Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-31
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES +. TRACEV ELL.

vigor OF Spring. II plays definite part
In the garden year. Some may say
! that ii does not exist that for them
| gardening is always interesting They
| but fool themselves They are not
| honest with themselves.
! These periods Of enthusiasm and de-
| lection are part of the eternal prepa
! ration of earth for heaven. Only by
| knowing something other than elation
may mankind appreciate the forever
free If even in such small thing
| as a garden there were no disappoint-
ment. no work no letting down of
hopes, every back yard would be a
! heaven on earth. And that could no.
| be.
AS 1t Is. periods of safety come in
their natural course. along with the
whitening of the gladiolus leaves. The
althca boughs heavy with seed pods.
lop over the fence. loosing the prim
neatness Of July days,
! Most of the flowers are gone The
hibiscus has begun to turn; there
are only few small blossoms opening
| out forlornly in the morning breeze.
| Stanchly the zinnias and marigolds
| trusty friends of the amateur, do their
red and yellow best to revive our spirits
! We refuse to revive.
L
| lose interest in the garden. and we do
| not care who knows it. We even take
| a pride in losing interest. 1t is part
| of life Perpetual interest is not whole
some. Let us turn away boldly from the
| verv thing that interests us, II We find
| its contemplation becoming dangerous.
! X Y 4 X
! Out in the garden there is every sign
| of oncoming degeneration, except in the
! green grass, which remains carpet
! of velvet against which the flowers
still in bloom shine by reflection in the
/ deep mirror Of the growing blades.
Grass seems to be the only thing that
benefits from such heavy rains aS have
visited the city this month. While even
/ trees, In some cases. have suffered from
/ the tremendous rainfall the grass Is
/ looking up with happy smile. HOW
| it loves water There can never be
| too much of II for the grass, except,
perhaps. in those situations whero shade
/ tends to make soggy ground and too
acid soil favoring the development OF
mouldS.
| Rose bushes which were in perfect
! condition before the rains now snow
a large development of black-spot. de-
spite what was thought to have been
adequate spraying with ammoniacal
copper carbonate solution. In regard
to this required garden activity. es-
/ peciailv i'm relation to roses, mos
/ gardeners fall down. Experience leads
one to believe that one should spray
rose bushes after every rain. even when
| Il is plainlv evident that an' ther
| rain will come within % hours. Heat
and moisture favor fungus growths OF
all kinds, and the only wav 10 be hall
successful In fighting them is to get the
| Jump on them,
This is the time Of year when eX-
| perts advise closing the fertilizer sea-
| son. This seems to be common sense.
| They say to leave off fertilizing the
| rose bushes. especially, as too much
food from now on simply tends to de-
| velop lush growth which will not nave
| time enough to harden before cold
weather sets in
Despite the lethargy of the garden.
| there Is still some interest TO be iouno
| in it. Those who have planned lot
| late Towering plants may not agree
with everything We have said here. ana
| we hope they don't The common as
| sumption that every one VINO writes
sets himself up AS infallible Is fallacious.
i Thoughts are thrown out because thcy
j come. and not always because tney
| are held to be true Please remember
| this in reading This and That or any
| thing else.