STATE PIORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 145 



FLOWER-GROWING. 



HY MRS. ELLEN G. SMITH. OF PEORIA. "• 



Eve raised flowers. Slie also raised Cain. Her descendants 

 have followed her exani])le in both particulars. Cain we can raise 

 without helj). To raise flowers we need all the assistance we can get; 

 hence horticultural societies; hence floriculture committees. 



Plants do not ask much of us. Thev only want three things. 

 Give any respectable plant of a well meaning variety dirt, sun and 

 water, and it will give you blossoms. 



If you can't or won't supply these three things, go get thee to 

 a dollar store. hi(i/ flowers of Avax. set them on the parlor center 

 table, under a bell-glass, pull down the blinds and turn away "se- 

 renely satisfied " in the thought that your floral treasures are laid up 

 where moth and rust will not corrupt, nor thieves steal if they do 

 break through. 



Floriculture in this latitude naturally divides itself into two 

 parts: flower-growing out-doors and in. 



The first question to be settled in starting to groAv flowers out- 

 doors is wh?re to put the flower beds. If you are fortunate enough 

 to have a front yard sufficiently large to give you a prett}^ l)it of 

 green sward in contrast to the gay flower beds, well and good, put 

 them there; but if your husband or wife objects to having a part of 

 the small smooth lawn used for flower beds, don't insist on it. Peace 

 is better than posies. You can put them in the back yard with just 

 as good results, for flowers are true democrats and will bloom as gen- 

 erously on the alley as on the avenue. Where the beds are is of 

 small matter; how they are is most important. The soil in them 

 must be mellow and nutritious. To secure this, spade deep and mix 

 with our virgin l)lack ))rairie soil or leaf-mold enough sand and com- 

 ])ost to make tlie dirt mellow and ])()roiis. so that when you squeeze 

 a little of it up tightly in your hand it will fall to pieces again as 

 soon as you drop it. 



If you arc unfortunate enough to live in the neighljorhood of a 

 brewery, and many of us are. the rotben refuse ho])s from it. sj)aded 

 into the flower beds, will be found to make the soil very mellow. 

 They also contain a good deal of food for the plants. 



Next comes the question of what to plant, and this depends 

 largely u])on individual taste. 



Large flower beds are made much prettier by having a border 

 around them. Among ])lants suitable for bordering are some varie- 

 ties of low growing colli, Knglish daisies, golden feverfew, sweet 

 alyssum, so-called, and candy tuft. A few of the coleus plants 

 " kept over," will furnish enough small plants to border a large bed, 

 as the cuttings from them strike root very readily in water or sand 

 kept wet. 

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