Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-05-02
THE WEEK I'm THE GARDEN

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| With the growing season well under
way, the trees in almost full leaf. and
| all nature taking on her spring array.
| these are busy days for the gardener,
amateur or professional. The warm
, sunshine. following the showers of the
| last week, which left the ground soft
| and mellow. is bringing the green
| things out OF the earth at a rate Of
growth that is almost visible, and the
| person who is anxious to have crops
Of early vegetables, or who wishes to
have the earliest spring and summer
| flowers. has no time to lose; he must
keep busy at his planting, or the sea-
| son will get ahead of him.
There should be no delay in setting
out roses, as the season is we'll enough
advanced to render further delay dan
gerous. Usually roses may be set out
safely as late as the latter part of
May. in this section; but the present
! and roses ought to go into the beds
or borders now, if they have not al
ready been planted.
Most of the earliest spring flowers
have bloomed and faded Tulip beds.
which usually at this time are ablaZe
SONS, and are now nothing but plants
with the bare stalks of blooms. The
same is true of the hyacinths, while
| crocuses finished blooming long ago.
The earliest pansies also have complet-
ed their period of blooming, though
these forced plants are never the ones
on which to depend for blossoms
through season of several weeks,
and the later ones, grown more nat
urally. have just begun to produce
flowers. Iris also are in bloom, this
being about two weeks earlier than
these stately flowers usually come
forth. In all. it has been an abnormal
season. After a long delay. during
! weather never would arrive. the season
advanced with rush, and is now all
most over. Dogwood bloomed two
weeks earlier than usual; n1acS are in
full bloom. although they are not due,
normally, for at least two weeks yet.
and altogether the season speeded up
to such an extent that the laggard gar
dener finds himself behind with his
work, unless he has kept pace by ex-
traordinary exertion with tho rushing
warm weather.
Nothing Is to be gained by further
delaying the setting out Of started
plants designed for bedding or borders,
or the sowing of seeds of all the hardy
ANIMALS. Indeed, further delay Is likely
continues to maintain the pace 1t has
set during the last two weeks the ad-
vent of actual hot weather, with fur
Their droughts such as preceded the
showers of the last week, may prevent
the termination of the seeds or the
whitening of the young plants.
In the vegetable garden the same is
true. Everything that grows in the
vegetable garden may be planted or
to ha
no further delay occasioned by waiting
for settled spring weather. tomato
plants for early fruits may safely be set
out, taking care to watch for the to-be-
will need some slight protection. The
same is true Of early cabbages, etc.
Lima beans, which are among the ten
derest Of the legumes. should be In the
ground; If they are not yet planted
the work should be attended to imme-
diately The earliest peas should be
up, and a second sowing should be
made now; indeed, the writer mas peas
I'D six inches, with second and third
sowings in the ground. Early snap
beans have enough of a start to make
it advisable to SOW for the first sue
cession, and the earliest sweet corn
ought to be a couple OF inches high,
with the first succession planting IN
the ground.
It is we'll enough to take q chance
with cantaloupes, watermelons and Gu
cumbers at this time. The season Is
peculiar enough to encourage the gar
dener in thinking that no weather SUI
fciently cool to injure these crops IS
likely to occur. and the advantage OF
an early start often means the enjoy
ment Of ripe melons several weeks be-
fore ones more cautious ne1ghbors
have them If we'll drained spot, To-
Gated on a slight south or southeast
! slope: is chosen for the melon patch.
and the hills are properly made and
richly fertilized, tho gardener should
have no trouble. Instructions for max
ing melon hills have been given in this
column, and these instructions II fol-
lowed will bring results. If a week or
80 of cold, rainy weather should come
and the earliest planted seeds should
! ing, the loss will be only a trif1e: while
If, as is to be reasonably expected,
there is no such weather, the ground
is warm and moist enough to bring
the plants up and give them time to
make q strong and vigorous start be-
fore the actual hot weather Of sum-
mer arrives. That is the advantage OF
| planting as early as is reasonably
safe; the plants. no matter what they
are, have time to make a good root
growth and to get such q start that
! the scorching sun of late spring and
early summer cannot injure them or
set them back to any appreciable ex-
tent.
| Altogether, the gardener whose
heart is in his work has plenty of
| work to do just as present. If he is a
] city man, making a garden in his
| leisure hours before and after Office,
the time seems all too brief and he is
| tempted to work until darkness makes
| further labor impossible, and to rise
before the chickens are awake to get
| in as many ticks possible before
| time to go to office. The work that Is
done now, however. means that much
less to do later on when the weather
becomes uncomfortably hot, and it
| means, also, crops of vegetables that
are really worth all they cost in labor
and actual cash outlay. and sheafs of
flowers that will add beauty and at
Effectiveness to the yard and the house.
, SO no enthusiastic gardener regrets
the sudden coming of real spring; he
looks ahead far enough to see the re-
ward that is bound to follow his in
telligent. well directed efforts.
All Around the Place.
| For the small kitchen garden the bush
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