Gardening for Little Girls Part 4

Balloon Flower (_Platycodon_); blue, purple, white; July to October.

Phlox, Hardy (_Phlox paniculata_); no blue nor real yellow; June through September.

Golden Glow (_Rudbeckia laciniata_); yellow; August.

Blanket Flower (_Gaillardia aristata_); yellow, red; July to October.

Boltonia (_Boltonia latisquama_); lilac; August to October.

Sunflower (_Helianthus_); yellow; July to October.

[Ill.u.s.tration: KIM AND COLUMBINE]

The fault that I would find with the gentleman's list is that he has omitted chrysanthemums, which could be subst.i.tuted for sunflowers to most people's satisfaction,--and which also would bloom as late as November. Also I should prefer columbine to his bleeding hearts,--and the golden-spurred variety will bloom from early May to early August!

Above all, instead of boltonia, I would use the adorable snapdragons, which, although considered a "tender perennial," will survive cold weather if well protected.

But then, as I once heard, "A man's garden is like his wife, whom he never would think of comparing with anybody else's." So you don't have to follow any one's choice. Just make a list of the flowers that you like, find out when they bloom, and then choose as few or as many as you have room for, remembering to plan for something lovely every month of the blooming season.

One note of warning, however. After you have made your list, consult some friend that is a successful gardener, and make sure that what you have chosen will thrive in your particular locality. If you find it does not, strike it off, and put in something that will.

FLOWERS THAT COME UP EVERY YEAR BY THEMSELVES

A GUIDE TO THE COMMON PERENNIALS

NOTE.--A few of these will blossom the first summer, if started early.

Also, some varieties of the same plant will flower in the spring, others in the fall. Make sure which kind you get.

------------------+--------+-------+-------+--------+-----------+------+---------- SOW SOW BLOOMING NAME COLOR HEIGHT INDOORS OUTDOORS GOOD FOR PLACE SEASON ------------------+--------+-------+-------+--------+-----------+------+---------- Alyssum (_Alyssum Rich 1 ft. May Rockery Half April, saxatile_) yellow June Edging shade May or sun Anemone, j.a.panese Rose 2 to May Border Half Sept., (_Anemone White 4 ft. June Bed shade Oct.

j.a.ponica_) or sun Aster, Hardy White 2 to May Anywhere Shade Aug. to (_Aster Novae- Pink 5 ft. June or sun Oct.

Angliae_) Lavender Purple Baby's Breath White 2 to May Rockery Sun June, (_Gypsophila 3 ft. June Border July paniculata_) Balloon Flower White 1 to May Border Sun July to (_Platycodon_) Blue 3 ft. June Oct.

Begonia, Hardy White 1 to May Border Sun June to (_Begonia Pink 2 ft. June Aug.

Evansiana_) Rose Bellflower White 1 to May Border Sun June, (_Campanula_) Blue 3 ft. June July [A]Blanket Flower Red 3 to May Border Sun July to (_Gaillardia Yellow 5 ft. June Bed Oct.

aristata_) Bleeding Heart Pink 2 ft. May Border Likes May, (_Dicentra June Bed half June spectabilis_) shade Boltonia Lilac 2 to May Border Sun Aug. to (_Boltonia 6 ft. June Bed Oct.

latisquama_) Candytuft, Hardy White 6 to May Border Sun April, (_Iberis 12 in. June Edging May sempervirens_) Chrystmas Rose White 12 to May Border Half Dec. to (_h.e.l.leborus 15 in. June Shade March, niger_) _outdoors_ Chrysanthemum, No 2 to May Border Sun Sept. to Hardy blue 3 ft. June Bed Nov.

Columbine All 2 to May Rockery Sun May to (_Aguilegia_) shades 4 ft. June Bed Aug.

Coreopsis Yellow 1 to May Border Sun June to (_Coreopsis 2 ft. June Bed Oct.

lanceolata_) Daisy, English Pink 3 to May Bed Sun April to (_Bellis White 6 in. June June perennis_) Delphinium Blue 2 to March May Border Sun June, (_Delphinium to 6 ft. June Bed July, Sep.

formosum_, white Oct. Cut _D. Belladonna_, down after _D. Chinense_) each flowering Flag, see Iris [B]Forget-me-not, Blue 6 to May Border Shade May to Perennial 18 in. June or sun fall (_Myosotis pal.u.s.tris_) [C]Foxglove White 3 to May Border Half June, (usually Purple 5 ft. June Bed shade July biennial) Rose (_Digitalis_) Yellow Fraxinella, see Gas Plant Gaillardia, see Blanket Flower Gas Plant Rose 2 ft Long May Border Sun June, (_Dictamnus White lived June Bed July albus_) Golden Glow Yellow 6 to May Back of Sun July to (_Rudbeckia 8 ft. June border Sept.

