Evening star., 1952-04-27
Lovish|y Blooming Annuo|s
Are Icing on Garden Cake

Perennial plants may be the
sturdy backbone of most gardens,
but the colorful, lavishly bloom
ing annual flowers are the icing
on the garden cake.
AS is the case with perennialS,
there are ANNALS adapted to
growing under almost any condi-
tions. from shade to full sun. from
heavy soils to light earth poor in
food. They are. of course. the
plants which are sown, bloom and
die in the course Of a single
season. The reason their bloom is
apt to be more sensational than
the more conservative perennials
is that most of their effort is
placed into producing seed.
Easy to Grow.
Annuals have another asset for
the amateur gardener: They are
easy to grow, and the veriest be-
ginner can easily grow just as SEN
sational flowers as the old garden
hand. In general. they appreciate
the same treatment as vegetables;
sufficient food, sunlight and in
sect control to meet their needs.
Most like a light. rich. WELL
drained soil and plenty Of sun
shine.
A thumbing through seed
catalogue or few minutes study
ing the seed-packet rack IN your
local hardware store is sufficient
to indicate why the choice OF
ANIMALS is personal affair. There
are available hundreds of flowers
and a selection for size, Towering
habit and color among the vari-
Gus families.
A few years back. however. one
of those eternal surveys indicated
that the three most popular gar
den flowers in America were zin-
Mas, marigoldS and portulaca-
all ANIMALS, all easily grown and
all very satisfactory.
Best to Sow Seed.
Some ANIMALS are as fuSsy as
prima donnas and fatty refuse
tn grow in one garden while they
flourish in the garden next door.
Some flowers. like poppies and
larkspur, resent transplanting
fiercely, so one should always SOW
the seed where they are to grow.
When it comes time to thin out
the young plants. ruthlessly go
ahead and give the ones desig-
mated for survival plenty Of grow
ing room.
Most ANIMALS, however, take
transplanting very well. recover
quickly and without too much set
back from the shock. Always use
plenty of water in transplanting
and take special pains to keep the
delicate young roots encased in
as much earth as possible.
Some ANIMALS like snapdragons
and petunias take a long time to
terminate and sprout well. 1t is
a good idea to get these started
early in the season in a window
sill fiat. The alternative, of course,
is to buy young plants from local
nurseries when the danger Of a
late frost is past and tender
plants may be set out.
Later blooms may be had, how
ever, by planting seeds outdoors
and by covering the fine seed beds
with moist burlap until they
germinate. The burlap serves the
double purpose of preventing the
seeds being washed out by rain
and by providing some extra
warmth to speed termination.
Change the Location.
It's a good idea to change the
location of the various ANIMALS
from year to year. This adds in
terest and also fools the bugs.
Where asters are concerned, a
change is almost required, for all
sorts of nasty aster diseases win
ter over in the ground to catch
the next years crop if you put
them there.
Most appreciate an occasional
treatment with all-purpose spray
and flourish nightly If extra
feelings of fertilizers are given
to them in the growing season
with side dressings.
They will bloom much longer If