AMONG THE FLOWERS WITH REXFORD 



167 



TO BE TOLD IN A FLOWER 



By Eben E. Rexford 



F you were dead, my darling, 



And by your grave's white stone 

 The grasses grew to hide the eyes 



That smile into my own — 

 If where your dear feet often trod 



They might not tread again, 

 And you were in the world of God 



And I the world of men — 

 Oh, then, if by your grave, dear, 



I spoke some loving word, 

 How would you give an answer, dear, 



To tell me that you heard?" 



"Dear, if you knelt beside me 



And whispered through the mold 

 Above me, any tender words 



I loved to hear of old — 

 If, in the grasses growing 



Above that grave of mine, 

 Some little flower should blossom, 



O, take it as a sign 

 That, while you knelt beside me, 



And spoke your loving word. 

 Love sent it as a message 



To tell you that I heard." 



JANUAEY IN SOUTHERN GARDENS 

 By Mrs. G. T. Drennan 



Old Christinas. — This term is applied 

 to the tirst twelve days after the New 

 Year. It comes from the long-ago dis- 

 carded old calendar. If old Christmas is 

 propitious advance steps may be taken in 

 the garden. Clearing up, enriching and 

 preparing flower beds and borders may 

 now engage the gardeners. Sweet peas 

 may be given support, and if the vines are 

 even a few inches high begin to train 

 them. Trained sweet pea vines are ever 

 so much prettier than those allowed to 

 tangle and mat together — not only more 

 graceful, but more florescent, as training 

 gives them the benefit of the sun and air 

 throughout. 



Camellia Japonicas are either in bloom 

 or full of promising buds. Give them 

 sunlight, air, and water the roots co- 

 piously, sponging the upper and under 

 sides of the leaves and spraying the buds. 

 When loaded with bursting buds it is a 

 critical time with camellia Japonicas. 



The Cutting Bench. — Have the sand 

 several inches deep, keep it moist, and 

 put out as many softwood cuttings as 

 the capacity of the bench admits. The 

 gentle heat of the hothouse, with the 

 humidity of the air, makes the work of 

 rooting cuttings a certainty. Hardwood 

 cuttings should have a bottom stratum of 

 fibrous soil. But you will find that sand 



alone is best for the softwood cuttings. 



Fuchsia Speciosum is now in bloom, 

 if there is one in the hothouse, and no 

 collection of winter-blooming plants 

 should be without this lovely flower. If 

 speciosum is cut, remember that the small- 

 est, or shortest stem to the cut flower 

 will root in wet sand. When the fuchsia 

 bloom has faded and gone insert the stem 

 in sand to make a plant for next winter's 

 blooming. 



Christmas Cactus or Crah Claw is at its 

 very best in mid-winter. It is also a plant 

 that roots freely from every segment of 

 its branches. The rich, velvety, rose 

 colored blooms retain their fresh beauty 

 for ten days as cut flowers. When with- 

 ered and gone plant the piece of branch 

 or stem (one and the same with a cactus) 

 in damp charcoal, and it will soon root. 

 Always lay a cactus cutting aside for 

 several days to callous or dry before plant- 

 ing. 



Seed Boxes rise in importance now. Be 

 fastidious regarding soil. Have it fibrous, 

 black and loamy, well mixed with silver 

 sand. Have the fibrous sort at the bottom, 

 and that as fine as dust, with sand on 

 the surface. Water well, and let the boxes 

 drain so the soil will be moist evenly 

 through when the seeds are sown. Never 

 sow the seeds and then water. Rather sow 



