December, 1919 
t3be Slower (Brower 
125 
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MRS. AUSTIN’S TALKS 
j [ Written expressly for The Flower Grower. ] 
Next Year. 
XT WAS MY good fur- 
tune not long ago to be 
I present at the fall meet- 
ing of one of the large 
Garden Clubs of a nearby 
city. “Fall Bulbs,” and “The 
Gladiolus,” were the topics 
of the day, and after the 
speakers had outlined the 
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ience. Those of our own va- 
rieties that we wish to use 
werecarefully selected when 
in bloom, their traits noted 
and recorded, and as soon 
as the catalogues of other 
growers were issued, 
searched the pages for 
something new to add to 
our trial garden to be used 
for crossing if worthy. Oth- 
cultures and given names 
of desirable varieties, a lively discus- 
sion ensued in which the words “Next 
Year’’ were heard many times. 
“Next Year I hope to have a fine col- 
lection.” 
“I shall have the soil prepared better 
Next Year.” 
“Next Year I will use the hose more.” 
“I want more Gladioli Next Year.”- 
They were enthusiastic and inter- 
ested, and as I listened and observed, I 
thought of plans that I had made some 
thirty years ago. Of how I had grown 
a quantity of fine large bulbs of varie- 
ties that were the best in commerce at 
that time. I had learned their culture 
by experience, which at one time cost 
me the loss of a large part of my stock, 
however, I had been successful and 
now that I had mastered their culture 
I planned to sell the large bulbs and 
keep the small ones for growing on. 
With much assurance 1 offered them 
for sale and much to my surprise dis- 
covered that no one wanted them. It 
was a real shock to be told by one 
“prospective customer,” a florist, that 
he did not like them, that the flowers 
were so small and the spikes so lacking 
in gracefulness that there would never 
be a demand for them, and that one 
could not make wages growing them. 
For a time it certainly did seem that no 
one wanted them, but I finally disposed 
of them, and then began the greatest 
plans that I ever made. Because I 
liked the flower and had faith in it I 
felt sure others would if they could 
but become acquainted with it as I 
had, and I also believed it could be im- 
proved, and in my plans for that “Next 
Year,” I selected, for the first time, 
varieties for crossing in an effort to 
combine traits from which a better 
variety might result. I planned to 
grow the bulbs very close together so 
that when in bloom the bees could fer- 
tilize them, but when that “Next Year” 
came those flowers did not bloom at 
the same time: When No. 1 was in 
bloom, No. 2 was in tight bud, but 
there was another one of No. 2 variety 
in bloom in a distant part of the gar- 
den. I had planned to make that cross 
and not taking any chances on the 
bees, I pulled off an open anther and 
carrying it across the garden rubbed 
its pollen on the pistil of the No. 1 
flower and made the cross that I had 
planned for the bees to accomplish. 
From that time on, and now, one of 
my most important plans for “Next 
Year” is, what crosses to make, and 
where to plant for greatest conven- 
er growers have done the 
same and so great have been the 
changes in this flower that the New 
Gladiolus has won its way into the 
hearts of people so much so that 
it is acknowledged now to be one of the 
most useful and beautiful of cut flow- 
ers. Most excellent for florists’ use. 
It is always best to order early. 
People have awakened to the necessity 
of flowers in their gardens and for 
house decoration and the New Gladi- 
olus has proven its value for such 
usages so well that enthusiasts are 
eagerly watching for “What’s new in 
Gladioli,” and the good ones are 
quickly taken up. To get ready for 
the best growth of Gladiolus bulbs 
“Next Year” it is well to have ground 
in preparation the previous fall. A 
well enriched sod plowed under, sowed 
to rye and again turned under in spring 
when full of sap, limed if necessary, 
makes an ideal mellow soil in which to 
plant, and followed by deep and 
thorough cultivation will produce large 
strong bulbs. 
The black hardshell bulblets are 
slower to start into growth, especially 
if the covering has become very dry. 
To prevent this leave a little sand or 
soil mixed in with them when storing, 
and keep in a cool place. 
The Gladiolus has come into its own, 
everyone wants them. We do not 
need to seek buyers now, they come to 
us. 
One of the best Christmas gifts you 
can give to your garden enthusiasts is 
a box of Gladiolus bulbs. If they are 
not already acquainted with them they 
will thank you for calling their atten- 
tion to them. 
