Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-12-04
0. G. Storaker Shows How
Skill And Work Can Con-
vert Vacant Lot Into A
Beauty Patch; Says Dam
delion Has No Chance To
Exist.

its many colored fields and flowers
and sunny skies. a patch Of %troplca!
color shows brightest in the memory
Of The Herald visitor-a Flower garden
at Larimore, in Grand Forks county,
at the home of o. G. Storakcr. AL
though 1t was the 23d OF September.
the sunken garden here was as brill
liant as midsummer with its wealth
Of blooms.
A Sunken Garden.
Mr.. Storaker is a gardener by in
stinct and has developed his abilities
along that line by his careful reading
until he has become a landscape gar
dener of unusually good taste and
skill. The sunken garden that he has
developed in a years time from an or
binary city lot Is a fine example Of
what anyone in North Dakota may do
with a strip of AGAR land and a love
for flowers. The sod was removed
from this garden and 10 loads OF
black dirt was used to build the soil
up and level it to the required height
1t was plowed the first week in May.
and all of the land not to be used for
flower beds was seeded to Wills lawn
grass, a mixture Of grass and clover.
This fall this grass was a thick soft
carpet. Mr.. Storal1er says hat dande-
lions have no chance for existence in
such a grass mixture as his.
With the first warmth Of spring this
grassy space will he more than a
lawn. for English 4rocuses are planted
thickly with the grass. These lovely
first flowers of spring are of al! COL
ors giving pleasure to all who see
them, and Mr.. Storaker added: "They
don't hurt the grass in the least"
Remarkable Cannas.
1t was the Gamma bed,thnt attracted
the most attention. This was placed
in the lcenter of the sunken garden
and contained six different varieties
of the most perfect cannas one could
find. The blooms were immense and
very splendid in their gay yellows and
reds. They had been blooming for a
long time. but seemed as fresh as II
they had only just begun. In the CEN
ter Of the bed was a tall fountain
plant, looking like an umbrella plant
though Its fronds were much finer.
Mr.. Storaker said that this was the
only specimen Of this plant in this
part of the country. so far as he
knew. It nae been introduced in the
last five years from Palestine. This
plant will not be expected to undergo
the rigor of a North Dakota winter.
Mr.. Storaker will shelter Il in the
house this winter. :eser!ng X il the
garden in his Gamma bed in the spring.
1t is a beautiful plant, and as its
leaves shine in the a AMI SWu.'
in the breeze it gives the Illusion OF
water falling from a tiny spray foun-
tain.
The Gamma bed had a border OF dus-
ty miller and deep red SALIVA blooming
D%rofusely. This beauty is gone now,
but when spring comes the bed will be
a beautiful thing to see. for It will be
full OF Darwin tulips in rich bronze
tones Tulips are planted in a number
Of beds about the house. and as soon
as their blooms are gone the annuals
which have been planted there with
the first breath of spring are up and
ready to carry o. the delights OF color
and perfume. Cosmos n zinnias
we're having their inning when the
visitor called, but the traces were Still
there of numerous other flowers nat
had made more pleasant the late sum
mer DAYS. There were 2: varieties
of peonies, { varieties Of spirea, yell
low tea roses, American Beauty roses
the pink rosa rugcsa, and the cnmnlns
Dorothy Perkins roses, bleedlne
hearts, ~coreopsis. Z varieties OF frls
the sweet perennial phlox and oup
pinks, snowballs, SNOWFALL
and the tree hydrangta. There were ~
varieties of glad!ola; most OF the
blooms had been cut for exhibition al
the annual fall Larimore fair which
was then in progress. They were
among the most beautiful flowers
shown. These are flowers that should
be given a place in every garden nc
matter how small, for they are hardy
require little are. and give the mos
satisfying results AS cut I'VE tne3
last a long time In water and develol
perfect flowers from every quo on INT
spike. Mr.. Storaker made many 8
bouquet from these gladioli to bright
en- sick rooms this year. or to q more
beauty to a festive occasion.
An interesting shrub in the Stora'
ker garden that Will bloom from May
until frost is the Bedelia or butterfly
This shrub is. like a French lilac
Sweet Alyssum, asters, l%arkspur. yer
onica and petunias occupied the res
Of the space In the sunken garden
The wall at the back was covered with
sweet peas.
Wandering about through thi
shrubs and beds Of flowers that sur
rounded the house, the visitor fount
new pleasures at every step. There OF
the lawn were such pleasant things t.
LOOK upon as SoStef biue bpi1Se
American linden trees and elms. TIL
old-fashioned fire brush made at
tractive decorations for the entrance
The lawn was surrounded with
hedge Of common lilac. closely trim
med and very hardy. There wa
about 200 feet OF this hedge littl'
over a foot high.
wild Flowers Tanned.
The flower beds about the hous
were a4study all IN themselves. Her
one found the most surprising thing
-beautiful wild things that have BEEF