Chapter 17

Preparations for Sowing

Before sowing any seeds, see that the soil is nicely broken up, and remove any stones.

When you have decided where to sow the different seeds, take away a little earth from each place and sow the seeds very thinly--remembering that each plant must be from four inches to twelve inches apart; cover lightly with the earth you took out and press it down firmly with your trowel. Then mark the place with little pieces of white wood, on which the names of the seeds have been written with an indelible pencil. It is much easier to sow the tiny seeds thinly if you first mix them with a little sand. These must be only just covered by a very fine sprinkling of earth; but sweet-pea and nasturtium must be sown deeper.

Thinning Out and Transplanting

Begin to thin out the seedlings very soon after they appear, and be very careful not to pull up too many. It is easiest to thin out when the soil is wet. When the seedlings are two inches high only those which you wish to keep should be left in. It is not very easy to say exactly how much room to leave the different plants, but plants which will be six inches high should be about three inches apart; those which will be one foot high about six inches, and so on. Godetia, nasturtium, love-in-a-mist, sweet-pea, cornflower, and larkspur seedlings can be transplanted when about two inches high, if you find you want them where they have not been sown. To do this water the ground well first, and then pull the seedlings out so gently that none of their tiny fibrous roots are snapped; and, if possible, bring away a little earth with each. Re-plant them as quickly as you can, making for each a little hole big enough for the roots to spread out in. Hold the seedling in position, and fill in with very moist earth; or else, after you have made the hole, fill it up with water, then put back some of the earth and stir it up into a sort of paste, and put the seedling in this, filling up the hole with the rest of the earth. Seedlings that have been transplanted must be kept moist until they have taken a good start, and if possible they should be shaded with a branch of evergreen, for they droop very quickly in the heat.

All seedlings must be watered gently and often. If you notice how quickly the sun dries the surface of the ground, you will see how necessary it is to keep the ground moist until the roots get bigger and go down deep into the earth.

Weeds and Seedlings

It is most important to know what the baby-plants will look like when they come up, because one has to weed hard in the warm showery weather, and if one is not careful, mignonette, sweet-peas, and poppies may go on the rubbish heap, and chickweed and purseley be left on the flower-bed; which, although it is what the birds like, will, later, be very disheartening to you. Of course, if your seeds are well marked, there will be less difficulty, but even then weeds will come up amongst them. The only safe way is to get to know the appearance of all the seedlings, and to help you to remember it is a good thing to make little drawings of them in your garden note-book.

Autumn Sowing

Some seeds, such as cornflowers, godetias, and poppies, can be sown in the autumn. They will stand the winter as a rule and will make finer plants and blossom earlier than if sown in spring. They should be sown thinly in open ground.

Any good catalogue will give you a list of annuals suitable for your purposes and with a little advice from an older gardener you will have no difficulty in selecting wisely.

Biennials

These are best sown in May. If the garden is full they may be sown in an ordinary wooden box filled with several inches of good earth. Transplant them to their permanent places later on.

Remember that all plants will flower for a much longer time if the flowers are kept cut and any faded ones taken off.

