THE ANNUAL GARDEN
For the busy woman who has but a modicum of time to spare for the
growing of flowers, but is loath to relinquish entirely their cheerful
presence about the grounds and house, the annual garden with its wide
diversity of color, season and charm affords the greatest possible
returns for the outlay required. A few packets of seed, most of which
may be purchased for from five to ten cents, will lay the foundation
for sheets and sheets of bloom and the labor of planting and caring for
them will be less than is required for perennials.
One great advantage in growing annuals is that the beds may be freshly
prepared each spring, there is nothing in the way to retard spading—no
perennial growths to be carefully worked around, that the roots may
not be injured or the new growth, not yet above ground, be destroyed.
It is all straight ahead work, and the first early crop of weeds is
completely eliminated, grass eradicated and all is in order for the
reception of the plants which may have been started in flats in the
house or in a hotbed or cold frame or, in the case of such annuals as
do not take kindly to transplanting, in the open ground.
Nor is it necessary in the case of annuals that there should be a
regular, formally laid out garden or permanent beds. A border about the
base of the house along the fence or walks, will give room for several
kinds of flowers, flowers that will be a mass of bloom from early
summer until late frost.
A very satisfactory place for annuals I have found is down through the
vegetable garden. I like their company while I am at work among the
useful but less ornamental vegetables, so always plan to have a row of
something mid-way of the garden; usually the row takes the form of tea
roses which never do so well for me as in this homely situation. The
culture is more thorough than can be given to plants in beds, there is
less crowding, hence fewer insect pests and I always plan to have the
adjacent vegetables of as ornamental a character as possible; a fine
row of mossy parsley on one side, feathery carrots on the opposite
row gives a charming background of green. Lettuce, beets, parsnips,
any of the pleasantly leaved greens are attractive companion rows and
although the rose is the aristocrat of the garden, objecting decidedly
to sharing her bed with less royal plants I have never found that she
objects to their presence when they keep to their own allotted row.
This long row through the garden is an excellent place to start seeds
of hardy perennials for transplanting into permanent beds the following
year, but only for this preliminary growth, for the annual plowing
makes their permanent tenancy impracticable, but bedding plants such as
dahlias, gladioli, tigridias and the like will be at their best here
and in their summer culture have all the characteristics of annuals.
For early blooming it is always worth while to sow the seeds of
annuals early in the spring in flats in the house or in a hotbed or
cold frame. Usually one can spare room in the hotbed for a few plats
of seeds and these should be sown at the same time the seeds of the
vegetables are sown, sowing each separate variety in little plats by
itself, separating the plats from each other by narrow strips of wood
pressed into the ground, and labelling each plat with the names of
seed, date of sowing and, if known, the length of time it takes for
the seed to germinate. Annuals, however, germinate more rapidly than
perennials, many appearing above ground in from three to five days
after sowing, though a few, like the Arctotis Grandis, nicotianas
and ricinus, may take from ten to fifteen days. This is where the
forethought of labelling the seed plats with date of sowing and period
of germination is of practical value—it prevents undue impatience and
discouragement when the plants fail to appear as soon as we expect them
to; but with a mixed planting of seeds of varying characteristics,
there will always be early comers to encourage one and keep alive
faith in the ultimate appearance of the least and last.
Any considerable planting of annuals should include those that will
give a long season of bloom for scenic effect, those that will be
especially desirable for cut flowers and above all those special
flowers which most appeal to our sentiment and are dear to us through
associations or suggestions.
For mass planting about the base of buildings or in front of shrubbery
there are few plants more effective than the celosias, especially the
varieties known as prince's feather; many of the varieties in red
and yellow effects are very good and they seem to stand the heat and
drought and even the early frosts remarkably well. Usually a spray of
the plumey blooms is a whole bouquet in itself. If cut before killing
frosts and brought into the house they will retain their freshness for
a long time, and potted make excellent fall and early winter plants.
The argemone or prickly poppy is a little known plant of rather recent
introduction that is rather slow in getting started in spring, but
once on its way produces a continuous succession of large poppy-like
blooms in golden yellow, pale yellow and pure white, the latter
especially attractive with its crown of golden stamens. Its chief
merit, however, consists in its immunity to frost, continuing in full
bloom well into November—a quality shared by few annual flowers.
Perhaps as close a companion as can be cited is the tall-growing
lupine, a beautiful annual that comes in purest white, rosy mauve, sky
blue, purple and scarlet and white and mind not at all the frost of
late October and early November. The soft foliage would seem ill suited
to cold, but if one looks closely one will notice that the foliage
is dry, not succulent like many annuals that succumb readily to the
first cold wave. Balsams and portulacca are notable examples of this
susceptibility.
