The dwarf bouquet varieties make very
beautiful edgings to beds of variegated plants, and the latest variety, the
Schiller, is a very abundant bloomer, compact in habit and flowers, until
the frost kills it. A bed of asters, arranged with the tallest varieties in
the center and graduated down to the dwarf Schiller or chrysanthemum
aster, will make as fine a show in a garden as a bed of geraniums, while
the cost of the plants will be very trifling.
Balsams can also be made highly decorative if they are trimmed oi
DESIRABLE BEDDING PLANTS. 97
superfluous branches, and trained either to one stem or three. Thus
trained the flowers will be very much larger and the stems covered with
them. Trained with three branches the balsam can be made very deco-
rative as a house plant, and if all the seed pods are nipped off it will
bloom for six months at least. If a bed of ornamental foliage plants is
desired from annuals, they should be transplanted late in May. Gastor
oil bean can be used for the center of the bed, and one plant will be suf-
ficient if the soil is made so rich that it will grow rapidly. Around it
place half a dozen plants of amaranthus tricolor. For the next row,
plant euphorbia marginata. Of green and white foliage, it is very showy
when mingled with the darker foliage plants. It is a native of Color-
ado, called by the Indians, " snow on the mountains." It is a very com-
mon plant and has been cultivated for the last forty years ; but of late
only has it received the attention it deserves. The outer row of this
variegated bed can be planted with golden feather or the yellow-leaved
feverfew, which has been used for mingling with the bright-lived coleus.
The Japan cockscombs are also ornamental for the garden, the
feathery colosia making a fine show. The seeds are very tiny, and must
be planted and watered carefully. It needs a light but rich soil to grow
to perfection, and is well adapted for the house or window garden, as
it is very suitable for bouquets and vases of flowers. Ten weeks' stocks
are old-fashioned flowers, but always beautiful and ornamental, and the
German florists have lately produced fine varieties, as exquisite in their
coloring as in fragrance. Frequent transplantings are needful to
increase the stockiness of the plants, so it is well to sow the seeds quite
early, and, as the second leaves unfold, transplant into a box, and then
into the garden. A rich, moist soil is needed to produce the largest
flowering stalks, yet they will grow in any garden soil after they have
been well started, and they are very hardy, blossoming when nearly all
the other flowers are dead. It is desirable, in purchasing these seeds,
to select the most expensive varieties if you wish the handsomest plants,
and it is very poor economy to buy the cheaper varieties. It is also
needful to plant them so that their roots can have plenty of room and
not become starved for want of food. Asters need eight inches of soil,
balsams at least ten inches, and ten weeks' stocks the same space as the
balsams. Transplant them in beds by themselves, or in rows, but leave
the same distance each way. When the sun shines scorchingly hot in
July a little mulch of stable litter will give their roots a desirable shade.
Page 86
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The dwarf bouquet varieties make very beautiful edgings to beds of variegated plants, and the latest variety, the Schiller, is a very abundant bloomer, compact in habit and flowers, until the frost kills it. A bed of asters, arranged with the tallest varieties in the center and graduated down to the dwarf Schiller or chrysanthemum aster, will make as fine a show in a garden as a bed of geraniums, while the cost of the plants will be very trifling.
Balsams can also be made highly decorative if they are trimmed of
DESIRABLE BEDDING PLANTS. 97
superfluous branches, and trained either to one stem or three. Thus trained the flowers will be very much larger and the stems covered with them. Trained with three branches the balsam can be made very decorative as a house plant, and if all the seed pods are nipped off it will bloom for six months at least. If a bed of ornamental foliage plants is desired from annuals, they should be transplanted late in May. Gastor oil bean can be used for the center of the bed, and one plant will be sufficient if the soil is made so rich that it will grow rapidly. Around it place half a dozen plants of amaranthus tricolor. For the next row, plant euphorbia marginata. Of green and white foliage, it is very showy when mingled with the darker foliage plants. It is a native of Colorado, called by the Indians, " snow on the mountains." It is a very common plant and has been cultivated for the last forty years ; but of late only has it received the attention it deserves. The outer row of this variegated bed can be planted with golden feather or the yellow-leaved feverfew, which has been used for mingling with the bright-lived coleus.
The Japan cockscombs are also ornamental for the garden, the feathery colosia making a fine show. The seeds are very tiny, and must be planted and watered carefully. It needs a light but rich soil to grow to perfection, and is well adapted for the house or window garden, as it is very suitable for bouquets and vases of flowers. Ten weeks' stocks are old-fashioned flowers, but always beautiful and ornamental, and the German florists have lately produced fine varieties, as exquisite in their coloring as in fragrance. Frequent transplantings are needful to increase the stockiness of the plants, so it is well to sow the seeds quite early, and, as the second leaves unfold, transplant into a box, and then into the garden. A rich, moist soil is needed to produce the largest flowering stalks, yet they will grow in any garden soil after they have been well started, and they are very hardy, blossoming when nearly all the other flowers are dead. It is desirable, in purchasing these seeds, to select the most expensive varieties if you wish the handsomest plants, and it is very poor economy to buy the cheaper varieties. It is also needful to plant them so that their roots can have plenty of room and not become starved for want of food. Asters need eight inches of soil, balsams at least ten inches, and ten weeks' stocks the same space as the balsams. Transplant them in beds by themselves, or in rows, but leave the same distance each way. When the sun shines scorchingly hot in July a little mulch of stable litter will give their roots a desirable shade.