Gaining Time on the Summer Flowers— By Leslie Hudson," 



TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE DULL SEASON TO ENSURE A WEALTH OF BLOOM OUT- 

 DOORS FROM EARLY SUMMER — GAINING THREE OR FOUR MONTHS IN BLOOM 



York 



YOU can have your garden full of 

 flowers from the very moment that 

 the bloom of the first bulb begins to fade 

 by taking a little thought and planning 

 now. Even if you have no greenhouse, 

 you can start seeds of the commonest of 

 our flowering plants in the window. By 

 sowing seed in February, the small plants 

 can be grown on to flowering size ready to 

 plant out toward the end of May, just at 

 the time when the less watchful gardener 

 is thinking of sowing the seeds outside. 

 These later-sown seeds will not give flowers 

 until well into the summer. 



It is always well to buy the best seed 

 for these early starts. The newer named 

 varieties of Europe may have many 

 surprises for you. It may cost a trifle 

 more and its total germination may be a 

 lower percentage, but it is worth while 

 for the finer quality, larger size and better 

 color of the flowers. 



The newer petunias can be had in a 

 great range of colors from white to the 

 richest, true magenta and purple, quite 

 a different thing from the sickly, washed 

 out tints that justify the hatred of this 

 color that is so often felt. They flower 

 all summer in the beds, and giving large 

 sheets of bloom, there is no flower that 

 will be more satisfactory. The newer 

 flowers are fully six inches across. If 

 you have not tried them, get some of the 

 selected strains this year. 



There are named strains, too, of the old- 

 time blue-flowered ageratum. This is 

 a popular edging plant for flower beds. 

 It never grows tall, it flowers freely, and 

 while being compact, yet has withal 

 gracefulness and freedom. The color is 

 rather a gray-blue and works well into the 



general garden scheme in framing formal 

 beds and for edgings of gardens. It 

 flowers all through the year from May 

 onward with absolutely no attention. 



Perhaps the easiest of all the plants 

 to be sown just now is alyssum. Its 

 white flowers make it a very welcome 

 plant in all borders and in all situations; 

 it mixes well with everything and har- 

 monizes and softens any glaring color 

 effects that may accidentally arise. Alys- 

 sum is quite hardy, but it is worth while 

 starting the seed indoors and setting out 

 the little plants when the weather becomes 

 settled, so as to be sure of having plenty 

 of white flowers almost from "frost to 

 frost." 



As a carpeting plant to fill in between 

 shrubs, rose beds, etc., the verbena offers 

 the greatest variety of colors. You can 

 get it in white, blue, pink and fiery red. 

 It is an accommodating plant; you can 

 let it sprawl as it will, or you can peg it 

 down with hairpins, and it flowers equally 

 serene under any kind of treatment. 

 It will give color in the garden after the 

 bloom of the roses is gone. 



There is nothing mysterious or difficult 

 about sowing seed of any of these flowers. 

 Any soil that is well aerated and drains 

 freely can be used, preferably a garden 

 soil with a good mixture of leaf mold 

 and sand. Exact proportions do not 

 really matter, and if you cannot get ex- 

 actly these ingredients, get the nearest 

 possible substitutes; use shallow boxes or 



pans — earthenware pans are better than 

 pots because they are easier to handle. 

 After filling the boxes or pans and firming 

 the soil well, leaving a half-inch rim all 

 around, water it before sowing the seed. 

 By doing this you will be sure of not wash- 

 ing the seed off the surface which is easily 

 done by overhead applications. 



Plunge the pan into a tub of water, 

 allowing the moisture to soak through 

 until it appears on the surface. After 

 removing the pan and draining it off, sow 

 the seed directly from the packet on the 

 surface, cover the pan with a sheet of glass 

 for protection and place in the window- 

 garden. One watering given in this way 

 will suffice until the seeds have germinated 

 and the little plants are strong enough to 

 hold on to the soil during an overhead 

 watering. This method is particularly 

 good for petunias, which are likely to be 

 kept too damp. 



FOR EARLIEST FLOWERS 



If you have never before tried it, get 

 some "frozen valley pips." That is to 

 say, lily-of-the-valley roots from cold 

 storage. You can buy these from the 

 seed stores and by starting them in the 

 middle of January and making successive 

 plantings every week, you can get bloom 

 from the middle of February until the 

 outdoor flowers come in. Nothing is 

 easier. Take the clump of pips as it comes 

 from the store, with a pair of scissors snip 

 off the long straggly roots, put the several 

 masses in boxes or pots or pans, packing 

 them as tightly as possible with a little 

 sand or moss in between, give them a 

 good watering and put them in a sunny 



Get some "frozen valley pips " and have a steady 

 supply of flowers for cutting 



Start the old geranium and take cuttings from the 

 growths as they develop 



Sweet alyssum started indoors now will give flowers 

 for outside all the year 



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