The nicotianas are other cold-resisting plants and have the added
advantage of self-sowing—not to a troublesome extent but sufficiently
to insure a yearly supply of volunteer plants without thought or
trouble on the gardener's part. The nicotiana does not open up well in
bright sunshine, but unfolds its snowy cups in late afternoon and on
cloudy days, but in shady positions is more generous of its beauty and
is lovely when silhouetted against the flaming red of the salvias.
The arctotis grandis is another of the less commonly grown annuals
that should be included in one's garden planting. These, too, are
sturdy defiers of the frost and exceedingly desirable as cut flowers,
remaining in bloom for a week or ten days and should be placed in
a sunny position for best effect as they are real sun lovers. Like
all the preceding they are of the easiest culture—good garden soil,
water if the season is unusually dry, and plenty of room to develop.
The distance at which any plant should be set depends, of course,
upon its manner of growth, but it is an excellent rule to plant all
erect growing plants at least half their height apart. Low-growing
and trailing plants, of course, are an exception to the rule, many
requiring two or three times their height in inches apart, as the
verbena.
Few annuals require staking, notable exceptions being the sultanas,
tall anterrhinums, scabiosas, the tall stocks and a few others. When
staking is necessary it should be done by as inconspicuous means
as possible; bamboo stakes painted green are the neatest and most
inconspicuous.
For masses of brilliant color there is nothing to equal the scarlet
verbena, the scarlet sage, salvia splendens, the various phlox
Drummondii or the dwarf nasturtium, the scarlet or orange zinnias and
the marigold, and for sweetness one must have the sweet peas and the
stock.
Much is gained by the use of low-growing plants as a border to beds
of taller plants. Blue lobelias, dwarf morning glories, English
daisies, sweet alyssum, candytuft, all require little root room and add
materially to the resulting bloom.
For a screen to mask an undesirable view or object there are several
very desirable annuals that are of the easiest culture and of most
effective presence. With the stately ricinus all are familiar; less
well-known is the tall cleom pungens, with its curious flowers of
pure white and white and rose, the long, curving anthers of which have
given it the name of "Spider Flower." It is a beautiful and desirable
plant, and should be started in the house or hotbed and transplanted
where it is to bloom when the nights are warm, setting the plants two
feet apart. The Nicotiana Sylvestris is another stately plant, growing
to a height of five or six feet in good soil and, unlike N. affinnis,
its snow-white blooms remain open all day and are attractive when grown
in the rear of beds of salvias. Like the cleom it requires room to
develop. Practically all annuals may be sown in the open ground; the
only object in sowing in hotbeds or house and transplanting is to bring
them forward early so as to have the longest possible season of bloom.
To speak of asters seems superfluous, as whatever flowers may be absent
from the annual garden it is a safe venture to claim that the aster
will not be missing; that is quite as it should be; there is really no
one flower that so completely meets the requirements of scenic effect
and cut flower work as the asters. In the stronger colors of crimson,
purple and blue it is as effective a flower as one could wish to use
for mass planting, while for more refined and delicate beauty no one
could ask for anything better than the pure white and delicate shell
pinks of the Ostrich Feather and Late Branching whites. The Comet
asters are very artistic, attractive flowers but, unfortunately, do
not stand up under wet weather—a hard rain reducing them to a dismal,
raggy condition. Set the wide branching asters at least a foot apart
and see that all asters have clean, healthy soil to grow in to avoid
the troubles that arise when conditions are unfavorable. A warm,
fibrous loam, well enriched with old manure, is best and water should
be given freely during dry weather, especially when the buds are
forming. The black aster beetle is the only serious foe of the aster
and makes its appearance when the flowers are in full bloom, doing an
immense amount of damage in a few hours if not destroyed as they eat
the petals of the flowers, rendering them very unsightly. The only
satisfactory remedy is hand picking in early morning while the beetles
are sluggish. If a pan of hot water or water with a little kerosene
in it is carried and the beetles dropped into it as gathered it will
not be difficult to control them. Spraying with arsenate of lead will
kill them if one does not object to the use of poisons on flowers that
are to be brought into the house. Paris green can also be used but
discolors the flowers, but hand picking has no objectionable features
aside from the labor entailed, and that is by no means prohibitive as
it takes but a short time to go over a hundred plants.
Try planting a few salvias on the shady side of the house; they will
not make as much show during the summer as those grown in the sunlight
but will be in full bloom long after those in exposed positions are cut
down by frost.
A few very desirable annuals are plants of one florescence and need
to have repeated plantings of seed for a continuous bloom. Most
conspicuous of this class of plants is the candytuft in white, purple
and red and the charming little schizanthus, which should be sown every
few weeks for a succession of blooms. The plants come into bloom in
a few weeks from the sowing of seed and are perfect little pyramids
of bloom. Sow fresh seed of candytuft when the first sown plants are
beginning to form flower buds; used in this way the candytuft furnishes
a most useful white for window-boxes and vases, and is unexcelled for
edgings of taller plants.