Saving Seed

The best seed is saved from plants set apart for that purpose; for good seed comes from the first and finest flowers and not from those left over at the end of the flowering season. These plants should be sown in a little patch by themselves, should be allowed to run to seed, and carefully tended until the seed-pods are ripe enough to be gathered. If, therefore, you have not a large garden, it is best to buy most of your seed each year, using a little of your own, from which, however, you must not always expect the finest flowers. If you have no wish to keep any of your flowers merely for seeding purposes but still want, while getting flowers from them, also to save a few seeds, the thing to do is to mark one or two of the finest blossoms with a tiny piece of wool or silk (it is better when it is the color of the flower) and let it go to seed. Take special care of the plant, and cut off all other flowers as you wish to gather them. Watch the seed-pods when they are formed, and when they are ripe--that is, brown and dry--cut them off, break them open, and spread the seeds out. Look them over very carefully to see that there are no maggots amongst them, and if they are at all damp leave them in a warm place until they are dry. Then make them up in little packets, clearly labeled with their names, colors, and the date, and put them away in a dry place until next spring. In saving sunflower seeds choose your best sunflower, and when the petals have fallen tie it up in muslin, or else the birds will steal a march on you. In gathering sweet-pea pods one has to be rather clever, because when they are quite ripe they burst open and the seeds fly out suddenly, sometimes just as one is going to cut them. In one poppy pod there are hundreds of seeds, enough to stock a garden, and the same is the case with the pretty pods of love-in-a-mist. Nasturtium seeds should be picked up when they fall on the ground, and spread out until quite brown and dry. Cornflowers, which have little seeds like shaving-brushes, generally sow themselves, and marigolds do too, but they are both easy to save. In choosing a place in which to keep seeds through the winter remember that damp is not the only danger. Mice enjoy them thoroughly.

Perennials

Perennials are plants which, although they die down in winter, come up again and blossom every following spring or summer. They can be grown from seed, but, with a few exceptions, this is a long and troublesome part of gardening, and it is best to get them from friends or from a nurseryman.

Planting Perennials

The best months for planting perennials are November, February, and March. Dig a hole large enough to take the roots when well spread out, hold your plant in position, with the junction of stem and root just below the level of the earth, and fill in gently with fine soil, pressing it down firmly all round the plant, and if there is danger of frost protect the plants with straw, bracken, or a mulching of manure. Never water if there is any likelihood of frost.

Here follow some general remarks concerning the treatment of perennials through the spring, summer, and autumn:--

Slugs

In the spring, slugs, which eat the tender new leaves of many plants, can be kept away by sprinkling coal-ash around them.

Watering

In hot weather, water perennials regularly and well, breaking up earth around them so that the water sinks in easily.

Supports

All tall-growing perennials will need stakes to support them. Care must be taken not to injure the roots when putting these in. The stalks can be tied with twine.

Dividing

Perennials can be divided if they grow too large. With summer-flowering plants this should be done in October or November, and with spring-flowering plants in June. In dividing you simply dig up the plant and break off as much of it as you want, being careful not to injure the roots. As, however, there are many plants which, to be divided, must be cut, and as this is an operation which requires some skill and knowledge, it would perhaps be better to take advice.

Perennials From Seed

Snapdragon, wallflower, pansies, and hollyhocks are very easily grown from seed. They can be sown in June (wallflowers are best sown in April) in boxes, and thinned out and transplanted to permanent places as soon as they are large enough. They will blossom the following year.

Seedlings

Seedlings of most perennials can be bought for a few cents a dozen. They should be planted as quickly as possible and watered well, and they will flower the following year.

Consult a good nurseryman's catalogue for a list of hardy perennials, as for the annuals.

Bulbs--General Remarks

A garden that is planted only with bulbs, or with bulbs and a few ferns, can be kept beautiful all the year round. Many of our loveliest flowers come from bulbs, and they are easy to grow and interesting to watch from the moment that the first leaf-tips push through the earth until they die down. The position of all bulbs should be very carefully marked on the beds and in your garden-plan, so that you will not cut or injure them when digging your garden over.

The first bulbs to come--through the snow sometimes--are the snowdrops, single and double, crocuses--yellow, purple, lilac, and striped--and then the tiny bright blue squills; and a little later the yellow daffodil and white narcissus, hyacinths, and tulips of every kind. Then white, red, and purple anemones, ranunculi, and wax-like Stars of Bethlehem. In June there are wonderful irises and tall spikes of summer-flowering gladiolus--red and white--and later still the tall garden lilies. There are many of these lilies, and all of them are exceedingly beautiful. Two kinds should be in all gardens--the white Madonna lily, and the orange tiger lily. All the bulbs that have been mentioned cost very little and can be grown very simply. And all bulbs that have been mentioned can remain untouched for many years unless they exhaust the soil around them (when, instead of increasing as they should each year, the plants become poorer and smaller).

