April, 19 18 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



137 



Forwarding Seeds Sown in Open Ground 



"\XTHEN attempting to get earliest results 

 * * from sowings made in the open ground, a 

 favorite way to lessen labor, save time, and 

 nullify losses is to soak half the seed needed 

 for several hours — over night is the favorite 

 period, though sometimes eighteen to twenty- 

 four hours is employed. After the water has 

 been drained off, the seed may be made more 

 easy to handle by spreading out thinly for an 

 hour or so in a place where the breeze will 

 act on them. Now comes the trick: sow 

 that seed and an equal amount of dry 



seed — that is unsoaked seed — in alternate 

 hills half as far apart as they should 

 be, or short intervals of the rows. 



The plan may work in several ways de- 

 pending on the season and condition of the 

 soil. If the soil is wet and cold and the air 

 also cold the soaked seed may decay but the 

 dry seed sprout later. If soil and air con- 

 ditions are favorable to sprouting at sowing 

 time and shortly after, the soaked seed will 

 be the first to sprout. Should a frosty spell 

 arrive now these seedlings may be killed. 

 The seeds sown dry may not then be sprouted 



but they should be ready to come up as soon 

 as the weather gets warm again. Thus the 

 labor of making a second sowing will be 

 avoided — a gain of time and work which 

 means more than the loss of the plants 

 frozen. Should weather be favorable to both 

 soaked and dry seed the plants from the 

 latter may be destroyed later. As a general 

 proposition it is not advisable to soak seed 

 for the very earliest sowings, but where, 

 through any cause, sowing must be done 

 late, time may be gained by soaking, making 

 the soil firm over the place. 



Flowers for the War Time Garden 



ELIZABETH STRANG 



"Wearing a Potato Plant on Your Front Lawn" May Not Be so Patriotic as Raising a Few of Those 



That Will Meet the Spiritual Needs for Solace and Recreation 



'Rays of Sunshine" 



THERE is no com- 

 pulsion to forego 

 the pleasure of 

 flowers in our gar- 

 dens just because un- 

 usual activity is directed 

 toward food production. 

 Indeed it would seem to 

 me that flowers will be 

 more than ever needed 

 to offset the hours spent 

 in cultivating the crusty 

 cabbage, the reluctant 

 cauliflower, the stoical 

 potato, and the bellig- 

 erent bean. And as an antidote to days 

 that "try men's souls," flower borders 

 must be particularly cheerful, and they can 

 be inexpensive, and for a minimum of at- 

 tention return a maximum of cheer and 

 satisfaction. The accompanying plans offer 

 several solutions and are simple. 



I. A Show Border in Color Variations 



C*OR a conspicuous position across the 

 * front fence, or facing the well kept 

 lawn use plan No. I. You can enjoy such a 

 border when you pause in your hoeing to 

 imbibe a glass of lemonade on the porch. 

 The majority of the flowers are annuals, 

 inasmuch as they give the most showy and 





Rainbow color border (See table II). This and all other drawings in this article are on the same 

 scale as that illustrating table V 



continuous bloom for little cost. The few per- 

 ennials chosen for certain effects will bloom 

 the first year from seed, and incidentally form 

 the basis for a permanent border another year. 

 The plants are selected and arranged with 

 particular regard to their form and appearance 

 on dress parade, so to speak. The sketch 

 shows the relative heights and shapes of the 

 masses. Long before the flowers appear, the 

 feathery foliage of the Cosmos is a tall, dense 

 background for the brighter colors. The 

 perennial white Snakeroot, and the blue 

 Ageratum in the foreground likewise possess 

 the massing quality. The erect forms of the 

 Sunflowers and Larkspur are required to 

 relieve the rounded contours. 



I. THE THOUGHT-OUT COLOR BORDER IN FOUR DIFFERENT COLOR TONES 



INDEX 





A. INTENSE BLUE 

 AND DEEP YELLOW 



B. LIGHT BLUE 

 AND PALE YELLOW 



C. PINK AND BLUE 



D. PINK AND 

 WHITE 



DISTANCE 

 APART 





I 



Cosmos 6'-8' high 



Late White 



Klondyke; gold- 

 en yellow 



Early pink 



Early pink and 

 white 



18" 



I pkt. g.IO 



2 



Annual Sunflower 

 4' high 



Helianthus na- 

 nus flore pleno, 

 double golden 

 yellow 



Single miniature. 

