Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-03-08
GARDENING THE

Can you ever forget the tiny square
that you had in your mothers garden?
DO you remember that it was smoothed
and pulverized and had straight rows,
about q yard long Didn't you stand
on first one foot and then the other and
wonder why il took the man SO long?
And then the seed-planung! Oh, those
first seed, can't you see them lying in
your little pink palm, and then what
was left transferred TO the mans hand.
You tried to plant them, and all of them
seemed to slide through your fingers
at one time. Fortunately the man could
get more out OF your mothers paper or
seeds. Mothers seem to almost alWay S
have things.
Then came the weary waiting"
Every morning that bed in the garden
was the first thing visited, and during
the day you would think that you might
surprise the seed and see them pop
out of the ground. You were very
young then and there was no past for
you to remember. You had seen the
daffodils and jonquils. and hyacinth
come out fthe ground that spring
and you expected something as large
as any of those early flowers.
True, the tiny seeds made you won
der but things were always happen
ing to make you wonder. There were
so very many strange, interesting
things in your little world. Finally,
after one specially nice day, the day
that you played under the orange tree,
and gathered the blossoms to put in
your pocket and sniff during the day, or
was il a pear tree at your home? For
oranges do not grow everywhere-any-
way, it was a day to bring the dolls
out and to put the tea set on the bot
tom step and begin TO keep house. And
suddenly you remembered that you hao
not seen your garden in a long, long
time, maybe three hours; OFF you flew,
and the miracle had transpired-had
you been, versed in garden lore you
would have known when you made your
early visit that your seeds were only
waiting one more visit from the warm
sunshine. You almost held your breath.
there was a dark green ribbon, so it
seemed to you, clear across that bed,
radishes your mother told you when
you insisted on her coming lin a quick
hurry" to see the wonderful green.
Then there was a ribbon that was such
beautiful light color you did not know
what to call it, but your mother said
lettuce Later you were permitted to
gather" vegetables for your dolls
table, mother taught you to leave some
and called it thinning them.
You saw the man thinning out your
mothers, and after a long, long time,
or years and years it seemed to you,
there were radishes for you to pull up,
and father said they tasted nicer than
mothers, and you felt like you had
done it all yourself. Do you remember
the tiny hoe and rake, and how near
you came to- raking the radishes out IF
the ground? You tore the lettuce, too,
but father said that did not make a spec
of difference.
All! Those happy, happy days. Next
year you did little more in your gar
den, and now you have perhaps a back
yard garden, or an acre. Things grow
ing still appeal to you, and YOU enjoy
seeing the green ribbon lying across the
dark pulverized soil, but you do not
think time fingers as he once did, There
are duties that fill every moment, and
perhaps you look al your box of cabbage
plants and wonder if it were only yes
terday or last week that you put the
seed in there. Then when you begin TO
count the things you've done, you know
that they have not come. up any too
soon
Are you planning great things for
this garden? Do not be in too big a