Part 16

Sweet-williams are such old favourites, and are so multicoloured that I have always been thankful that they flowered the first season. Meadow-sweet--or goat’s-beard, as it is often called--is white and fragrant. Blanket-flower grows about two feet high, and has most gorgeous flowers, dark velvety brown marked with blotches of crimson. Of course, all the varieties suggested for early house-culture should also be sown in the open ground in June to produce a plentiful supply of strong plants for the following year.

JUNE ROSES

The first luxury we allowed ourselves on the farm was a collection of roses. We had put aside a sum of money for some necessary repairs, and when they were completed there were six dollars left, which we agreed to spend on the garden. One dollar went for perennial seeds, another for wistaria root. The remaining four were devoted to roses. We sent for an advertised collection of hardy roses, consisting of six two-year-old plants for one dollar and twenty cents, two Crimson Ramblers at fifty cents each and two Dorothy Perkins at fifty cents apiece, a collection for winter forcing, which were only little seedlings, and cost forty cents. Lastly, a two-year-old moss rose was added, which also cost forty cents. Since that time, several two-year-olds of specially desired varieties have been bought, but the purchases made with that four dollars really constituted the stock from which we have populated our own and many other gardens.

The first year the Dorothy Perkins covered about twelve square feet of sidewall, and all but the winter collection and one of the others flowered the first season. One hundred slips were taken, and eighty-two lived. Twenty were sold the following season at ten cents each. The second year one hundred were sold at five cents each to a local store, and three dozen at ten cents to odd customers. The winter collection was not allowed to flower until the second winter; then they were put into the violet-house, where they did quite well, but as we had neither time nor desire to undertake any more hothouse work, we never made any attempt to increase the stock or make any sales. However, rose-growing for the winter market is carried on quite extensively in our vicinity, so I have had ample proof of the profit to be derived from the work when undertaken as a business. But truly, I think growing garden plants is almost as profitable, and most certainly it is a much easier and healthier branch of the work. Moreover, it does not require capital, nor the knowledge required for hothouse culture.

The best soil for roses is that which is rich in vegetable matter, such as sod, roots and fallen leaves which have been exposed to the action of the elements long enough to disintegrate and melt into the soil. It is the condition found in the ground cover of woods and forests, and it can be simulated at home by means of a compost heap. Old sods, leaves and all waste vegetable matter are piled up with alternate layers of garden soil, allowed to remain for several months, then thoroughly forked and repiled. When it is wanted for use, pass through a coarse sieve, and mix with one-half its own bulk of cow manure.

If your garden soil is not very good, dig large holes two feet square and deep. Then fill up with the home-made compost, or soil from the woods, and old cow manure. When the young plants come from the nursery, unpack and stand the roots in water. If the ground should not be ready, or any other cause compels delay in planting, add rich soil to the water in which the plants are standing, until it is about the consistency of mud, and keep in that condition until the plants can be set in their permanent positions out of doors.

Make a hole in the middle of the filled-in space large enough to permit of the roots being spread out to their full capacity. Never squeeze plants into a small hole, which necessitates the doubling under of roots. This applies to all plants as well as roses. After the roots have been spread out evenly in the hole, scatter soil over them to the depth of two inches; then water copiously, and after the water has been absorbed by the soil, fill up with dry earth and firm down thoroughly.

Watering in the middle of the filling-in operation washes the soil into all the crevices around the rootlets, and insures a supply of moisture around the plants. Putting in the dry earth above it prevents evaporation, so that the roots have valuable food while they are recovering their hold on Mother Earth.

Another point to remember in setting out roots is that an eastern or northern exposure is to be preferred to a southern exposure, as the morning sun is better for them than the strong noon-day glare. Keep the ground as clean and well-cultivated as around tender annuals.

Now we come to the question of food for this gluttonous beauty. Get a strong barrel and stand it on blocks to raise it to about the height of a pail above the ground, then tack the mouth of an ordinary burlap bag securely around the top of the barrel, so that the bottom of the bag falls to within one inch of the bottom of the barrel. Insert a common tap just above the lowest hoop, then empty two pailfuls of fresh cow-droppings into the bag, and pour water over it until the barrel is full. Let it stand two or three days before using. Dose: Three quarts of the liquid for each plant every two weeks, from the time they show life in the spring until September.

Hybrid teas are the variety best adapted to garden culture. They embrace some of our most beautiful roses, are perfectly hardy and flower throughout the summer. To this class belong all the Killarney and Lyon family; La France, Viscountess Folkestone, Mrs. Aaron Ward, Harry Kirk and about one hundred others. In order to insure free flowering none must be allowed to fade on the bush. Keep a close watch, and cut the moment the petals show any sign of withering. Allow long stalks, as it is the most natural way of pruning these plants and insures a supply lasting until frost.

