Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-12

Some time ago a very pessimistic
piece appeared here about the decline
OF the garden in prospect At that time
the first signs only OF fading were visible
but since that date the actual events
have come to pass.
! Now the althess are in the noted scar
and yellow leaf stage, and the hibiscus
canes are almost stripped Of foliage The
grass has turned brown, the rosebushes
become severely afflicted with black spot
the petunias lost their old-time beauty
! Yet the garden at this time, despite
such melancholy evidences of decay. is
not without charm. Despite the soeoi-
I ness of north-exposure YARD every
where the signs point to Natures hearty
purposes.
! The bloom everlasting is not included
! In her plan. She has a regular progress
sion OF infancy. growth. maturity and
fading. passed through in succession by
all her creatures.
1t is The Plan. There Is no use kick
| ing against 1t, because it is the way
! things are.
There is a sleeping period for many
! things, such as the tulip bulbs, and the
corms OF the gladiolus. the roots of the
peony and iris and the various bushes.
| The gladiolus leaves are withered at
! last, showing that the time has come to
take the bulbs from the ground. If they
were left in the earth. as they may be
In this climate without excessive loss.
Nature would put them into long sleep
from which they would not awaken until
the authentic touch OF Spring.
-
Perhaps the greatest ppointment
OF the Autumn to date has been the
aff1iction OF the rosebushes by that worst
of diseases the ubiquitous black spot,
which first splotches the leaves, then
withers them beyond repair
! Spelling the appearance OF the bushes.
| however, is but the least of the ravages.
BY denuding the canes, the roots are
left without their aerial agencies, and
thus suffer in their turn.
| Whether severely stricken bush will
survive the Winter depends largely upon
the amount of original vigor in the
roots. the mildness of the Autumn and
| the lack of rigor during the Winter.
| The appearance OF the black spot.
| after Spring and early Summer free
! from 1t. points to the eternal vigilance
which the home rose grower must ex-
| ercise IL he wishes to keep his bushes
free from this disease.
No healthier bushes could have been
found than these. until the unusually
heaVy rains OF August set in. After
that no amount of spraying seemed to
| do any good.
Not only did the younger bushes
suffer, but communicated the fungus
to the Older bushes, so that sturdy speci-
mems S to 6 feet high and to years
! old are now spotted.
| At certain stage the leaves drop
off, when they should be picked up
| from the ground and burned, according
! to the theoretical directions. Just how
the blight spreads Is difficult to say.
Bushes in the neighborhood that
never receive any care may be the
means of breeding this disease. the
spores of which may float through the
air and thus infest an entire neigh
borhood.
*k&
1t Is commonly observed by anna
teur gardeners that shrubs and other
bushes which get the jump on others
in a community by blooming first play
OUT first. This Is, of course, intensely
natural since the total play time of
the various specimens will be about the
same. Althea bushes Rose of Sharon
which bloomed before others in the
neighborhood, are now yellow, with only