Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1913-05-09
FINDING REAL JOY
IN YOUR GARDEN

your race as you SIT on the renee ana
watch me. Be cheerful; What ii you
did misspell a word II you study 1t
tonight, you will get it correctly to-
morrow. The reason | plant young
primroses in a row and cover them
with leaves, and why / spend all my
pocket money for daffodils in the fall,
is because l want flowers as 500 as
the snow melts in the new year. All
winter long, whenever I look out of
this window on the brown earth, /
think of the flowers sleeping under
it"
The Hollyhock Woman pulled on
her gardening gloves as she finished
talking and nodded brightly to h
scowling boy on the fence post. He
had jeered at her for working in the
earth when the dull November days
had come. Now he watched her go
into the house and come out with a
plate of cookies. That in itself was
a bait to draw good humor to the
face of any boy.
Sure, I'll rake the grass for you.
I'll haul a lot o. dried leaves from
the woods to scatter over everything.
I'll get some brush to prop over the
rose bushes and the hardy hydrangea.
My. but that's a pretty bush with h
dry flowers still hanging on"
The Hollyhock Woman agreed that
his intentions were good,
Let me tell you a secret, Tommy.
The folks around here do not get half
the delights out of their gardens that
they ought to. Just think OF it-you
are helping creation along. Nobody
can make a flower, but we can help
one grow; we can lend a hand to It,"
You talk about flowers as II they
were real persons" commented Tom
my as he began to help by sorting
the bulbs she took from a basket full
on the porch. Now, when / begin
to look at them I say to myself,
Hello, Mr.. Tulip, you're waiting for
a chance to put our red head out
These are the red Darwins that look
like soldiers in a row. amt they? I
remember them. They come later
thar the others. Hello, Lady Mar
cissus, you want to nod to the rob
ms Yes, / read Narcissus vas q
boy, but the Narcissus in the grass
always make me think Of girls. BE
patient. Snowdrop; you turn is com
ing in April Don't you wonder where
the hyacinths keep their sweet
smells?"
The Hollyhock Woman smiled, for
she knew she had won q faithful
helper.
Tommy and the Hollyhock Woman
talked in whispers at the gate just AZ
the sun was setting. Tommy agreed
to be the c~onspirator's aid. There
was but one way to bring Indifferent
villagers to their senses, and that
was by surprising them.
"You can do it when I cannot,
Tommy, but you must keep the Sc
cret," she said. Here is a basket OF
odd bulbs, the Glory Of the Snow.
bright yellow %jonquils, s~cillas, snow
drops mi stars Of Bethlehem. Plant
them in the flower beds where the
folks are sure to see them from the
path or the window. You can stick
IT, %rocus almost anywhere. Take
f rst those houses we picked out as
PAGES where the folks did not care
very much about gardens, This ought
to convert them"
Il should think So" said Tommy,
out loud.
Think what?" asked a familiar
voice as tie Primrose Man doomed up
In the dusk.
lone thing 1 think is that her
cookies are good" said this aiding
co%nspirator.
Tommy" he said, II have nc se-
crets from this lady, though she may
have secrets from me. She bakes tha
best cookies man or boy ever ate,
and she is SO Industrious in her gar
den tina she leaves me nothing to do
but to give her a primrose plant now
and then, which l can do, since l am
the only one around here who makes
an art of c%ultivating primroses. II
we were in England, Tommy. we
could pick primroses along the road
side, in spring, but Americans have
not discovered that they car have
GA primrose by the rivers brim,'"
quoted Tommy.
YES, and in the gardens and on
the roadside, cowslips with them,
too
Don't forget the secret you were
to tell Tommy reminded him, still
holding behind his back the basket
the Hollyhock Woman had given him.
1T is this: Here are a dozen Of
wild grape vines with good roots,
in this bundle. This is a list of
places where l think they will do
well and become ornamental along
the street fences. This first gentle
man on the list will be pleased when
he sees wild grape vines running
along his fence, SO plant his with
care. but do not let him see you do it.
Then you will be a real Travellers
Joy and a missionary of lowers"
The Hollyhock Woman pretended
that it was by accident that. the Prim-
rose Man had stopped to talk to Tom
my at her gate, and so she turned and
went up the steps toward the house
door. Doing good deeds by way OF
planting flowers was a fancy of her
own, and she did not care to discuss
1t with anyone.
Are you going to leave me out in
the dark and the cold? A November
evening, IL clear, Is still frosty said
he, shivering as he spoke. Il must
talk over our window gardens with
you, and I have two or three fine cata-