Evening star., 1932-05-18
THIS AND THAT
ny CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

| Too much talk of insects and fertiii
zers tends TO cramp the style OF many
| an amateur gardener who otherwls,
would find home gardening what Il Il
and ought to be- a happy occupation.
There is no finer avocation thar
growing flowers or vegetables. or both
but all too often the amateur comes
i to be obsessed with the foes OF plants
rather than their divine aids.
SO occupied Is he with plant lice that
he iorgets the sunshine: the good earth
becomes second to inimical black spot
the cut worm looms larger than thu
. rain which mothers It,
1t Is necessary, of course. to give some
thought to the insects, the fungus and
| other diseases which bedevil the plants
in a modern garden. They are here
and in ever-increaSing numbers anC
variety every year.
But 1t is even more necessary to for
get them, as far as possible, and &c
realize that many a home gardener has
raised fine crops" without once paying
particular attention to rules. insects
etc.
Good fortune, of course plays its part
in such results. We will never forget
two who once started gardens at the
same time.
The one dug up his earth two feet
III compliance with the most orthodox
advice, and literally mixed with it the
! best and most well-rotted COW manure
CThis was in the day when such natural
organic fertilizer was to be secured as
easily as any other kind)
He planted strictly according to the
I books; he cultivated, sprayed for vari-
Gus insects, and spent a vast amount OF
time looking for diseases.
The other gardener simply dug the
ground. turned it over raked it down
planted seed and plants. and let Nature
do the rest. Whether the eternal
mother of us all was in a generous
mood that season, or not, this mans
garden so far outshone the other that
the net result would have been comical
if it had not been tragic for the poor
gardener who had spent so mucn time
and, alas, worry, i'll securing so much
worse results.
Good fortune, yes. but there was more
to it than just chance; there was the
realization, on the part of the fortunate
gardener, that the children OF Nature
are taken care of by Nature, if she is
given half chance. and if they are
not pestered too much by the we'll
meant but often officiouS proddings of
fuSSy gardeners.
The aim, then. is to be. not a fussy
gardener, but simply helpful gardener
And this goes, whether one has only
few square feet or acres.
1t is possible to be as worried over
a few plants, in small yard, as over
thousands of them growing on their
acres.
In fact. the small gardener is more
likely to succumb to worry than the
large fellow, because the latter has
for any individual plant
The little fellow with the little yard
can see his entire domain at a glance
If something or other is not doing well,
he sees it, and instantly begins to Won
der what he should have done. or what
he ought to do. to make It look better
The worrying temperament suffers the
most, but 1t is queer thing that many
persons whose natures are funda-
mentally gay and careless, nevertheless
tend to become fusSy and bothersome,
mostly to themselves, when they un-
dertake the care of growing plants,
whether these plants be trees. or
hedges, or shrubs, or evergreens. or
flowers, or the congregation of grass
plants We call the lawn.
Strangely enough, the average home
owner tends to worry less about the
very plant which should receive the
most attention
We mean the tree.
Trees suffered tremendously during
the drought of several years ago.
Few owners seem able to hire experts
and popular advice on tree care is
rather nebuluous. to say the least it
is almost impossible for ordinary gar