Evening star., 1932-08-01

It's members possess the entire range
of flower beauty. When one thinks of
flowers in the abstract the chances are
very decided that one thinks of one
or more Of them.
There Is always room. however. for
additional beauty in such a world as
this.
Wherefore mankind has loved the
shy violet, the crinkly sweet pea, the
golden bowls of the primrose and the
white bells OF the lilies Of the valley.
A thousand and one rare forms Of
flowers are beloved the world around.
Almost every person interested in any
way In horticultural pursuits, no matter
how small his interest, has few IA
some of these will be favorite flow
ers because OF ease OF growth and sat-
isfaction in the everyday life, which.
with most of us, must be devoted to a
great many matters, not flowers alone
Only the man or woman who makes
flowers his vocation can devote his
entire time to them.
The average flower grower will be
quite satisfied to have a few favorites,
one because OF its sheer beauty. as his
eyes see 1t; another because Of its fine
| foliage; another because 1t is easy to
grow, another because 1t does well on
| the north side of the house.
The Zinnia is no longer the humble
! flower it was.
| Now it steps forward into the lime
| light at the shows In fact, entire
displays of it alone have been fea-
tured in many of our great cities.
It is surprising what good effect,
| in a major way may be secured with
zinnias, by setting out a few well grown
plants at strategic points.
! This was what the gardener was do
ing at the estate mentioned. No doubt
! his employers and their guests found
the effect good, although they may
never have stopped as they swept into
| the driveway to note exactly what
| flowers were responsible for tho bright
| ness at the side of the read
The zinnia is a much more reliable
| flower than the modest petunta, another
one of the old-fashtoned garden favor
ties.
PetuniaS react Sulkily, upon occasion,
to adverse weather, especially too much
| drought, and, on the other hand, too
A rainy season will make bed of
petunias, or box, look very bedraggled,
| indeed, whereas the zinnia flowers,
owing to their stiff composition, stand
any amount of saturation.
Although the Zinnia does best In full
sun, it will thrive reasonably well in
shade even under large trees, where few
flowers do well.
If grown in such an inimical situa-
tion, however, plenty of water must be
given them, and they should be rein
| forced by the Seasonable application OF
| fertilizer That in the tablet form Is
| good for these plants.
Zinnias are free from insect pests,
to a great extent, and suffer from few
diseases, with the exception Of sort
| of mildeW which sometimes attacks
| them.
The latter is easily controlled by the
application of copper spray, which
blots the leaves with blue, making a
rather fetching combination.
| Mostly, however, these plants are
| care-free, and constitute as 'sure-fire'
flower as we have. There seems to
be great variation in seed; the fin
icky gardener will be willing to expert
ment with the various offerings and
decide whose seed suits him best.
! With good seed to begin with, and
! reasonable care afterWard, the average
| gardener will get great deal Of honest
| pleasure out of his zinniaS. The more
one experiments with the more costly,
| and, indeed, more beautiful flowers, the
more he will think of zinniaS.
They are useful, good looking and
| cheap, and what more could one want,
! in 1882 or any other year?