Evening star., 1930-10-30
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

If the lilacs do not do well, one may
be sure that the altheaS will thrive, and
bloom to the complete astisfaction Of
the bumblebees. Lilacs have a queer
way of blooming so much better some
seasons than others. One cannot de-
pend on them, but there is no question
about the altheas. These old childhood
favorites will bloom when nothing else
will; after all, are there any flowers of
more compelling simplicity and love-
illness? Children and bumblebees
always approve of them.
r X
The trees and the grass form the
background for flowers. Even the how-
ering shrubs help make us this back
ground. EvergrsenS should be lnclud-
ed With these factors necessarily in
the garden picture. the failure of any
one or a dozen flowers does not matter
much, blanketed as they will be by the
grass. the trees the evergreenS and the
shrubs. A failure with these would be
more serious failure. But their very
hardness makes them mostly success
full. Given ordinary care and watering,
they get along very well, in most cases,
forming about 30 per cent of the garden
picture.
Ordinarily the home horticulturist
fails to realize what a large part grass,
trees, shrubs and evergreens play in the
house composition He has but to go TO
one of these treeless communities one
sometimes sees, If he wants to note the
difference just few trees make. Then
If he Is fortunate enough, or unfortu-
nate enough, to find q house with no
grass or shrubs, he will have a genuine
object lesson.
The average failure Of plants used in
foundation paintings is of such ma
ture that 1t is not largely noticed, one
sees so many scraggly bushes around
porches, along foundations, and at
steps. Such garden failures. too, are
to be expected, especially where the
plants are exposed to children and dogs.
Withered shrubs, including evergreens,
which are plainly dead, should be taken
out. It is surprising how many home
owners will cherish old withered bushes
as II they were things of beauty. House
foundations should not be planted solid
with shrubs, in most cases. Some of
the foundation wall should be permitted
to show. Thus the removal of q
withered shrub often helps the appear
ance of house in this way alone.
The failures in the garden tend to
make the successes all the more beau
tiful and pleasing. In the larger af-
fairs of life, real failure often causes
the mind to dwell upon it too long,
thus taking away some of the enjoy
ment over the successes.
In the garden no one ever beWails
the tight peony blossoms, or the spoiled
roses, when he looks at the glorious
dalllias of early Autumn. Each garden
thing is success or a failure in its
own right. 1t drags no binding chains
of worry after 1t.
Consider these chrysanthemums and
snapdragons, still blooming despite the
cold snap They have outdone the
petunias this year. The chrysanthe-
NUNS are expected to bloom now, but
one would not ordinarily demand 1t of
the snapdragons. Why they are doing
it this year it Is dificult to say. But
there they are In the border, Haunting
their yellow and pink to the cool
breeze as If nothing were more natural
to them. The petunia leaves and stalks
are scalded. Even the zinnias long
bloomers, are through. Only the snap
dragons remain a success.
The garden is one place where fall
ure amounts to little. There one may
fail completely, and happily, without
being lectured about it. Failure
amounts to something, in garden, for
one sees there that there Is no occa-
sion for tears, since life itself fails at
LASTS, as matter of fact, perpetu-
ally failing all of the time.