Never move a bulb when it is in active growth: after the leaves have died down is the right time.

Leaf-mould mixed with your garden soil will help to give you fine flowers.

If the leaves of the bulbs are attacked by slugs, as they often are, sprinkle a little wood-ash all around them.

Planting Bulbs

For planting bulbs choose a day when the earth is dry, and make your holes with a trowel. If you want to make a clump of bulb-plants, take away the earth to the right depth from the whole area you wish to fill, place your bulbs in position, points upward, and cover over, pressing the earth firmly down.

In planting a bulb in a hole made for it by a trowel, be very careful to see that it is resting on earth, and is not "hung," that is to say, kept from touching the earth underneath because of the narrowness of the hole.

All bulbs may be protected during the winter by laying hay or straw over them. This must be neatly pegged down, and removed in March.

Cutting Leaves

Never cut all the leaves of plants growing from bulbs, but allow those that are unpicked to die down naturally. If they look very untidy, as the leaves of the Star of Bethlehem always do, tie them up tightly. Seeds of annuals can always be sown among bulbs, and they will hide dying leaves and fill up the places that are left vacant.

Shades

"Shades" are subterranean gardens: holes in the ground, some eighteen inches deep and about a foot square (or larger), the sides of which are covered with moss and little ferns. At the bottom you can sink a pot or a tin, which must always be kept filled with water. It is more interesting if a toad or a frog lives there. Over the hole stands a shade made of glass and wood, which, together with the water, keeps it cool and moist.

Kitchen Gardens

If you want to grow other things besides flowers, lettuces, radishes, and mustard and cress are interesting to raise. Strawberries, too, are easy to cultivate, but they need some patience, as the first year's growth brings very few berries. In sowing the seeds of lettuce, radish, and mustard and cress, follow directions given for sowing flower seeds on page 320. If you want to grow even the few things mentioned, which need only very simple culture, the soil of the garden must be good.

Lettuce

Sow a few seeds of lettuce very thinly in a line once every three weeks. When the seedlings, which should be protected from birds by netting, are three inches high, thin them out, leaving one foot between each plant. The seedlings that are pulled up can be transplanted or eaten. Transplanted lettuces should be shaded during hot weather and given plenty of water. During dry and hot weather you may water lettuces every day.

Radishes

Sow a few radish seeds thinly once every three weeks, and cover very lightly with earth. These seedlings also must be protected by netting from birds, and must have plenty of water, or the radishes will become stringy and poor. In summer sow in a shady place.

Mustard and Cress

Mustard and cress seed can be sown at any time and is almost sure to be successful. In very hot weather sow in the shade, or protect from the sun in the middle of the day. The cress should always be sown three days before the mustard. It is a favorite device to sow one's name in mustard and cress. For other ways of treating it, see page 332.

Strawberries

Plant strawberries carefully in August or September. Dig a hole for each plant and spread the roots well out. Hold the plant while filling in the earth, so that that part of it where root and stem join comes just below the soil. Each plant should be eighteen inches from its neighbor. Cut off all runners--that is, the long weedy stems which the plants throw out in spring, and water well if the weather is dry. Protect the strawberries from birds, and watch very carefully for slugs, which are greedy strawberry-eaters. When the fruit begins to form, lay some straw on the earth under and between the plants. This will keep the berries clean.

Town Gardens

So far, we have been speaking of gardens in the country, or, at any rate, not among houses. There are many more difficulties to contend with in town gardening; there is more uncertainty, and often less reward for the greatest care, than in country gardening; but the flowers that do grow seem so sweet between dull walls and under smoky chimneys, that one can forget how much more luxuriant they could be in other circumstances.