laciniata_) [B]Hollyhock All 4 to May Back of Sun July, (_Althaea rosea_) shades 6 ft. June border August or bed Iris White 1 to May Border Sun May to Purple 3 ft. June Bed July Yellow Clump Maroon Larkspur, see Delphinium Lupin White 2 to May Border Sun or May, (_Lupinus_) Blue 5 ft. June Bed half June Pink Clump shade Yellow Madwort, see Alyssum [A]Mallow, Musk White 1 to May Border Sun or July to (_Malva Rose 2 ft. June shade Sept.

moschata_) Michaelmas Daisy, see Aster Monk's-hood Blue to 3 to Slow to May _Poisonous_ Sun or July to (_Aconitum white 5 ft. start June shade Sept.

napellus_) Moss Pink, see _Phlox subulata_ Mullein Pink White 1 to May Border Sun June, (_Lychnis Red 3 ft. June Bed July coronaria_) Myosotis, see Forget-me-not Myrtle, see Periwinkle Pansy White 6 to March April Border Sun or All (_Viola Blue 8 in. May Bed half summer, tricolor_) Yellow shade with Purple care Peony White 3 ft. Slow May Border Sun or May, (_Paeonia Rose grower June Clumps half June officinalis_) Crimson shade Periwinkle Blue 6 to March May Trailing Shaded All (_Vinca minor_) White 10 in. June vine bare summer spots Phlox, Perennial No blue 2 to Slow May Border Sun Aug., (_Phlox or 3 ft. June Bed Sept.

paniculata_) yellow (_Phlox White 2 in. May Carpeting Sun April, subulata_) Pink June Border May Lavender Pink, Gra.s.s White 1 ft. May Rockery Sun May, (_Dianthus Vari- June Border June plumaris_) colored Platycodon, see Bellflower [A]Poppy, Iceland White 1 ft. April Border Sun June to (_Papaver Red May Bed Oct.

nudicaule_ Yellow Poppy, Oriental Scarlet 3 ft. March Border Sun June, (_Papaver Orange April Bed July orientale_) to pink Pyrethrum White 3 ft. May Border Sun June, (_Chrysanthemum Rose June Bed July coccineum_) Crimson [A]Rocket, Sweet White 2 to May Border Sun June to (_Hesperis_) to 3 ft. June Clump Aug.

purple Rockmadwort, see Alyssum Rose Campion, see Mullein Pink Rudbeckia, see Golden Glow Sage, see Salvia Salvia White 2 to May Border Sun May to (perennial) Blue 4 ft. June Bed Sept.

[F]Snapdragon No 1 to March May 1st Border Sun June to (_Antirrhinum_) blues 3 ft. Bed Oct.

Sunflower Yellow 2 to May Back of Sun Sept. to (_Helianthus_) 8 ft. June border Nov.

[E]Sweet William White 1 ft. May Border Sun June to (_Dianthus Pink June Bed Aug.

barbatus_) Maroon Tickseed, see Coreopsis [G]Wallflower Yellows 1 to May Rock Part May (_Cheiranthus to 2 ft. June garden shade cheiri_) browns or and border purples Windflower, White 1 to May Clump Part April Snowdrop 1 ft. June Border shade to (_Anemone or sun July sylvestris_) ------------------+--------+-------+-------+--------+-----------+------+----------

FOOTNOTES:

[E] Will bloom the first year from seed sown in March.

[F] Perennial in the South, but should be grown annually in the North.

[G] Really a biennial.

CHAPTER VI

Flowers that Spring from a Storehouse (Bulbs and Tubers)

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

--_Matthew_ vi, 28, 29.

IF you are going to be a really-truly gardener, you will want to know something about the plants and flowers that you try to grow, so let's have a few words right here about the difference between the bulb and tuber families. They can be cla.s.sed together because they both spring from what is in fact a storehouse filled one season with food to help them through the next season's bloom!

Hyacinths and daffodils, for example, come from BULBS, which are built up, layer on layer, exactly like an onion.

Dahlias and Cannas, however, grow from a TUBER, which is an underground k.n.o.b on the stem, quite a little like a sweet potato, and which sends out the shoots that make new plants.

The crocus and the gladiolus both spring from a CORM, which differs from the bulb in that it is solid (not in layers), and from the tuber in that it is not like a potato in shape but oval.

The iris, though, grows from a RHIZOME, a thickened root running along the ground (often half exposed), which throws up the new plants as it spreads.

