“WE bought,” said Billy, taking the packages in his hand, “only the seeds of the perennials which are easily grown. It’s far better to buy the young plants of the more delicate kinds.”
“I should think so. May we see what you have here?” asked his father, reading aloud the names on the envelopes which Billy gave him. They were—
“Of course,” Billy explained, “all of these seeds could be started in the early Spring in a sunny window in the house, or in a hotbed, and transplanted to the open ground in June; but the advantage in planting them in July or August is that they will get a goodstart before cold weather, and will bloom the next Summer.”
“Oh, wouldn’t they bloom in the coming Summer if planted in the house very, very early in the Spring?” asked Eleanor.
“A few, such as sweet williams and gaillardia, might,” Billy answered, “but it would be quite uncertain.”
“Do you make the seed bed in just the same way as for any other seeds?” asked Mary Frances.
“Yes, taking great pains to have it finely pulverized. Well, let’s get to work! Father, please tell us what you think is a good place.”
After pointing out a good sunny place, his father helped Billy make the seed bed, and the girls sowed the seed.
“Cover the tiny seeds with just a thin layer of soil,” directed Billy, “but put a heavier cover on the larger ones. The rule is to cover a seed with three times its diameter.”
“Next we press them down firmly,” said Mary Frances, “and sprinkle with water very gently.”
“Good!” her father praised her. “What a finelittle gardener you are! By the way, when do we see that play house garden of yours, dear?”
“Oh, Father, that’s to be another surprise!” Mary Frances answered. “You’re to be invited to a Garden Party—you and Mother, and other people, too.”
“Won’t that be fine! I hope you will not forget Aunt Maria,” her father smiled.
“That’s a part of the secret, Father; please, please don’t guess any more! And please don’t tell Mother, will you?” Mary Frances begged anxiously.
“Indeed, I shall not, little girl,” he answered. “I think it is a delightful idea.”
“The bed should be shaded from the hot sunlight,” Billy went on irrelevantly, “until the plants are quite large.”
They turned toward him.
“How’s that best managed, son?”
“It can be managed in several different ways,” said Billy. “For instance, brush may be laid over the bed, but that is not a very good method. A better one is to make a—
Drive down several stakes on the border and in the center of the bed.Make a cover of cheese-cloth to fit over the bed, and fasten it to the stakes.You see, the cheese-cloth lets in light and air and rain, yet protects the little seedlings from the direct hot rays of the sun.
Drive down several stakes on the border and in the center of the bed.
Make a cover of cheese-cloth to fit over the bed, and fasten it to the stakes.
You see, the cheese-cloth lets in light and air and rain, yet protects the little seedlings from the direct hot rays of the sun.
“We boys will drive down the stakes if you girls will make the cheese-cloth cover,” volunteered their father.
“Sew we will, won’t we, Eleanor?” laughed Mary Frances.
“Was that a pun?” asked Billy. “Why, Mary Frances!”
“She meant we will so,” Eleanor tried to explain, but everybody smiled.
“You do not need to sew if the beds are narrow, for the cheese-cloth will be wide enough,” Billy said, “nor if you use another method of shading the seed beds. I mean if you use—
Instead of using cheese-cloth, laths are fastened to the upright stakes to form a “lattice.”
Instead of using cheese-cloth, laths are fastened to the upright stakes to form a “lattice.”
“I think the cheese-cloth frame would be less trouble to make.” Eleanor was much interested.
“All right, then,” said Billy. “We’ll expect you to have your part ready in time.”
“Do you leave the cheese-cloth, or the lattice shade frame over them all winter?” asked Mary Frances.
“No.” Billy shook his head. “After the little plants are about three inches high, you remove the frame, and let them grow with a will. By the latter part of September they will be well rooted, able to live over winter if covered with leaves when the weather becomes frosty, and sheltered from the north winds.”