Evening star., 1924-05-16
Making Waste Places Bloom

tints. They are easy. to grow If
that yield a wonderful display in re-
| turn for careful treatment To pro-
duce early sweet peas SOW the seeds
| in six-inch pots, putting eight TO
| twelve seeds to a pot ANY good
garden loan will do. Keep the plants
| in warm place in the house until
the seeds come up, then transfer the
] pots to a window. After that turn
the pots every day. Before setting
the plants outdoors harden them
Off" as the gardeners say. by grad
| ually getting them accustomed to the
cooler atmosphere. Sweet peas start
| ed in this way will bloom at least
two weeks before those grown from
ting out time these pot-grown plants
should be from three to five inches
. high. II they are much larger they
are more likely to be affected by
| change in temperature: II you DO
plant the seeds directly in the ground,
| first leave them in warm water for
| several hours. This will loosen the
outside skin, and If the weather Is
| warm, they will come up much
sooner Watering is important.
Manure, water or, commercial fer
| tilizer in weakened doses should be
applied throughout the towering
season, but not at all until the
| flowers have appeared. alternating
Follow this rule throughout the sum
mer and you will have a plentiful
supply OF beautiful flowers Ihey
will retain their freshness longer II
! morning If seed pods are allowed
| to develop. the plants Will oegin 70
| deteriorate and will cease to bloom.
| The more blooms you cut. the longer
| the vines will continue to hover, out
! don't expect them to thrive In poor
| soil or in sunless location Place
them in water as quickly as possible
after gathering.
Fern Gardens.
| A bit Of natural woodland, II it is
| within reach, will make it easy to get
the materials for an attractive fern
bed for the home garden. Ihe sol,
! for a fern bed should be light, wen
and the plants must be we'll watered.
There is one point that often escapes
the notice of even good gardener
| knowing that ferns grow In the
shade the" the sasdsner Pdns Panss ths% where
they get no sun at all. The ferns
| then come up late. and growing
slowly through the cold season,
seem never TO get as large as tney
| bare when the ferns are uncurled,
and the new fronds get all the
warmth and brightness of the spring
! sun all day. Later on, through tne
heat of summer. the trees are leafed
out and give them the shade they
need. If you will reproduce this con-
dition and plant ferns in the shade
of trees instead OF in the shade or
buildings, the ferns will grow earlier
| and will become much more luxuriant
than before.
House Plants.
If house plants are put outdoors
during the summer, where they can
get fresh air and have the rain,
they Will be in much better con-
dition in the fall to withstand the
trying conditions of house culture
summer. This rule applies to palms.
| ferns and rubber plants. as well as
to geraniums and other lowering
plants.
House plants must not be put out
| in the blazing sun, however. for that
would burn the leaves and make un-
slightly brown spots. The leaves OF
housegrown plants are too tender for
the back yard where the sun shines.
but under screen. The most useful
screen is one made from laths. nailed
to a frame in such a way that the
spaces between them are Of the same
width as the laths. II such a place
is not available, put the plants where
they will be shaded from the midday
sun, but where they can get the early
morning and late afternoon sun, when
it is not strong and is not likely to
cause injury. Bury the pots to the
rims in the soil or in coal ashes. This
will prevent the evaporation of water
through the sides of the pots, and
enable you to keep an even moisture
in the soil without frequent watering.
Unless you bury the pots you will
need on very hot days to water twice.
but il you bury them, you will never
need to water them more than once
a day, and sometimes. IL the weather
is right, you need not water for two
or three days together. Turn the
pots round once a week to prevent
the plants from roofing into the soil.
If there is not space outdoors to
sink the pots, and the porch is more
or less shaded, plunge the pots of the
palms and other decorative plants in
porch boxes. filling the spaces be-
tween the pots with good soil. To
make the porch boxes more attractive.
sow seeds of nasturtiums or morning
glories, or II the porch Is heavily
shaded use pansies or trailing peri
Wrinkle (vinca major). When the
plants are outdoors. syringe the leaves
frequently with water to remove any
dust that may collect. 50 that the
breathing pores will not become OBJ
structed.