Evening star., 1934-06-24

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of columbines, begonias, larkspurs,
petunias and other flowers. On one
day alone last year there were visitors
from "a States, indicative Of the at
tractiveness Of the paintings.
Pansies.
MAGNIFICENT pansies have been
in evidence at various Of the
garden club shows this past
Spring. Undoubtedly the abundant
rains have been factor, but, as sug-
gested a few weeks ago, the major
causal factor is the character of the
seed sown. There seems to be a
tendency in the pansy to revert
quickly to the smaller flowered proto-
types unless continuous and intelli-
gent selection of mother plants is
maintained. English and French
growers have led the way in pansy
improvement, but now there are GER
tain American growers doing excellent
work There is no question but that
it pays to secure good seed, though
costly, the results justifying the ex-
penSe. Furthermore, the seeds are
strong and germinate strongly, so that,
with a good Seedbed, small packet
will yield many plants.
Pansies for Fall should be sown
now, but for next Spring seeding
should be delayed until late July or
early August. Soil incorporated with
peat moss and well rotted manure, so
that it is loose and friable, makes a
desirable seedbed.
Garden Notes.
AN AUTHORITATIVE article on the
breeding of water lilies ap-
pearing in the March, 1884, bule-
tin of the Missouri Botanical Gar
den at st. Louis, suggests that lily
breeding should be most fascinating
and delightful hobby, were one pro-
vided with ponds or other water ia
cilities in which to grow the plants.
Washington already has one of the
foremost lily breeders in the country
in the person of Mrs. Lillian Fowler,
proprietor of the Shaw Aquatic Gar
denS at Kenilworth, D. c.
The April bulletin of the Missouri
Botanical Garden contains an ex-
cellent discussion of methods of fer
tilizing shade trees and of the good
results secured thereby. Placing the
fertilizer in holes made with soil
auger or crowbar prevented injury
to the sod and at the same time was
effective
Lately articles have appeared in two
or three gardening journals, suggest
ing that dogs may be kept away from
evergreens by the simple eXpedient
Of spraying the foliage with nicotine
sulphate solution. The substance, un-
der a wen-known trade name, MAJ
be procured from drug, hardware or
garden supply stores, and should be
diluted according to recommendations
on the package.
Without intention of criticizing un-
fairly, it would seem that many local
garden supply stores miss consider
able business by failing to keep an
attractive stock of plants during the
rush season. Dry, withered plants
cannot appeal strongly because the
gardener knows it will take several
days to restore them to vigorous de-
velopment. 1t is surprising what a
role appearance plays in stimulating
sales of living plants
Courage is required in the garden
at times. For example, when it comes
time to cut down the old climbing
rose canes and trim out the deut-
zias and other Spring blooming shrubs
Yet without this remedial pruning the
plants soon overrun themselves and
lose their beauty. Admittedly the
plants look unkempt and ragged fol
a few days, but shortly recover. Then
this year many of the Towering canes
that did survive appear lacking in
vigor, making their removal even
more than usually imperative.
Gardeners who grow the hardy
Spring Towering primulas Learn
shortly that these plants thrive bet
ter if divided every year or at least
every two years. A crude method is
simply to take strong knife and cut
the lifted plant into two parts. After
very few days the reset portions
become re-established and put forth
new, strong growth. Exchanging stock
with neighborhood gardeners offers a
desirable means of obtaining new
| colorS
Hollyhocks. mallows, altheas, cot
ton and okra all belong to closely
related species characterized by large
snowy flowers and a love for the full
Summer sun. The hollyhock is now
beginning to bloom, and. where prop
erly placed in the garden, makes an
attractive addition to the landscape
Some years rust disease takes off. the
leaves almost as fast as they form
necesSiating a continued cam
paign of spraying with bordeaux mix
ture. Some day some plant breeder
will undertake 10 find rustproot
hollyhockS, and then better days will
be on hand for this prolific Summer
flower.
Local home gardeners who have
! journeyed few hundred miles north
ward or westward from this locality
can appreciate how fortunate local
people have been with moisture
Fertilizer, sunlight, good soil and good
care cannot combine to produce a
nice garden without water. In fact
the fertilizer may become harmful in
times of drought because of a con-
centration of the soil solution.
indicative of what may be expected
in the way of increase of narciSSus
bulbs, a local home gardner dug a
heaping bushel of bulbs from an origi-
nal rs emperor bulbs planted six years
ago. They should not have been al
lowed to go undug so long. 1t fact
they produced very few blooms this
past season, despite the multiplicity
of bulbs.
1t must have been that more atten-
ton was paid to selecting fragrant
flowers in the old-fashioned gardens
OF yesterday than is the vogue al
present. Some of the older gardeners
can well recall the heliotrope, the
lemon scented geraniums, the sweet
briar roses and other plants. OF late
years peoples thoughts seem to turn
toward new plants, larger size and
more intense colors. Now and then a
garden author gives the matter OF
fragrance some consideration as in
The Frangrant PATH" by Louise B.
Wilder, 1882. Many species possess
fragrance as well as beauty and il
W0llld annaor that fl1 -. - 49,, af a-S1x