Growing Flowers from Seed 
A fter selecting the portion of your garden in which you 
wish to plant flowers, pay particular attention to the 
preparation of the soil. If you will refer to page 2 you will 
find some information that will help in this, although, of course, 
the ground will be spaded instead of plowed. Work the soil 
deeply and make the top three or four inches as fine and loose 
as possible. It is well to apply a liberal coating of well rotted 
manure and spade in, in the fall. When spring comes, work 
the soil as early as possible and apply commercial fertilizer as 
a top dressing (see commercial fertilizer page 3). Much weed 
killing can be done before planting. 
SOWING THE SEED Nearly all flowers do well in sunny loca¬ 
tions, a few can be grown in the shade. 
Most flowers can be grown by sowing the 
seed as soon as the soil has become warm and danger of all 
frost is over. The old rule is to plant seeds to a depth of about 
twice their diameter. Pine seeds may be pressed into the soil 
with a flat board, and a very little soil sprinkled over them. 
Remember that “in union there is strength,” and for fine seeds 
especially, sowing too thin may result in the single plants not 
having enough strength to break through the soil. Do not plant 
too deeply. Larger seeds, of course, will stand deeper planting. 
Construct a shade to keep off the burning rays of the sun and 
prevent crusting, also to avoid the seed being washed away 
by rains. Hi-caps set close together over the seed row make 
an excellent shade and will enable two weeks earlier planting. 
See page 87. Be sure to mark all rows where you sow the seed 
so you will know what you have planted and where. 
STARTING PLANTS 
IN FLATS 
Many flowers if sown outside do 
not bloom until quite late in the 
summer. You can have them early 
if you sow the seed in hotbeds, cold frames, or in the house in 
boxes. In fact, many annuals benefit by being transplanted as 
it develops for them a better root system. In this group are 
snapdragon, carnation, cosmos, dianthus,_ pansy, petunia, phlox 
and verbena. If sown indoors in boxes, or flats, these should 
be of convenient size and about 3 inches deep like shown in the 
illustration. The soil used should be composed of about equal 
parts of leaf mold, sharp sand and good garden soil. The bot¬ 
tom of the flat may be covered with a layer of coarse cinders, 
broken pots or some such juaterial, and the prepared soil finely 
sifted to fill up the bal¬ 
ance of the box within 
about an inch of the top. 
Place in a window 
where exposed to the 
sun and cover with a 
pane of glass to retard 
evaporation. Water care¬ 
fully with a fine spray, 
keeping the soil moist 
but not wet. Remove the 
glass as soon as the 
seeds begin to sprout. 
When the seedlings are 
large enough to handle, 
about four leaves, they 
should be transplanted 
one inch apart in an¬ 
other bed, flat or in 
small pots (paper pots 
are excellent for this 
purpose). The plants 
pulled may be trans¬ 
planted to other boxes, 
later to be reset in the 
open ground. 
Fine seeds may be sown in rows in the 
flats by shaking from the envelope. 
Growing Flowers from Seed 
95 
