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BECKERT SEED AND BULB COMPANY 



A charming border of Portulacas and Dwarf Zinnias 



Grow Your Own Flowers 



WHETHER your taste runs to great 

 masses of brilliant color or artistic plant- 

 ings of the rarer and more delicate shades, 

 whether you want blooms to beautify your 

 borders or to cut for vases and table decoration, 

 you will find flower-growing intensely interesting 

 and delightful, as well as an easy and inex- 

 pensive recreation. With hundreds of easily 

 grown varieties from which to choose (and 

 many of the lesser known sorts are fully as beau- 

 tiful and just as easy to grow as the old favorites) 

 there is endless opportunity for creating new 

 effects and discovering new beauties. In fact, a 

 good half of the fun in gardening comes from 

 trying the varieties you and your neighbors 

 haven't grown before. Generally speaking, 

 flowers are easier to grow than vegetables. 

 There is one important difference, however: 

 most flower seeds are quite small and rather slow 

 in sprouting. That means a little more care in 

 preparing the seed-bed and sowing and a little 

 more patience in waiting for the seeds to grow. 



With a few exceptions, young flower plants 

 are readily transplanted, which makes it con- 

 venient to start the seed in a special seed-bed 

 and later move the seedlings to the places where 

 they are wanted to bloom. Make the seed-bed 

 just as fine, mellow, and level as you possibly 

 can. Scatter the seed thinly in shallow furrows 

 and cover with a little fine soil. Scatter small- 

 grained seeds on the surface of the seed-bed and 

 press into the surface with a smooth board. 

 When the seedlings are an inch or two high, or as 

 soon as you can distinguish them from weeds, 

 thin or transplant to prevent crowding. 



There are three main divisions of garden 

 flowers: Annuals, biennials, and perennials, in- 

 dicated by the letters A. B, or P, respectively, 

 after each sort. Annuals grow, bear flowers, and 

 die in one season. Most of our common garden 

 flowers, such as Nasturtiums, are in this class. 

 Biennials require two years to bloom; sometimes 

 they bloom in the first season if planted very 

 earlv. HoUvhocks. for example, are biennials. 



The life of perennial flowers is not limited to one 

 or two years but is indefinite. Some perennials 

 produce flowers the first season, but most of 

 them do not commence to bloom until the second 

 season after sowing. Coreopsis is a well-known 

 perennial. 



These classes are divided into hardy, half- 

 hardy, and tender sorts, indicated by the letters 

 H, HH, and T. Hardy varieties can stand a 

 considerable amount of cold weather; the an- 

 nuals may be sown outdoors early in the spring, 

 usually about mid-April, while hardy biennials 

 and perennials ordinarily require no protection. 

 Half-hardy annuals should not be sown outdoors 

 until soil and weather are warm, about May 15. 

 They will bloom earlier if the seed is started in- 

 doors in March or April and the plants set out 

 in the garden late in May. Half-hardy biennials 

 and perennials require a protection of leaves, 

 straw, or manure over winter. The tender sorts 

 are subjects for conservatory culture, although 

 some of them, notably the Begonias and Gera- 

 niums may be set outdoors in warm weather. 



Perennials and biennials which do not bloom 

 the first season are generally sown in a seed-bed 

 in June or early July and transplanted in late 

 summer to the places where they are to bloom 

 the following season. Perennials and biennials 

 which bloom the first season should be sown 

 in a box indoors in February or March, and trans- 

 planted to the garden late in May. 



The hardy and half-hardy flowers can easily 

 be grown by even the least experienced gardener. 

 Most half-hardy sorts are started in boxes 

 indoors, just like cabbage seed, requiring only a 

 shallow box of fine soil, a sunny window, plenty 

 of moisture, and average house temperature. 



A good rule for spacing plants in the garden 

 is to set them apart half their full-grown height. 

 For the very tall-growing kinds a space of i ^ 

 feet is usually ample. Full directions for grow- 

 ing those rarer plants which require special 

 care will be gladly furnished on request. 



