The Children's Book of GardeningSidgwick, Alfred, Mrs.
General
The Children's Book of Gardening
Sidgwick, Alfred, Mrs.
Children's gardens; Gardening -- Juvenile literature
In dry, hot weather they should be well watered at the roots from a
can without a rose. Give each plant a soak of water _at the roots_,
and do not trouble about the leaves. We emphasize this advice because
Sweet-peas after they are six inches high suffer easily from drought,
and we know that many children think they have given a plant a drink if
they spray its upper leaves with a fine rose. You might as well give a
thirsty baby a drink by splashing its face.
To grow Sweet-peas in a clump, take out the earth from a circular
patch that you can mark with a garden sieve or a big flower-pot. Sow
from eight to a dozen seeds, and thin to four plants when you feel
safe from slugs and sparrows. Treat them just as you do those grown
in a hedge, but when you put in your tall stakes make them all slant
a little towards the centre, so that they meet at the top. The Hazel
branches that you get easily in many neighbourhoods are best for
Sweet-peas. Where these are scarce, you must use what you can find. The
wire hurdles recommended for garden Peas where stakes are scarce would
answer, but they are expensive and ugly. If your garden is not airy
and sunny, it is a waste of time and money to try Sweet-peas. They are
impatient of shade, of starved soil, or of a crowded garden. If they
come up at all in such conditions, they will never do well, and will
most probably be devoured by green fly.
MIGNONETTE.
You are sure to want some Mignonette in your garden, because it is
so fragrant; but in choosing a place for it you must remember that
it will not make a splash of gay colour in the border. It grows from
ten to twelve inches high; but, as you do not tie it up, it should be
sown in front of plants whose stalks are not really longer, but which
require a stake. It likes a good loam, but it will grow in almost any
soil if it gets enough sun. Do not give it fresh manure, or it will
run to leaf. It is one of the few annuals that should be sown in firm,
hard ground. We do not mean ground that is hard because it is poor and
neglected, but well dug soil that you tread or press down to make it
ready for your seed. When you have done this, you sprinkle the seed
thinly, cover it with half an inch of fine earth, and pat that down
firmly with your hands or your trowel. You should choose a fine April
day for your first sowing, and you should reserve a little seed for a
second sowing in case the first is a failure. This sometimes happens
even when your seed comes from a good firm and you sow it properly. It
is a great mistake to buy poor Mignonette seed, as often none of it
comes up. In ten days or a fortnight a soft spring rain will bring up
the little plants, and then, if you have sown too thickly, you will
find out how troublesome it is to thin them; but you will not have fine
Mignonette unless you do this ruthlessly. Crowded plants will give you
stunted flowers. The best way is to fix your eye on a seedling that is
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