Crimson Ramblers I have discarded entirely, for their blossoming period is short, and their foliage is not attractive. Dorothy Perkins and Hiawatha both grow rapidly and are better in every respect.

Two years ago, I bought one plant of the new German climber, Thousand Beauties, which is rightly named, for it is a mass of blossom, and it is like having twenty plants in one, as it bears flowers of all shades, from white to deep crimson. It was a constant wonder and delight the whole of last summer and made quite as much growth as any of the other climbers, so I really think it is worth a place in any collection.

In the fall, all bushes are given a conservative pruning, by which I mean that only some of the old wood is removed--not all--and that the rampant young growth is cut back to about half its length. After the ground is frozen, a heavy covering of cow manure is put around the plants at a distance of two or three feet, according to the size of the bush, and at Christmas-time, before the really severe weather comes, fallen leaves are spread over that, and a few cedar branches, to prevent their being blown away. In the spring, as soon as the ground can be worked, the manure and leaves are worked into the soil, and any branches which have been winter-killed are cut off.

Our collection has been enlarged entirely through cuttings. I cut off about six inches from the end of branches, close to a bud. These cuttings are allowed to stand in water for two or three days, then planted in shallow boxes filled with moist, rich soil, and kept in a light, warm cellar, where the temperature averages about fifty degrees. The following year they are planted out into nursery beds until August, when they are set out in their permanent homes. Last summer I transplanted ten straight from the cellar into a garden bed, and by July they were two and a half feet high, and bore from four to seven blossoms each from August to September 15th, when we had a hard, frosty night, which checked all development.

If cuttings are intended for winter forcing, proceed as before until the second spring, then transplant into pots, which should be plunged to the rim in the ground.

About once a week turn the pots around, to prevent any roots which may force their way through the bottom of the pot from getting a hold on the ground. At the same time nip off any flower buds which may appear. Feed well, to promote growth, and about July have the benches in the hothouse filled up with rich soil, to which has been added a goodly percentage of silver sand. Remove the plants from the pots, and set out about fifteen inches apart. Of course, the fire must not be started in the heating apparatus, and all windows and doors must be kept open, so that the plants have plenty of air, and during the hot, close days, they should be lightly sprayed three or four times a day. After the first of September there is danger of frost, so it is best to close the windows at night, but the principal desire is to keep the plants cool to permit their growth until the fires are lighted and forcing really begins, which should be about October. When the fires are first lighted, keep the temperature down to about fifty-five degrees, increase slowly to sixty-five, then to seventy.

Watering is a great problem, and nothing but practice can really teach you the exact proportions. The only general instruction is: The plant must never be allowed to dry out, nor must it ever be too wet. A spray for green fly and other insects should be used in the evening, once or twice a week, from the time the plants are taken from the garden into the house.

LAVENDER AND HERBS

There should be an herb bed in every garden, for their usefulness is manifold. Ye dames of olden times knew and estimated their value, but when housewifery was metamorphosed into domestic science, the traditional law of our grandmothers sank into derision, and many factors of homey comfort might forever have been buried in oblivion had not some wise person started a craze for old furniture. That aroused a general interest in the old-time housewifery, and resulted in a revival of half-forgotten arts, the hardy garden and herb bed being among them.

I spent most of my schoolday holidays at my grandmother’s place in Yorkshire, England, where many of the customs of Queen Anne’s time remain unchanged. So to me lavender and herbs seemed indispensable in a self-respecting household, and as soon as I owned a garden they were installed. Perhaps you never experienced the delight of sleeping between sheets redolent of sweet herbs, so don’t know what you are missing. At grandmother’s, sheer muslin bags were filled with lavender, thyme and rosemary, and kept in every cupboard, bureau drawer and chest. Large jars filled with rose-leaves and mignonette, all the herbs and many spices were stowed in the sitting-rooms and halls, and the lids were removed for about half an hour after sweeping and dusting were completed, so a faint, indescribable perfume permeated the whole house, and was most delightful. Punk sticks and pastils have such a positive odour that after a time one becomes very tired of them, but herbal odours, being delicate and indescribable, merely suggest the freshness of meadow lands in June, and invigorate the senses instead of wearying.

The herb then is invaluable for all sorts of complexion and hair washes. Even Helen of Troy’s beauty was attributed to their use. As disinfectants--well, the plague was supposed to be banished from Athens by the air being purified with aromatic herbs, and during the great plague in England in Elizabeth’s time, little balls of perfume paste encased in silver, gold or ivory, open-worked lockets or pomades were worn suspended round the neck or carried in the pockets, and during an outbreak of smallpox, grandmamma brought forth several such inherited treasures and filled them with a compound made of beeswax, herbs and spices, and we all wore them in the old way. What influence they exercised over the dreaded disease I do not pretend to gauge, but we all escaped. Separate or mingled fate and superstition has made me use such compounds whenever travelling or knowingly exposed to infection. Even medical men don’t deny the benefit of sweet odours, or their value as disinfectants, so why should not we enjoy the undoubted pleasure when it only means a few packages of seeds and a little trouble.