 Twisted petals 

 of creamy 

 white, pale and 

 golden yellow 



Rudbeckia pur- 

 purea. Purple 

 Con e fl w e r. 

 Perennial, dull 

 pink centres, 3' 

 Aug.-Oct. 





12" 



2 pkts. .20 





3 



Eupatorium agera- 

 toides (White 

 Snakeroot.) Peren- 

 nial: Heads of 

 minute white 

 flowers, Aug.-Oct. 

 3-4' high 









' 



12" 



2 pkts. . 20 



4 



Calendula 2' high 



C. Orange King 

 or burnt 

 orange Zinnia 



Sulphur yellow 



Zinnias, flesh 

 pink 2' high 



Salmon rose 



8" 



2 pkts. . 10 



5 



Annual Larkspur 

 2-3' high 



D. Dark blue 

 or Bachelor's 

 Buttons, single 

 blue 



Sky blue 



Shell pink and 

 sky blue 



Rose pink 



8" 



2 pkts. .20 



6 



Ageratum 12" high 



Blue Perfection 



Princess Pauline. 

 Light blue 

 white centre 



Princess Pauline 

 and Primrose 

 Yellow. Annual 

 Phlox, 6" high 



Annual gypso- 

 phila muralis, 

 small pink 

 flowers, 8"— 10" 



6" 



2 pkts. . 20 



This plan may be de- 

 veloped in a variety of 

 schemes, in all of them 

 keeping the Cosmos and 

 Snakeroot as a neutral 

 foil of foliage. One may 

 be of the most intense 

 color tone s — burnt 

 orange Zinnias, or orange 

 Calendula, double orange 

 Sunflowers and dark blue 

 Larkspur and Ageratum, 

 are examples. Or the 

 same colors may have a 

 lighter range of values: 

 Sunflowers and Calendulas of clear light yel- 

 low, and light blue Ageratum and Larkspur. 

 A third development might be in delicate 

 pink and blue: Flesh pink Zinnias, dull 

 pink Coneflower, sky blue Larkspur, and blue 

 and white Ageratum with a little annual 

 Phlox of primrose yellow to give life to the 

 whole. A scheme of pink and white would 

 have Zinnias of salmon rose, more Coneflower, 

 spikes of deep rose Larkspur and, in place 

 of the Ageratum, some dwarf Gypsophila of 

 palest pink tinge. 



In all three variations the Cosmos counts 

 more as a green mass than as a flower, but 

 colors are selected to correspond with each 

 scheme, though the blossoms appear so much 

 later than the rest. The yellow variety must 

 be grown in boxes set in the ground so that 

 the roots may become pot bound and force 

 the plants into bloom in our Northern climate. 



II. Informal Masses of Color 



T^OR a more informal place such as the 

 *■ end of the vegetable plot, where the 

 lawn may run to meet the irregular line of the 

 flowers a broader treatment will fit. You 

 may enjoy this one while you hoe. 



There exists a popular prejudice against 

 mixed varieties of flowers, due in part to the 

 crude colorings of some of these; but, unlike 

 those painful recollections of our grand- 

 mothers' gardens, Sweet Peas and Shirley 



II. THE RAINBOW COLOR BORDER 













INDEX 





HEIGHT 



APART 



COST 



I 



Cosmos, late white 



6'-8' 



18" 



1 pkt. $.05 



2 



Sweet Peas, mixed 



4'-°' 



do not 

 thin 



1 oz. . 20 



3 



Annual Asters, late 











branching, white 



2' 



12" 



1 pkt. . 10 



4 



Shirley Poppies 





thin to 







mixed 



18" 



4"-6" 



1 oz. .40 



5 



Candytuft, tall 





thin to 







fragrant white . 



12" 



2" 



1 oz. .25 



