SOWING SEEDS 



'T^O those who have not tried it, nothing seems easier than 

 getting plants of a desired kind. You simply plant the 

 seeds, wait a few weeks and there are your plants. Un- 

 fortunately the process is not so simp'e. To be sure the 

 weeds spring up without their seeds being planted at all and 

 the young plants develop apace in spite of the gardener, but 

 it is not so with cultivated things. All but the hardy few^ must 

 be nursed and coddled and defended from their enemies often 

 till long past infancy. 



A little experience in planting will show that the seeds ot 

 different species vary greatly in the way they respond to the 

 ministrations of the gardener. Some will grow before they 

 are mature, others as soon as mature, while a larg'e number 

 seem to insist upon a period of rest and will not grow until 

 they have had it. Still other seeds are known which will not 

 germinate until more than one growing season has passed. 



As a general thing, the seeds of annuals are most easily 

 induced to grow. With such plants it is usually *'now or 

 never." Their span of life is too short to admit of any delays. 

 This circumstance may account for the fact that the plants 

 most frequently grown from seeds in cottage gardens are 

 annuals. They are so nearly certain to grow that they are 

 prime favorites with inexperienced flower lovers. With 

 perennials, however, it is different. The very seedlings seem 

 to feel that they have plenty of time. They are often slow in 

 appearing and still slower in developing, taking months to 



