Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-23
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRAcEWELL.

Is much too long, should see blue
vase filled with them, between which
are placed q few spikes Of Maiden
Blush. One does not have to be an
artist with long hair to like the effect.
What do. the home gardeners think
of this as q zinnia year? With us this
favorite plant did remarkably poor. It
is difficult to account for the rapidity
with which the bushes turned brown
during the drought It Is from Mexico
and should be able to stand plenty Of
sun. Maybe 1t needs water to stand
sun. Certainly this Is the FIRST year
that we have not had zinnias doing
well far into october, or even No
yember.
TWO things may account for this state
of zinnia affairs-either our seed was
Door to begin with, or we did not water
the plants enough. We rather suspect
that the second reason Is the true one.
Watering at the right time. during q
dry Summer, spells the. salvation OF
The condition Of the grass, however.
more than makes up for the failure
with zinnias. Surely the grass never
looked better at this time, and this,
despite the same dry spell which worked
havoc with the zinnias.
Even after going to seed, the grass
looks green and lush, despite the evil
dences Of browning Aforementioned. 1t
can be stated with all the positiveness
of the amateur gardener-and no pro-
fessional is as positive, OF course-that
grass put on its own, as 1t were, sinks
its roots down deep In order to get
low-lying water, and, so doing. man
ages to keep living long and well.
~ +
Those who have been troubled with
poor stands of grass should practice
the nom watering method, as advocated
in this column for the past two years.
For three years we persisted in the
error of sprinkling the very life out
of our grass. The result Of our little
backyard sea was that the roots, ind
ing all the water on the surface, stayed
up there to enjoy themselves In the
moisture.
course, they promptly curled up and
died, The result was that we had re-
seed every Spring. Since permitting
the hose to remain idle most OF the
Summer, in SO far as the grass Is con-
cerned, we have nice stand OF grass
early in the Spring. and reseeding has
been REDUCED to a minimum.
Not only does grass so treated come
up earlier and thicker in the Spring,
but it looks better all Summer, and
persists greener longer in the FAN.
The home gardener is likely to forget
that grass Is, after all, meadow weed.
Recall to memory the childhood pic
lures of great green meadows, rolling
in the sunshine of bygone days.
Yes, they were, just as green as
memory paints them. This Is one thing
recollection does not cheat you on.
The old swimming hole may be a
disappointment, and the home town
not as wonderful as you remembered
it. but the meadows there then, and
there yet, are just as lushy and tasty
to the cows of 80 as they were to the
bovine creatures of two or three
decades ago.
Grass!
1t Is the best plant In the garden,
after all. A garden without grass is
no garden at all. merely q collection
Of plants, but yard filled with beau
tiful grass, although it have not so
much as lilac bush in 1t, still presents
a beautiful, pleasing sight. We think
that the Lord must have thought so,
too, because He made so much Of it.