48 FLOWER GARDENING 



a plant, or a straight one between rows, fill this 

 with water two or three times and then put the 

 soil back in place. A day or two afterward cul- 

 tivate to keep the soil from baking. 



Potted plants, even when sunk into borders to 

 fill up the empty places, dry out quickly and may 

 be crying for water when their neighbors are not. 

 This is particularly true of Hydrangea hortensis, 

 one of the hardest of garden drinkers. Use a 

 watering pot with a long spout and no spray. 



Seed gathering goes on all through the summer 

 and into the autumn. It is worth while when there 

 is a good strain and when the flower is one of as- 

 sociation. It is not worth while, in many cases, 

 going to the trouble for the sake of mere economy, 

 for seed is comparatively inexpensive. Poppy seed, 

 for instance, is easily saved, but gathering and dry- 

 ing China aster seed is bothersome and it means 

 the sacrifice of several blossoms to concentrate 

 strength in one. 



Some seed, like that of the fraxinella, must be 

 gathered before the pods split; or it will be scat- 

 tered far and wide. Upright receptacles, such as 

 the columbine and iris have, may be left until they 

 have split a bit. Generally the seed is dead ripe 

 when the pod, or in the case of composite flowers 

 the head, is brown. , Cut off pods carefully, so 

 as not to spill any of the seed, and place in a 

 saucer to dry; if the seeds are of the shooting kind, 

 cover the saucer to prevent their escape. Usually 

 they will dry sufficiently in a day. Shake out any 



