GAEDENING FOR LITTLE GIELS 



for cutting, while the old-fashioned kind furnishes 

 good feed for the chickens, — in which case your 

 plants would be well worth growing for the seed. 



It will never do, however, for you simply to get 

 your flower playhouse started, and then leave it to 

 take care of itself! You must watch the baby 

 plants as soon as they peep out of the ground, help 

 the vines to grow in the right direction and water 

 thoroughly whenever there is a dry spell. Culti- 

 vate around the roots every few days, as this break- 

 ing up of the hard crust which forms on top will 

 prevent the moisture from escaping through the air 

 channels in the soil, and keep the roots moist. Sev- 

 eral times during the season dig in a trowelful of 

 bonemeal around each plant, and then give a good 

 wetting. 



While the hardy vines, after once getting started, 

 bloom every year without much more attention, the 

 annuals have one advantage, — you can have a dif- 

 ferent kind every time. In other words, you would 

 then be able to give your house a fresh coat of 

 paint, — I should say, flowers — every summer. 



106 