Mrs. A. H. Austin. 
A French botanist, according to a 
Paris report, has arranged a clock face 
composed of growing plants and flow- 
ers. It is a large circular flower bed 
with twelve divisions, one for each 
hour of the day, in each division a 
plant growing which opens according 
to the time of day, and in this way it 
is possible to tell the time. The plants 
are arranged in the following order : 
Rose, Heliotrope, Water Lily, Hyacinth, 
Convolvalus, Geranium, Mignonette, 
Carnation, Cactus, Lilac, Pansy and 
Violet. 
While this floral clock would doubt- 
less be a very interesting thing and 
beautiful in its way, we doubt exceed- 
ingly if it would be possible to tell the 
time of day by the opening of flowers 
as stated. 
Everlasting Flowers. 
When the winter days creep on, and we 
are no longer able to gather blossoms from 
the garden with a lavish hand to adorn our 
rooms, when we miss the fragrance of the 
Rose and the beauty of many another favor- 
ite that served us well, when we are loth to 
cut flowers in the greenhouse that are too 
precious, then it is we remember certain 
other blossoms to which, comparatively, we 
attached very little value in the time of 
plenty. These, because they last some time 
when cut, we call, from want of a better 
designation. Everlastings. They embrace 
more subjects than most people suppose, 
and the bulk of them, if not all, can be 
grown within the precincts of most gardens. 
The surprise to me is that more who have 
no glass accommodation do not grow them, 
so that in these shortened days their rooms 
need not be utterly devoid of flowers. 
It is worth while, then, to consider what 
may be grown in order to provide in the 
dreary months what I venture to describe as 
good substitutes for fresh-cut flowers. One 
can make a selection from three sources, 
viz.: (1) Hardy perennials; (2) half-hardy 
annuals; (3) biennials. Taking the peren- 
nials, we have Physalises — Winter Cherries, 
or Chinese Lanterns, so called owing to their 
bright appendages or pods that contain the 
fruit, and two suggest themselves— P. Fran- 
chetti, which is the larger and of brilliant 
red, and P. Alkekengi, with deep orange and 
smaller pods. I prefer the latter, as the 
pods are rich and the color is enhanced if 
they are cut in late autumn, when the cold 
weather seems to heighten the tints. Statice 
latifolia bears branching panicles of blue 
flowers. As a companion to the Statice, but 
perhaps yielding lighter and more graceful 
panicles, I include Gypsophila paniculata, 
both the single and double forms. Of the 
two, for drying I have found the latter the 
better, as the numerous white rosette-like 
blossoms show up well amongst other things. 
The Globe Thistles (Echinops) have dense 
globular heads of blue. Eryngiums or Sea 
Hollies are worthy of consideration. In 
them we have several that come to our aid 
as winter decorators. E. Oliverianum has 
steely-blue bracts, E. amethystinum amethyst- 
purple bracts, and E. alpinum metallic-blue 
bracts. Catanches (Cupidones) are not very 
well known, but there is one, C. coerulea, a 
blue Daisy-like flower, that is worthy of in- 
clusion in a list of everlasting perennials. 
Turning to 
HALF-HARDY ANNUALS, 
we have the Helichrysums of various colors, 
Acrocliniums, with rosy blossoms, and Rho- 
danthes that are, perhaps, more popular as 
pot plants, with pink and white flowers, al- 
though they can be grown on a sunny border. 
One may contrive to have foliage that will 
help to embellish a basket containing repre- 
sentatives of the blossoms mentioned, the 
common Bracken being easily obtained and 
effective. 
Flowers intended for winter use need to 
bs gathered in a half-opened condition, so 
that when fully dry by exposure to the sun 
they will not drop. Loosely arranged in 
vases or baskets, these Everlastings serve a 
useful purpose and bridge over the time be- 
tween the departure of the last of the au- 
tumn and arrival of the first spring blos- 
soms, and to those who are dependent solely 
on a garden for flowers I can recommend 
them. — Leahurst in Gardening Illustrated. 
(English.) 
The season for digging Gladioli dur- 
ing 1919 has been a most disagreeable 
one in Northern New York and other 
growers have reported similar condi- 
tions in other places. It has been al- 
most impossible to properly cure corms 
exposed in the open air. 
