45 



ANNUAL FLOWERS 



0 



ANNUAL flowers are a class that fulfil their full cycle of 

 existence in one year. The seed is sown in the spring and 

 the plants are in their prime in a few weeks, when they bear their 

 burden of bloom, ripen their seeds and pass on to their death by 

 fall. They sustain the same relation to the garden that the 

 butterfly does to the other denizens of the air — ephemeral in 

 existence but beautiful beyond compare during the short period 

 they are with us. And it is nature's law of compensation that as 

 the plant does not live perennially from the roots, it bears an 

 enormous amount of flowers and seeds to perpetuate itself. For 

 this reason annuals are ver}- desirable garden material to color up 

 the flower border and to make a few }'early changes in the appear- 

 ance of the landscape. Shrubs make up the structural framework 

 or what may be called the anatomy of the }'ard ; perennial flowers 

 clothe it with garments of beaut}^ : and the cjuick growing annuals 

 are the jewels that serve as extraneous ornaments. 



But as these are merely incidents to a garden, as jewels are 

 incident to dress, only the most popular sorts will be considered 

 and recommended; and as the Sweet Peas, Nasturtiums, Pansies, 

 and Asters are more general^ cultivated than any others of this 

 class, they may be regarded as the first choice of most people. 

 For this reason cultural directions are given at length for these 

 and, somewhat more briefly, for a number of others. 



I also append a list of plants which are perennial in the 

 South — about as far north as Memphis — but which freeze out 

 in the North and consecjuently must be treated as annuals and 

 renewed from seed every spring. They are ^'ery showv. 



0 



SWEET PEAS 



MOST of the Sweet Pea seed in this country is grown in Cali- 

 fornia for the large seed houses, and as they all have the 

 same source of supply there is not much difference in the quality. 

 Many varieties are sold in which the colors are distinct, but it is 

 a lot of useless bother to keep them separate. I recommend the 

 use of high-grade mixtures, as these contain all the standard colors 

 and strains, and you will always get some plants of superfine excel- 

 lence that you would not get by buying a few varieties bv name. 



THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 



1. — Buy from a reputable dealer and get fresh seed. 



2. — Sow earl}^ The best »Sweet Pea man we know sows on the 



17th of March — that's his rule — and he always has bushels 

 of bloom. He prepares the ground in the fall. In the lati- 

 tude of Cincinnati and further south it is a common practice 

 to sow in the late fall. 



3. — Sow in clay loam if possible : if your ground is sand}' add cla}^ 



Spade it deeply and enrich with well-rotted manure. 



4. — LTse a trellis five feet high and run the rows north and south, 



so each side will get its proportion of sunshine. 



5. — Sow in double rows in trenches about five inches deep. Cover 



about an inch at first and graduallv fill the trenches as the 

 plants develop. 



6. — Plan to have your plants three inches apart. Sow thinly and 



when the}' are up, thin out. 



7. — When the dry weather comes, say about July first, mulch the 



ground well to preserve moisture. 



8. — From then on water about once a week and do it ver}- thor- 



oughly — literally drench them. 



9. — If bothered with red spider or green aphis sprav witli tobacco 



tea or kerosene emulsion. 

 10-Pick the flowers as soon as they open. Do not let them form 

 pods, as maturing the seed will exhaust the vitality of the plant. 