The bulb and tuber families are treated very much alike. Some of each are left in the ground year after year, like the daffodils and the lilies, while others, like the cannas and dahlias, have to be dug up, allowed to dry a little in the open air, and then stored in a cool, dark place for the winter. The rhizomes do not have to be "lifted," but are increased generally by root division,--cutting off a piece of the root soon after flowering, and planting where it will get a good start before next season's time to bloom.

Some people today would follow Mohammed's advice: "He that hath two cakes of bread, let him sell one of them--for bread is only food for the body, but the narcissus is food for the soul;" but few individuals--let alone a nation--would grow so wildly enthusiastic as once did the Dutch, as to spend every last possession to buy tulips! But we dearly love all of these groups, and are using them in increasing numbers every season.

The fascinating work of growing certain kinds indoors during the winter I tell you about in the chapter on "The Care of House Plants," so here we will consider the outdoor culture.

The delicate snowdrop is the very earliest of these visitors, and planted in groups in half-shady places,--like under trees,--where they will not be disturbed, will thereafter take care of themselves. Then quickly follow the lovely crocuses, white, yellow, lavender, purple, and the varigated, which often are planted right where they fall after being scattered broadcast over the lawn,--though if the head of the house cuts the gra.s.s before the middle of April they should be set in a bed where they will not be touched.

Hyacinths are beautiful, but personally I do not care much about them in the garden, as they generally have to be planted in ma.s.ses to get any effect, and need, therefore, to be used in large numbers, are more expensive than the other bulbs, and should be taken out of the ground soon after blooming and stored in a cool place until fall. However, one enthusiast that I know plants in rings of 6, and leaves them in the ground!

The daffodil, jonquil and narcissus are three types of the narcissus family, the daffodils usually being distinguished by their long trumpets, while the jonquils and narcissi have the little cup-like centers, and, moreover, are fragrant. They should be planted in the late fall, 4 in. below the surface, in soil that has been enriched 8 in.

below the bulb. They increase rapidly, and do not have to be taken up, or even divided for years. If set in a border where their room is needed after they bloom, simply turn the tops down under the soil, and sow over them any low-growing annual, such as candytuft or poppies. My friend of the tiny "handkerchief" garden described in Chapter II, has--think of it!--over 1500 of these various spring-flowering bulbs in her border that are treated this way, and never taken up! Yet a few weeks after they have bloomed, the s.p.a.ce they occupied is filled with new beauties.

Tulips--but as I told you, they once drove a whole country mad! Today we have probably far more beautiful ones,--and many can be bought in the fall at planting time, for $1.00 per hundred! Some bloom early, some late; some are short, some tall; some are cheap, some expensive. They will grow in partial shade or sun, and can be planted in groups in the border, or in marginal rows for edging. By carefully choosing from both the early and late varieties, you can enjoy your tulips for nearly two months; and by as carefully choosing your colors, have all sorts of artistic combinations. They should be planted 3 or 4 in. deep if the soil is heavy, and an inch deeper in soil that is light, and set 6 in.

apart. They will prove a joy to your heart.

Tuberous-rooted begonias supply a much-felt want for lovely flowers in half-shady or shady places. If the bulbs are started in the house in sand in February, they will be in full leaf when ready to set out in May, and will bloom from June until frost. Don't, please don't, plant them upside down, but be sure that the rounded part rests on the soil.

They require light, rich earth, with plenty of water, given after sundown.

Cannas only too often are planted in big, showy beds where they break our rule of "open lawn centers." In fact, they are a little hard to place, but look well in a corner, in beds along a drive, or outlining a boundary. The ground should be spaded 2 ft. deep, well fertilized, and then kept watered. Set plants 2 ft. apart.

The iris is one of the most beautiful and most satisfactory of all the hardy plants. It grows in almost any soil, and any situation, but does best in rich ground, with plenty of water. It may be planted either in early spring or after August. The dwarf varieties, from 6 to 18 in.

high, bloom during March, April and May; the German iris, standing often 3 ft. high, in May; and the marvelous j.a.panese kinds, sometimes 4 ft., with blossoms 8 to 10 in. across, closing the season in July! (In heavy soil they are not so tall.) When used alone in beds, one prominent grower suggests that the German iris be combined with hardy asters (set in between), and the j.a.panese with gladioli, to keep a succession of bloom until late fall.

Lilies for the garden are of many varieties, requiring different kinds of treatment. As a general rule, however, when the soil is heavy, set your bulb in a nice little nest of sand, and give a blanket of the same before filling in with the ordinary earth.