Evening star., 1924-09-13
THIS AND THAT
BY c. e. TRACEWELL.

OF chllohood, with their pink and
white goodness.
All one has to do to be a child
again is to plant asters in the spring.
then wait until late August, when
they blossom.
These royal flowers, upon their
light stalks, peeping out among the
feathery green leaves, have brighten
ed Estey alley wonderfully, trans
forming fences into things of beauty.
These late corners usurped the place
OF the fading zinnias, tenaciously
holding onto life, edged out the mari
solds, still fresh and beautiful, took
leaf from the renewing nastur-
tiums
Their fresh faces glowed in the
early morning, with the dew dripping
from their petals. soft as baby's
cheek and twice as pink
X +
He or she who loves flowers has
perhaps the purest esthetic feeling
IN the world. I saw a brawny sailor,
slttlng on a dock, his hat cooked at
an outrageous angle, reading a book
10 me that seemed d perfect union OF
| the physical and mental
| A strong man in his garden makes
similar appeal He might be out
| praying polo, risking his life with a
| fnailet and a ball, or dangling it over
| preciplces or among the clouds, but
ne prefers to do none of these at this
time.
| He stays here on mother earth with
ms mowers, experiencing the sense
| and strength of creation with earth
| worms, bees and butterflies
| Flowers are not utilitarian They
may be sold, of course, and bring fine
| prices, but even in the florists win
dow they retain their primary es-
thetic appeal. A florist is one man
who need not worry about being call
! ed mercenary.
Even the caiIous realize that here
| is d man selling beauty in the ma rI.et
place to those who require it at his
hands having no place of their own
! wherein TO grow it.
And Ills my faith tina. every flower
Enjoy the air it breathes.
There would be no doubt about that
at all, if you could see the flowers Of
Estey alley blowing in the wind
They are the children of air even
more than the insects. these busy
| oxygen motors that buzz and crawl
around them.
Estey alley gardens have that
proper carpet of all good gardens
| greensward This is the one true
/ background nature intended for her
gems.
Even in the dark forests the DOM
| nant background is green. Nature is
the original interior and exterior
decorator. Follow her lead, and one
does not have to be an expert.
There was precious little grass in
Estey alley back yards last spring.
! Today, however. nearly every yard
| has perfect green carpet. easy on
the eyes and fine for the flower col
Practically all the gardens are
| flower gardens The few who went
in for vegetables will never do it
again. Corn is splendid in its place,
but decidedly its place is not in a
| city back yard.
What to do with typical city
back yard?
That is a question for architects.
| decorators and nature lovers to get
together on. A local architect last
| Spring wrote an interesting treatise
| upon the subject. but there was not
| much in it for the average person.
You see, an ordinary back yard is
long and narrow. Too much fancy
treatment is out of place, besides
there is hardly enough room.
Estey alley has samples OF both
treatments. sweet simplicity and
elaborateneSs.
The one uses grass as the back
ground, building up around the fence
a border of flowers leaving the grass
space perfectly open. The other
places pergolas. arbors and seats in
a formal garden with states border
ing the flowers. placed between
stone walks
Each. after its kind. has its ad-
mirers. Certainly, the owners of both
are entirely pleased. and that is
what counts, after all.
y
"As for marigolds. poppies. holly
hooks and various sunf1owers. We
shall never have a garden without
them, both for their own sake and for
the sake of old fashioned folks, who
used to love them" said Henry Ward
Beecher. FLOWERS have an expression
of countenance as much as men and
animals. Some seem to smile; some
have a sad expression; some are pen
sive and diffident-others again are
plain, honest and upright, like the
broad-faced SunfiowerS and hollyhocks''
In Estey alley gardens you will see
mostly the we'll tried varieties, such
as those named by Beecher and zin-
Mas, sweet alyssum, Gamma lilies.
golden glow, straw flowers, panses,
foxgloves. cosmos. petunias.
Roses there are in plenty, but the
blooms could not be said to be any
thing extra this year. There is no
doubt of it. the rose is not easy TO
grow. such a variety of bugs and
diseases can happen to it.
Water. water everywhere-that is
what flowers need. Estey alley gar
dens that get sprinkled regularly
look fresher and brighter than those
that do not AS the old colored cook
said of nasturtiums. Deed, dey has
to have watah carried to 'em jes
like dey wuz elephants"
The continued and heavy rains of
last Spring had much to do with the
fresh grass of late August. So regu-
lar watering every evening brings
flowers to their perfect state For
every variety that willis under too
much water, there are 10 that thrive.
in it.
Sprinkling does not mean a few
minutes with the light spray, either
1t means systematic application of
lots of water for half hours at
time. say one-half hour to the far
end. the next half hour to the next
fourth another half hour to the third
quarter, and a half hour to the near
end of the yard. Then if you want
to sprinkle for another hour. the
municipal government will not say YOU
nay
1t seems to me that it is going d
bit too far to speak of flowers in
terms of human beings, however.
Certainly most persons. even flower
lovers, can see expression of
counte nance" in flowers comparable
to that in men and animals.
The very charm of flowers, it would
seem, lies in their utter difference
Here are exquisite examples of de-
sign. color and perfume, making a
pure appeal to the esthetic sense
We can say the violets are "shy"