450 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



It is very nice to have a border, say six feet wide, on one side 

 of the grass plot for perennials, such as larkspur, phlox, hollyhocks, 

 rudbeckia and some hardy lilies, putting the taller growing plants 

 at the back of the border and small ones in front — and by all means 

 have some of the old-fashioned sweet pinks. The double ones must 

 be got from roots, which are now quite scarce. Some florists have 

 them and sell them reasonably. From a small root you can soon get 

 a large clump. I have given hundreds of roots away and expect 

 to do so as long as I live. If you cannot get a root try seed. 



Several years ago I for three cents got a paper of dianthus 

 plumarius (Pheasants Eye pink). I sowed them in a box in May; 

 when the plants were three or four inches high I transplanted them 

 to a bed in the garden, setting about fifteen inches apart. Before 

 winter that bed was a complete mat of green. I think I had better 

 have set them eighteen inches apart. The next May that bed 

 bloomed, and every May since, and I am proud of it. The bed is ten 

 feet across, and yet I gave away more plants than I used. Most of 

 the plants gave single flowers, but all delicate and pretty and as 

 fragrant as a carnation. Some plants gave small, but very double, 

 handsome flowers. In May and June that bed is covered with hun- 

 dreds of flowers that scent the whole yard, and delight not only my- 

 self but the passer by. I pick quantities of flowers from it for my- 

 self and others, and all for three cents and a little labor the first year. 

 It has taken care of itself since. Do you think there are any weeds 

 in that bed? No, indeed, the pinks have taken possession of every 

 inch of ground, and my neighbors to whom I gave plants have had 

 the same happy experience as myself. 



Now, if you wish to particularly please your wife and give the 

 whole family delight, yourself included, help your wife to a tulip 

 bed. These must be planted in October. For $1.25 or $1.50 you 

 can buy one hundred mixed tulip bulbs. These will plant a round 

 bed five feet across. A tulip bed shows to the best advantage in the 

 lawn. Take out the sod and dig up the ground to the depth of 

 twelve inches or more. Fill up with good garden soil well pulver- 

 ized, — no manure unless well rotted and thoroughly mixed with the 

 under soil, as it must not come in contact with the bulb to rot it. 

 When the bed is filled within three inches of the top place your tu- 

 lips at regular distances apart, and cover, heaping the soil over 

 them so that the bed when settled will be slightly higher than the 

 surrounding grass ; round it up so the water will run off. Just be- 

 fore winter sets in cover the bed with some coarse litter or trash, and 

 the tulips are ready for business. In the spring remove only a part 

 of the covering quite early, then watch, and as soon as the leaves 



