34 



BECKERT SEED AND BULB COMPANY 



Flowers 



Grow 

 Your Own 



WHETHER your taste runs to great masses 

 of brilliant color or artistic plantings of 

 the rarer and m\ore delicate shades, whether 

 you want blooms to beautify your borders or to 

 cut for vases and table decoration, you will find 

 flower growing intensely inteiesting and delight- 

 ful, as well as an easy and inexpensive recreation. 

 With hundreds of easily grown varieties from 

 which to choose (and mjany of the lesser known 

 sorts are fully as beautiful and just as easy tO' 

 grow as the old favorites), there is endless op- 

 portunity for creating new effects and discovering 

 new beauties. 



A17irUAI.S, BISNNIAI.S, and FZ:ili:NNIAI.S 



are indicated by the letters A, B, and P, respect- 

 ively, after each sort. Annuals grow, bear flowers 

 and die in one season. Most of our common gar- 

 den flowers, such as Nasturtiums, are in this class. 

 Biennials require two years to bloom. Holly- 

 hocks are biennials. The life of perennial flow- 

 ers 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. 



KAKBY, HAI.F-HAWT»Y. and TENDSB sorts 

 are indicated by the letters H, HH, and T. Hardy 

 varieties can stand a considerable amount of coia 

 weather and may be sown outdoors early in the 

 Spring, usually about mid-April. The hardy bien- 

 nials and perennials require very little Winter 

 protection. Half-bardy varieties should not be 

 sown outdoors until soil and weather are warm, 

 about May 15th. Tiiey will bloom earlier if tlie 

 seed is started indoors in March or April and the 

 plants set out in tlie garden late in May. Half- 

 liardy biennials and perennials should be wintered 

 in a coldframe. The tender sorts are subjects for 

 conservatory culture, although some of them, 

 notably the Begonias and Geraniums, may be set 

 outaoors in warm weather. 



TIME TO SOW. Biennials and Perennials, 

 which do not bJoum the first season, are geneially 

 sown in a seed-bed in June, July or August, and 

 transplanted in late Summer to the places where 

 they are to bloom the following season. Peren- 

 nials whicn bloom the first season should be sown 

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

 planted to tne garden late in May. 



SOIL AND PREFARATION. Flowers can be 

 successfully grown in practically all soils. Some 

 good fertilizer, such as well-rotted stable manure, 

 pulverized slieep manure, or bone meal should be 

 aug in and thoroughly mixed v/ith the soil when 

 it is prepared for planting. The surface should 

 be made as fine and level as possible. 



jfliAlTTING. The first thing to remember in 

 planting llower seeds is not to plant them too 

 deeply. The very fine seeds such as Petunia, 

 Snapdragon, etc., should be scattered on the sur- 

 face and pressed into tlie soil with a flat board. 

 Sow larger seeds in sliallow drills. 



TBANSFIiANTINa AND THINNING OUT. With 

 but a few exceptions, notably Poppies, young 

 flower plants may readily be transplanted, so that 

 they may be started in a hotbed or cold-frame, or 

 even in boxes in a sunny window, for later trans- 

 planting to the place where plants are to bloom. 



As soon as the seedlings are large enough to 

 handle they should be transplanted or thinned out 

 to prevent overcrowding. Set plants slightly 

 deeper than they were before lifting and be sure 

 to firm the soil around the roots. A good rule for 

 spacing plants in the garden is to set them apart 

 half their full grown height; however, a distance 

 of IVz feet is ample space between very tall- 

 growing plants. 



All Flower Seeds Are Sent Fostpald 



