Evening star., 1926-04-28

'The time has come" the Walrus
said, "for gardening" las he did not
, say, but well might have, especially
had he lived in Washington, d. c., In
the Spring of 1926.
Now is the accepted time, according
to all signs, reliable and otherwise, for
issuing forth into the back yard with
packets of seed, bulbs and trowel.
1t Is true that many have got a
jump" on the season, in some cases
Of as much as a month, by prior
planting, but probably their ad
vantage is more in retrospect than
prospect.
We mean that Nature grows things
better in May than in April or March
and that seeds planted now will come
to flower almost as early as, and per
haps better than, those put into the
ground in the earlier months.
Gardening is, above all, an occupa.
ton in which, one learns divine pa.
tience. "Wait patiently on Him, and
He will give thee thy hearts desire. y
These words. in Mendelssohn's beau
tiful version, may be sung as rever-
entity in a garden as in a church.
In our life outside the garden. most
of us jump at every passing fire en-.
gipe The siren blows and we rush
to the window. We are at the mercy
OF time and chance. and cannot be
ssi1a to possess either our bodies or
souls in peace.
But In the garden we may lay aside
for the time being, the beckonings of
the day and become as part Of all
growing things one with the clouds
the sunshine and the moist earth.
I'VE feed upon SunbeamS," DR.
Austin Fl. Clark told us, reading over
radio an address by Prof. Harlow
Shapley of the Harvard Observatory
The thought is particularly true In
relation to mans life in the garden.
So we begin gardening this Spring
by taking our time about planting
Why should we hurry? What are a
few weeks, more or less. to US, when
Nature requires from 48 to 80 and
more days to bring our gladiolus bulbs
to flower?
Let US try to be as patient as these
very clods, which we turn over with
the spade. And If we cannot alto
gether attain their impassivity, we
| will not worry. for we remember thai
| the gladiolus bulbs were impatient II
grow. sending up their stalks ir
| storage. eager for the touch of earth
and water.
In the main, however, we will dc
best to take our time. The garden
| is one place, in truth. where one has
all the time there is. II a job can
not be completed by nightfall it car
be done tomorrow. 1t makes no par
| ticular difference
If the roses arrived a month toe
| early they could have been "heelet
In" by covering them all with earth
where they would have reposed ir
| safety, ready to be taken out anG
| planted at this time.
There is no timeclock in the door
yard, except that leisurely one of the
| seasons themselves. making it's slow
revolution through the grand di
visions of Spring. Summer, Autumn
and Winter.
In passing we may say that the
new year, in our opinion, ought tC
begin in Spring, not with January
| In similar feeling, we have always re
garded Monday as the first day in the
| week. That we are not singular In
these beliefs is attested by the bulk
of the race, which tacitly assume
Easter as the beginning Of the Chris
tan year and Monday as the first day
| Of the workaday week.
So. to many, Spring is particular
ly happy time, because it means the