Flowers for Towns

The following list of annuals, perennials, and bulbs which grow well in the heart of towns, though it is not complete, contains enough plants to fill a garden:--

ANNUALS. PERENNIALS. BULBS. Alyssum. Jap. Anemones Crocuses. Candytuft. Campanulas. Daffodils. Collinsia. Delphiniums. Hyacinths. Coreopsis. Flags. Madonna Lillies. Mignonette. Gaillardias. Squills. Nasturtiums. Pinks. Spanish Irises. Poppies. Sunflowers. Tulips. Sunflowers. Wallflowers. Winter Aconite.

In addition to the plants mentioned above, hardy ferns grow well, and so do lilies of the valley, and stonecrops and saxifrages. Wandering Jew will also thrive, and the canary creeper grows as well in town as in the country.

In summer, geraniums, fuchsias, heliotrope--which must be well watered--pansies, lemon verbena, and scented geraniums, can be planted out.

Roses do not do very well in towns; but hardy ones will grow quite enough flowers to make the possession of them a great delight.

Indoor Gardening and Window Boxes--Precautions

A window full of flowers and green plants makes all the difference to a room. There are always certain difficulties about growing plants in a room; but these may, however, be partly overcome. One is the great change of temperature between day and night in winter; another is the very evil effect of gas on plants; and a third is the presence of dust. The difference of temperature is met to a great extent by taking the flowers away from the window at night and putting them in the middle of the room. This is specially necessary when there is any danger of frost. If gas is burned in the room where plants are all day, it is wise at evening to take the trouble to move them into another room, for nothing injures them more. As to dust, ferns and plants which have smooth leaves should be gently sponged with warm water once a week, or else the pores will be so choked that the plants will not be able to breathe. Those plants which cannot be sponged, such as fine-leafed ferns, geraniums, etc., should be gently sprayed occasionally, or, in warm weather, placed out-of-doors during a soft shower. When a room is being cleaned, the plants should either be taken away or covered with soft paper.

The window chosen for your plants should be a sunny one and as draughtless as may be. It should not be opened unless the day is very mild. One thing to remember is that wherever the plants are they should have as much sun, as equal a temperature, and as little draught as possible.

Watering

No exact rule can be given for watering; but it should be noted that water ought never to be allowed to stand in the saucers. In winter, one good watering a week with lukewarm water, applied in the morning, will be sufficient. In spring, when the plant is more active, more water will be needed, and in summer constant attention must be given to watering. Remember, that not only the surface but the whole soil needs moistening.

Flower-Pots

In spring time, if the plants seem to have outgrown their pots, or if they are not thriving well, re-pot them in larger pots with the best earth you can get. Water well after re-potting.

Turn the plants round every day, as the sun always draws them toward it.

Indoor Plants

A list follows of suitable plants to be grown indoors. Green plants are mentioned first.

_Aspidistra._--Of all green plants the aspidistra is the best to grow indoors. (This plant indeed is so hardy that it will stand not only draught but even a certain amount of gas.) Its smooth, beautiful leaves should be carefully sponged every week.

_India-rubber Plant._--The india-rubber plant is a very handsome, smooth, bright-leaved plant. It should not be given too much water.

_Ferns._--Several hardy ferns grow well in a window. The maidenhair is very beautiful while it lasts, but it is a poor thing the second year unless it can be put into a greenhouse and cared for.

_Ivy._--Small-leaved variegated ivy will grow under almost any conditions. Its leaves should be kept clean. If grown up a small trellis it is very pretty.

_Japanese Fern Balls._--In February and March one can buy Japanese fern balls. The balls have to be soaked for two or three hours in water (rainwater if possible) and then drained and hung up in a window where there is not too much sun. They should be watered three times a week. Gradually the delicate ferns will grow and unfold until the whole ball is a mass of green. In November they should be put away in a cool dark place until the following February, when they can be started again.

