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Growing Good Plants By Soup

With summer in the West, your garden will soon show how well you've taken care of your soil. If you have plenty of humus in it, there will be plenty of moisture to keep everything growing fine without constant watering in spite of the heat.

That brings us to the subject of "gardener's gold" compost flower stalks, lawn clippings, leaves, trash, etc. Just as the wealth of the small French farmer is said to be determined by the size of his manure pile, so may a gardener's status and success be measured by his use of compost, nature's most potent life elixir.

Select Japanese Iris now, while they're in bloom, for fall planting. Their culture becomes more standardized each year and the selection of colors more varied. Cultural rules are simple: sun, rich soil, perfect drainage and constant soaking while the plants are growing but little water while the foliage is dying back. Plants grown in containers completely submerged in large fish pools do marvelously well. This is the way they were grown years ago in Golden Gate Park's Japanese Garden. Plants purchased now in bud will flower if carefully handled or the container itself is "planted."

Combining Plants with Roses Some authorities maintain that roses should be planted in a bed by themselves, while others are just as insistent that they do equally well and are more attractive combined with low-growing edgings and groundcovers that do not interfere with the regular cultivation. Groundcovers keep the soil cool and cut the water bill.

Annuals for edging are lobelia, alyssum and the torenia mentioned below. The white alyssum is preferable to the lavender, because in most locations it has a longer blooming season. Sweet alyssum makes a good groundeover while the lobelia, in Blue, is delightful alone or in combination with alyssum. Alyssum comes quickly from seed but because lobelia requires a longer growing season, buy plants.

Dwarf nasturtiums make good groundcovers if attention is paid to combining the right colors with the roses. Screaming yellows with red roses are "bad," whereas red nasturtiums with white or ivory roses are gay and perky. Watch the annual groundcovers closely for aphids which might build up there and then head for the roses. No serious problem is involved, however, as 15 minutes a week spent spraying or dusting with lindane will rout not only aphids but a long list of other bugs including thrips, leafhoppers and many others.

Pinch Chrysanthemums when the wood is still soft and continue until the plant is well branched and the buds begin to form. Small-flowered types grown outdoors for cut flowers may be pinched every two weeks. Early-flowering varieties may be pinched up to mid-July; medium-season ones up to the first week in August; late ones, late August.

Potted plants may be left longer than outdoor ones because they need stocky growth. The best rule is to pinch back until you see the buds pushing out faster than you can pinch.

The Torneia or wishbone flower is a little blue annual seldom seen in gardens or landscaping with annuals. It does not fit as an annual for landscaping but it fits in nicely with other low-growing annuals and is attractive planted alone. It likes partially shaded spots. If unavailable as plants at your local nursery, grow torenias from seed.

It Takes "Soup" to grow good plants. Here's why: Food materials are carried up through the roots and stems in liquid form. Thus, without sufficient water in the ground food elements cannot be formed or transported