AMONG THE FLOWERS WITH REXFORD 



107 



autumn, encasing the bloom in what bot- 

 anists call '"winter cradles/' These cra- 

 dles are sheathings that effectually protect 

 the embryo blooms in all climates and 

 under all conditions of weather. Heat 

 and moisture are the only agencies re- 

 quired, except light, to force the blooms 

 beautifully. 



Sweet Peas. — Make the soil rich and 

 warm and deep, and sow sweet peas now, 

 as well as any other fall or winter month. 

 Mr. Hutchins, the sweet pea expert, says 

 sow them when the song of the bluebird 

 trills upon the air of receding winter. 

 Bluebirds trill their songs all winter long 

 in the South, therefore in Southern gar- 

 dens sow sweet peas at any time, fall or 

 winter. The same is true of canna, poppy, 

 snapdragon, phlox, hollyhock, dianthus, 

 verbena and many other flower seeds. 

 Sow them wherever a bit of garden ground 

 is ready for them, and when springtime 

 comes there will come to mind what Dick- 

 ens had Florence the nurse saying to Paul 

 Dombey when they laid his beautiful 

 young mother under the sod : "She is not 

 in the ' cold, black ground', my dear, but 

 in the sweet, warm earth, where the dry^ 

 brown seeds turn to beautiful, bright 

 flowers." 



Orchids for Mid-^yin^er. — Under or- 

 dinary, amateur culture, La?lia anceps and 

 Lselia albida are to be highly recom- 

 mended. They bloom from December un- 

 til well into February. Lselia anceps is 

 very showy in rosy-lilac. Angrgecum ses- 

 quipedale is a superb winter blooming or- 

 chid. The flowers are remarkable for the 

 long, hollow tail-like spur, which has con- 

 ferred upon it the name "sesquipedale", 

 in English meaning "a foot and a half". 

 Of course, orchids are desirable, in any 

 form, but it is infinitely better to get those 

 of the class that will reward your care with 

 blooms. Such as bloom in winter are the 

 kinds now to have. Give them a. temper- 

 ature above 60 degrees and observe the 

 good old rule not to syringe the plants 

 from overhead. Spray or syringe orchids 

 in bloom as carefully as you would sponge 



or bathe a fever patient. "Water drops on 

 the blooms cause "spot" and ruin petals 

 and sepals. 



Holly and Mistletoe. — New Orleans, 

 the typical Southern city, sits in a peren- 

 nial bower of green. Deciduous trees 

 have not cast their leaves nor roses ceased 

 to bloom when Christmas comes. Yet, on 



BOSTON FERN 



From the collection of Miss Mildred Seaton, Corpus Christi, 

 Texas 



Canal Street, isTew Orleans, where the 

 largest sales are made, holly makes a 

 perfect garden of shining green, be- 

 gemmed with coral-red berries. Flanking 

 the windows, filled with exotic plants in 

 full bloom, and cut flowers in profusion, 

 spick and span, the holly stands ready for 

 Christmas trees, of sizes to suit all con- 

 veniences. Branches, sprigs and wreaths 

 of holly are bright and attractive, losing 

 no charms beside anything in art or na- 

 ture, there displayed. Mistletoe in its 

 own peculiar yellowish-green, waxen hued 

 leaves and pearly white berries, adorns the 

 florists' windows in close juxtaposition to 

 palms, ferns and trailing asparagus. Holly 

 and mistletoe are fresh from the. resinous, 

 sweet-smelling forest. Holly turns red 

 about the first of December, and mistletoe 

 takes an added luster to its pearly berries 

 just exactly in time for Christmas. 