_Miniature Trees._--Fine little trees can be grown from chestnuts, beechnuts, acorns, and hazel-nuts. Collect the nuts as they fall and leave them in a dark place, until about two weeks before Christmas, when you lay them in bowls full of wet moss or in pots filled with earth, and put them in a warm dark place near hot pipes, or in a warm cupboard. This warmth will start the root growth. When the root is two inches long, fill a bowl with moss or pebbles, lay the nuts on the top so that they are only half covered, with the roots downward, and keep in a room where they will have plenty of light. Water frequently but do not let much water stand in the bowl.

_Wheat or Canary Seed._--Wheat or canary seed can be sown in any kind of dish, the bottom of which is covered with wet moss. Sow the seed thickly and then keep the dish in a dark cupboard until the seedlings are about two inches high. Then place it in a sunny window. The seed, which will take about three weeks to grow, makes a beautiful patch of clear light green in a room. Keep the moss wet.

_Mustard and Cress_ can be sown in pots or on pieces of wet flannel.

_Campanulas._--Blue and white campanulas are grown in almost every cottage window, and they are very beautiful and graceful. They can be grown in pots, but are prettiest in baskets from which to hang down.

_Fuchsias and Geraniums._--Both fuchsias and geraniums are gay and delightful plants for a room. Good kinds should be bought in early summer and well watered. In winter the plants should be kept in a cool dark place, until with the coming of spring they begin to grow again. Both can very easily be increased by cuttings. To do this take off a shoot of about four inches long, cutting it off just below a joint. Then pull off the leaves just above the joint and put it into some earth in a sunny corner and water it well. In about a month roots will have formed and it can then be potted.

_Bulbs._--Bulbs, such as tulips, iris, daffodils, crocuses, scillas, and snowdrops, can be grown in pots or deep earthenware saucers that have been filled with cocoanut fibre. This can be bought at any florist's. A little shell, shingle, or sand, can be mixed with the fibre, and a piece of charcoal should be put at the bottom of the pot to keep it sweet. The bulbs need only to be covered with a thin layer of damp fibre. Water regularly, as they must never get dry. If your pot has no drainage hole it is a good thing a little while after watering to turn it gently on one side so that any water which has not been soaked up by the fibre can run off.

Bulbs can also be grown indoors in earth. Plant them in October just below the soil, and keep them in a cool dark place until they have made a little growth. Then bring to a sunny window. Horsfieldii narcissus, polyanthus-flowered narcissus, and yellow jonquils, grow well, and so do tulips, hyacinths, and crocuses. In a sunny window the Scarborough lily (_Vallota purpurea_) can be grown. It is a very gorgeous and imposing red flower which blossoms in August and September. It should be planted in autumn and plenty of room allowed for its roots.

The Good-Luck Lily, which is a strong and beautiful polyanthus narcissus, can be grown in bowls filled with pebbles and water. Fill the bowl almost to the top with clean pebbles (which can be brought from the seashore), and among them plant the bulbs and fill up with water which must be added to as it evaporates. Among the pebbles put two or three pieces of charcoal.

Bulbs in Glasses

Hyacinths and daffodils can also be grown in glasses filled with water, either glasses sold for the purpose, or any kind into the necks of which the bulbs will fit. The bulb should be placed in the glass in October, and should not quite touch the water. Use good fresh water and put a little piece of charcoal in the glass. Change the water once a week. In warm sunny weather the hyacinths can be put out of doors for a little while every day.

Window Boxes

One cannot grow very many things in a window box, but it is most interesting to grow a few. In a town it is often all the garden that many people possess.

The length of a window-box will depend on the size of the window. Its depth should be ten inches at least. At the bottom of the box some cinders or other rough material should be put, and then it should be filled up with the best earth you can get. And because of the difference it makes to the growth of your flowers it is worth while to take a great deal of trouble in getting good, rich mould. The earth may be kept level, or heaped up at one or both ends, and a few stones added to make a tiny rockery, in which you can grow small saxifrages and other rock plants.

Flowers for Window-Boxes