lo PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



Most Annuals succeed best in deep rich soil, and it is a 

 mistake to imagine because they are only of annual duration 

 therefore their needs are few and they can take care of them- 

 selves. They will certainly take care of themselves in the 

 sense that they will rapidly fulfil their mission so far as this 

 is tauf^ht them by Nature. The end they have in view is to 

 produce the largest possible amount of seeds in the shortest 

 possible time. But that is hardly the purpose of the culti- 

 vator. Comparatively few people — and this applies particu- 

 larly to the owners of small gardens — have a knowledge of 

 the capacity of Annuals when the plants are given every 

 possible chance. If people would give, say, a Larkspur, an 

 annual Chrysanthemum, an Ostrich Plume Aster, a Ten-week 

 Stock, a Clarkia, or a Coreopsis, ample room to develop freely 

 in rich soil, with no hard-feeding and hard-drinking competi- 

 tors to fight against, the revelation of beauty and grace, 

 freedom and brilliance they would give would be worth more 

 than many pages of advice, and would I think tend to exalt 

 Annuals in the general estimation of the public. 



Firm planting, a good watering to settle the soil about the 

 roots, and a free use of the Dutch hoe are cultural items to 

 be practised, not avoided. Close planting is as illogical as thick 

 sowing ; it destroys the beauty of the plants, reduces their 

 effectiveness, and shortens their season of flowering. The 

 necessary supports for all tall-growing subjects must be pro- 

 vided early in the Summer, and the stakes used should be 

 slender and strong, and sufficiently tall to serve all the season 

 through. 



Annuals used for garden decoration must not be allowed 

 to ripen seeds. Nothing reduces the vitality of a plant more 

 than the effort to bring a crop of seeds to perfection. An 

 Annual is quite willing to give up its life quickly to do so ; 

 indeed, under natural conditions its motto seems to be " A 

 Short Life and a Merry One." The prompt removal of faded 



