_ currants. 
February, 1911 
and utility in an old fashioned garden for flowers and 
vegetables. 
The grass path is straight from the front door to the oak. 
tree back of the garden, and when the door is opened one 
will see a charming vista of flower bordered path ending 
at the seat around the oak tree. 
Such a garden as this, if it is properly managed, is large 
enough to supply all the vegetables which the family living 
in this bungalow will be able to use, with the possible ex- 
ception of potatoes. 
It should have an asparagus bed, a strawberry bed, and 
along the east fence some raspberries, blackberries and 
On the other sides the hedge had better be of privet. 
Back of the garden and surrounding the oak tree are 
planted apples, pears, and peaches, which will do nicely 
while the oak tree is small, say for fifty years or so. 
The grass terrace between the house and the garden will 
be the tea lawn and out-door living-room. A bed of per- 
ennials should separate it from the garden. 
The earth removed in excavating for the cellar will be 
used for the terrace at the west of the house. 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 77 
The planting of the vegetable garden should be con- 
sidered with care. If the tall things, such as lima beans, 
corn and peas, are put at the sides of the garden and the 
low ones like radishes, peppers, dwarf peas and string 
beans near the walk, the effect will be very good. Many 
vegetable plants are, of course, very beautiful and all have 
a happy appeal to several of our senses. 
Correspondents who wish suggestions about locating 
their houses and about the development of their grounds 
will do well to send very precise descriptions of their needs 
and desires. ‘Thus we should like to know by whom the 
work of the house is done, how much labor is to be em- 
ployed in the upkeep of the place, how many animals and 
what kinds are to be kept, and whether there is an auto- 
mobile or not. 
Information about the surrounding property is much de- 
sired as it is important to know jwhether it must be hidden 
or whether it is a pleasing part of the landscape. 
The nature of the soil, the owner’s taste in gardening, his 
pleasures while at home, the number of his friends and 
children all have a bearing on the problem. 
Starting Seeds in the House 
By Gladys Hyatt Sinclair 
Ronahes turn eagerly ee and 
the days before active outdoor growing 
begins seem to lag with heavy feet. 
But if annuals are to be part of our 
garden this year we can gratify our itch 
for mother earth at once—for it is time 
annual seeds were started in the house for early bloom. 
The season for annuals, north of Mason and Dixon’s line, 
is short at best. Many, especially the choicer sorts, must 
be started indoors or in a hotbed to get anything like their 
value. Of these, the best are asters, salvia (scarlet sage), 
cosmos, penstemon, lobelia, verbenas, annual pinks, Mar- 
guerite carnations, single dahlias and stocks. A few of 
these are not annuals, strictly speaking, but are best treated 
as annuals, in places having short summers. 
Of the sturdier sorts that will stand more hardship, 
Drummonds phlox, petunias, clarkia, annual chrysanthe- 
mums, four o’clocks, zinnias, scabiosa and snapdragon, 
with Japanese variegated hop and Cobea scandens for vines, 
can all be given four weeks more of garden life by start- 
ing them in the house about the fifteenth of March. 
Nothing elaborate as to place or equipment is necessary. 
A kitchen or cool room upstairs is better than an over- 
heated living-room. Light cellar windows are excellent 
places. Any exposure will do, but south windows should 
be shaded when the sun shines very hot through them. 
Boxes or pans three or four inches deep, with holes for 
drainage, are better than pots and easier to manage. If 
“potting soil” or clay loam is used, add sand to it if pos- 
sible, to keep it from caking. Good rich garden soil will 
grow all ordinary seeds well. 
Make the soil fine and press it down hard. Sow the seeds 
a quarter to half an inch apart, in rows two inches apart. 
Cover with a quarter inch of earth or sand and spray very 
carefully with warm water. I like a whisk broom as a 
sprayer. Lay newspapers, flannel or burlap on the earth 
to. keep the moisture in. When the seeds begin to sprout 
remove the covering and sprinkle thoroughly with warm 
water whenever the earth looks dry. 
It is not wise to use bottom heat with seeds that must 
live in an ordinary room, unless they are more than ten 
days coming up. A slow, steady, sturdy growth is what 
we want, not swift, spindling, weak plants ready too soon 
to go outdoors and die. 
If a cold snap or some accident chills the room and the 
earth seems really cold, warm it gradually and return to 
its place. Turn the boxes every second or third day, so that 
the little plants may grow straight. 
When the second or true leaves are well developed the 
plants will usually be crowded. Soak the earth well, lift 
each plant carefully and transfer it to another box or to 
a tiny pot. In boxes they can stand from an inch and a 
half to two inches apart. Set so that about half the stem 
is buried, and press the earth firmly about each plant. Some 
of the swifter-growing ones may need transplanting again, 
but most of them will grow on contentedly until the middle 
or last of May when they will go into the ground and 
blossom quickly. 
Many who try raising plants in the house fail because 
they do not understand that plants, especially baby ones, 
must have fresh air. They will thrive on air surprisingly 
cool if it be fresh and clean. Open the window a few 
minutes each day unless the weather positively forbids. 
Then open those in an adjoining room, getting clean air 
without a draft. Plants treated thus will be short and 
stocky, not tall, loppy and pale. 
By the first or middle of May, according to the spring, 
they should go out on the porch or the ground. Set the 
boxes in a group so that they may be easily covered if cold 
nights threaten. 
When danger of frost seems past, transfer the plants 
to rich ground, on a cloudy day or at a time when the sun 
is low. 
Have the earth wet at the roots of the plants and dry on 
top and they will not wilt. After the first work of planting 
(which is play because it seems to open the door to spring) 
only a very few minutes occasionally are required to raise 
plants in the house; and one is amply repaid by the pleasure 
of watching their growth and early bloom. 
