The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-21

secret away.
 
 It's the same with flowers.
 There are people who can make a 'peevish" red geranium grow itself nearly to death in a little old rusty tomato can, while somebody else can get the finest specimen ever bought and put it in the latest improved flow CT box with all the sunshine and wa ter and plant food imaginable and 1t won't grow to save your life. but will deliberately turn its leaves down and sulk and grow dlsgusted and finally DIE.
 Romeo s >Juliet, we recall, had little bird that she smothered to death with too much cherishing, but flowers never complain of too much. if the right per son does the work.
 Flowers are just as temperament as fires, and under the wrong hand flow CTS nor fires will do anything but go out,
 The talent for flowers is called by some "the growing hand"
 Those who have 1t can stick switch or an old stick in the ground and it will burst forth into bloom ing Aaron's Rod, while for some body else 1t would have died the second day.
 There are people who can grow the most beautiful flowers in a tiny win dow box with very little air and mofs- ture and sunshine.
 They can make a veritable Conserva- tory lined with heavy green lustrous foliage In a tiny bit of an apartment.
 I have In mind just such person right here in Birmingham.
 She has In her two or three room -I.., flowers
 She has roses and Wandering Jew. and smilaX and a great rubber plant that waxes strong and hearty and reaches nearly to the ceiling.
 It looks like a patch out of some tropical forest.
 When asked about her success with flowers she answered:
 q have no secret. I just-well-I just love flowers, that's all"
 That's the secret.
 The flowers know it as we'll as human beings.
 beings xz fnf,. &.f.0151 ]: vbgkqj jp
 I know a certain old Negro Nanny who loves flowers better than anything in the world
 She said to me the other day:
 Honey, Ise been nussin' CT little piece ob Lemont Verbeno all de winter an what you reckn'? De other day hit shot out jes like a 'tater vine, an hits gwine ter be de prettest thing dis spring dat ever you seed"
 was chatting with a woman a few days ago who has her Flower Garden all ready and planted for the spring.
 She said:
 I'm regular Flower Doctor. I could tell you as many plant remedies as there are human ones. Take that beautiful As paragus fern over there tpointing to a magnificent specimen of her own culti- vation), I have doctored 1t with raw beef steak during the last few weeks, bury ing 1t in the pot to nourish the roots. Then I give Castor oil to different plants to build theP up tand I Fn great ad- vocate of Cotton seed meal for certain ailments of flowers. Tobacco mixed in moderation with soil is a stmulant to plant growth also"
 And charcoal and old bones," I sug- gested "are they considered good rem edies?'
 "Very fine ones' said the Lover of. Flowers, and there's nothing better than Coffee grounds for green growing things"
 But these must all be administered by that growing hand or else they fail" 1 said.
 There is something in that" said the Lover of Flowers but after all any body can cultivate flowers to perfection if they will only make study of them and really love them"