Lavender is hardy when it is once firmly established, but it is not the easiest perennial to start in this country. At first I bought nursery stock, but out of two dozen plants which I got from four different sources during two years, only one lived, and that was always a semi-invalid, so I resorted to the slower method of sowing seed. In March, a shallow box was filled with potting mould thoroughly soaked with water, then covered with about one-fourth of an inch of soil, patted down firmly, the box covered with glass, and placed in a west window. As soon as seedlings appeared the glass was removed, but they were shaded from the direct sun and slightly sprinkled every morning. When two inches high they were transplanted to a deeper box and set two inches apart. About two months later they were transplanted to a partly-shaded seed-bed in the garden, and the last two leaves were nipped off each plant to insure a bushy growth. Cultivation was constant all through the summer until August, when they were again transplanted--this time into a bed which was to be their permanent home--a border partly shaded by shrubs. It happened to be a very dry summer, so they were sprinkled every evening. When cool weather set in, leaves were scattered between the plants, and the quantity increased as the weather became more severe. In the spring the mulch was removed, and a little bone meal raked into the ground around the plants. The ground must be covered every winter, and it is well to have a dressing of well-rotted cow manure dug into the bed during the early fall.

In June or July we always have huge quantities of flowers. We have never marketed any of them, but they have formed the basis of many Christmas and birthday presents. Ten pounds of lavender flowers, and one pound each of musk, thyme, rosemary and mint leaves, all dried, and mixed with one ounce of ground cloves, was grandmamma’s formula for moth-bags which preserved our furs and woollens just as effectually as camphor balls or tar mixtures.

Sage is needed for pork, duck and goose dressings, and is one of the very best tonics for the hair: the broad leaf variety is the best to grow. It will save time to buy the plants; they only cost ten cents each, are very easy to establish, and quite hardy. Three plants will be sufficient for a home supply. Set out three feet apart in a partly shaded situation. There are two varieties of thyme; both should find a place in the garden, the broad leaf English in the herb-bed for flavoring stews and soups; the almond-scented in the flower garden, for it is a pretty variegated plant which remains green all through the year, and is used only for sachets and potpourri. Both varieties are perennials, but if sown early in the spring will mature the first season. The seed should be sown in rows nine inches apart, on rich soil which has been worked into a fine, loose condition, with a fine garden rake, and later smoothed off with a board or the back of a spade. Mark the rows by pressing the edge of a board on to the ground. Don’t make a furrow, as the seed is very small. Next, sprinkle thoroughly, using a fine rose on the water-can. Keep the can moving back and forth until the ground is thoroughly saturated to the depth of an inch. Wait for an hour, then scatter the seed thinly on the marked lines, and cover about the sixteenth of an inch with dry, fine soil. It is a good plan to fill the flour-dredger with soil, and shake it over the rows, for then you are sure of its being evenly distributed. After the seed is covered, put a board over the row, and press gently, to insure the seeds being firmed into the ground.

Thyme, marjoram--in fact, all small seeds--do better if they are partly shaded. I make long, narrow frames of slats, and cover them with unbleached muslin, then drive a few sticks into each side of the row, and lay the frames over them. For safety against wind-storms, it is well to put a few nails through the frames into the sticks. About eleven o’clock it is advisable to sprinkle the muslin over the frames with water, as the evaporation prevents the seedlings becoming too dry. If time won’t permit making the frames, spread two or three thicknesses over the rows, using stones to hold them in place, or mulch with lawn clippings. I like the former the best, because they are easy to remove, and are not so untidy as a grass mulch, which dries and blows about.

When the seedlings are well established--which is when they have got their second pair of leaves and are an inch high--the mulch will have to be removed, but if the frames are used, they can remain for another week.

Rosemary is another perennial, and the plants can easily be got from any nursery, but if you want to raise some seed, proceed exactly as for thyme. After you have one well-grown plant, it is better to propagate by cutting than to raise from seed. They require rich soil, and a sunny position, and need some light protection during the winter. The whole plant is aromatic, but the flowers are the strongest. It is the essential oil which is distilled from them that is the principal ingredient of eau de cologne. A cupful each of lavender, thyme, rosemary and mint, steeped in two quarts of hot water for two hours, strained and added to a warm bath, banishes fatigue in a miraculous way, and in cases of long convalescence, a cupful of the mixture in the sponge bath is most gratifying and refreshing to the invalid.