Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-14
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

All in all. 1t Is not the best time Of
the day for ordinary gardening. unless
the gardener happens TO be exactly the
person suited to the time
II he Is. there Is no better, and God
bless him.
The evening hours are good, after the
sun goes down, but here again the mood
OF contemplation stops many q gar
dener
Before breakfast many a gardener re-
CARDS himself as too clean and dry to
60 paving around in the garden. After
supper he Is too pleased with the world
and himself to undertake 1t.
II man Is not happy after q good
dinner, he probably never will be. Then
| comes the time for Just setting" as
the honest mountaineers call 1t.
With reasonably good dinner under
his belt, the happy gardener Is content
to let the Mowers take care Of them
selves.
He is interested in the blooming of
the nicotine and the valerian plants.
Here, at least, he has scored O victory
over procastination.
About five years ago he vowed to him
self that he would plant some Nicotiana
and Valerianus. This Spring he finally
got around to them.
They have been in the ground now
for several months the one an annual
and the. other a perennial. Both are
supposed to smell sweetly, but these
have not proved overpowering, as yet.
There Is q curious fact about the
yalerian. or garden heliotrops. Cats
are tremendously fond Of the roots, 1t
Is said. Let no squeamish person
squirm because the same basic acid is
I in valerian which is in perspiration.
Cats are not finicky and are very close
to nature. and have some curious
tastes, as has nature herself.
The repeated rains Of the season TO
! date have enabled most gardeners to
| dispense with the use of the hose, which
Is good for both gardeners and garden,
especially the grass.
Many new lengths Of garden hose,
bought in fear of likelihood OF q
repetition Of last years drought have
remained in the basement, playing a
waiting role. No doubt there will be
plenty Of time yet for them to function,
but many are beginning to hope that
the nicely spaced rainfalls will continue
| to pour their blessings on the land.
After all, sprinkling the grass and
flower beds Is an exercise which loses
| its charm for many q gardener after
the tenth year. Some begin to wilt by
the seventh or eighth. The new home
owner takes to lawn sprinkling with a
gusto but loses some of his verve when
he discovers that ordinarily his water
ing Of the grass Is doing more harm
! than good.
He manages to keep up his interest
/ for few more years by the simple
| expedient of experimentation. He tries
all sorts Of sprinkling devices and listens
to the advice of all the old hands, -
who solemnly assure him that he Is
bringing the roots to the surface" by
hts practice Of light sprinklings each
evening.
So he tries long sprinklings, or even
the unpoetic practice of removing the
nozzle and permitting the water to now
forth in a stream. 1t is at this juncture
that he attempts to purchase all the
sprnklers on the market BY the time
he has spent q small fortune In this
he discovers that most Of them have the
same fault-they sprinkle too plentifully
on the edges and not enough in the
, middle
| All this time there remains in the
back Of his head the knowledge that
he has failed once more to plant lilies,
or cannas. or hollyhocks, his old favor
ties. Lilies are temperamental things,
after all. he tells himself; but next year,
surely. he will get dozen or so of the
Royals. And some of those big pink
cannas And have . bed Of hollyhocks
100 feet long.