Evening star., 1934-05-29
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

knows how absorptive even the small
est plot of earth Is in regard to
plants.
Plants by three, by half dozens, by
dozens, disappear into the yawning
borders.
Some Of them really disappear, too,
in time, SO that more must be secured.
No matter how many specimens
kind neighbors may donate, there is
always room for more. 1t really Is an
amazing thing, the capacity even the
smallest yard has for plant material.
Why, there are home folks around
Washington who have been pouring $5
worth of plants at a time into their
yards for years without making so
much as a dent in it.
1t must be in larger increments.
The best way to get this attitude of
mind (after one has secured the
money, of course) Is to make really
intensive study Of blossom succession.
This is a branch of the art sadly
ignored by many, even by those who
fancy they know something about the
subject.
As one suburban gardener said re-
Gently, II have been planting things
together, so that they would bloom
at the same time, and they don't do
it more than once in 10 years"
All the timers know how that Is.
y
Put your blue Siberian iris by your
Emily Gray rose yellow. and per-
haps they will never bloom at the
same time but once through the years.
That time. however, they make a
wonderful display.
Or plant regal lilies in front Of
Van Fleet vine and hope they will
show their blossoms at one and the
same time. They seldom will do it.
Yet there can be little doubt that
more study along these lines could be
made profitably by the average home
gardener, whether the paintings bloom
together or not. The theory is good,
at any rate. and the theory must be
grasped, not only as a theory, but
must be turned into an actuality, be-
fore it helps the individual garden
much. Even then the best help will
come in putting more plants into the
ground. 1t seems as If you can't get
too many.
AS for fertilizer, lack Of it is the
most common failure of small gar
dens. These plants are Natures own
and they need her food. She is not
fastidious, she is able to turn queer
things into nutriment for her own.
1t is impossible to go on gardening
even the smallest place, year after
year. without putting in real fertilizer
after a time. Impossible, that is. if
one wants really thriving plants. This
is the theory, and every one knows
it, but how many really carry 1t out?
Especially when 1t comes to that best
of all fertilizers. we'll rotted COW
manure. With the greatest respect
for commercial fertilizers, whether of
the so-called complete variety or not,
one cannot believe that they can take
the place of the old standard. They
have their uses. but what the average
home garden needs is plenty of the
old standard.
If we will not put in plenty of
money. If. indeed, we cannot, and if
We will not use plenty of fertilizer,
why should We lament comparative
failure? After all the failure is COM
parative. There will be grass, nice
shrubs, iris blooming well in season.
other things coming along from time
to time; these will make a happy gar
den. although not the best garden
Can it be that most people want a
show place" without spending the
money to have such a place? A show
place Is good, but so is just an av-
erage garden. especially If content
crowns 1t with a continual feast.