouch as corn
stalks, castor-oil bean-stalks, n left
in the ground, after the dead tops are
added to the cover, for in our climate
I find they will keep better in this
way, han lifted and stored But
they are ~liftedand divided, and re-
planted in the spring to prevent toe
much croWding.
Then as a screen to the back fence
I plant seed Of the Zanzibar castor
bean that grows ten or twelve feet
tall, and along the rear fence I have
q row of the tallgrowing Lady Len
nox osmos
AS a screen to the front porch
plant moonfower--v1nes that grow
rapidly, and open up their big white
flowers in the evening. At one cornel
| have a plant OF Wistaria ~sinensis.
Roses, Of course. we have here ane
there, and spiraea, with beds O.
: China sters anywhere. In fact, | fiji
, myempty hotbed frames in h,
kitchen-garden with asters for cut
: ting, for we want flowers on tn,
I. tables, and on the dining-table ever,
= day in the year.
The old white lily, Lilium Can
didum, does we'll here; and | hay,
over 500 Of them, for l have show
10 the dealers that we can grow bet
ter bulbs of these here tina they cal
y 4 I n mort ~ ~
: only give me flowers, but are a mat
: ter of profit.
one OF my SpecialtieS is the Bonfr
, Scarlet sage. 1t makes the gayest @
peas, b1ooms very early and con
: unuousiy here, and gives me profit
! aoie crop OF seed. 1t is necessary
q keep the ripe spikes cut out to kee
- up the best bloom.
- | nave some Of the best dahlias, bu
raise a great many every summe
% from seed, for the Single-foWere
ones are very useful for cutting, an
= from a good strain OF seed one ca
get some very fine flowers. l ha
= summer. The seed were simpl
l soWn in cold-frame IN April an
transplanted to the garden There
no plant which t~ransplants mo,
easily h a the dahila for the your
seedlings never even will and the
W get in bloom later than the old root
~ which is an advantage, as the O.
~ ones are apt to get in bloom in tt
p hottest weather, while the fall bloo1
IS always best.
l prefer TO raise new plants fro
We seed every year.
/ save a good many seeds from =
to finest cannas, and it is INTERESTING
It's watch their development. Las, snn
mer l got some seedlings of gre;
ot merit, and nave kept the roots ~,
er by lifting and burying In a nit ~
n Seeds Of the anna and the moo,