HOW THEY PLANTED THE NASTURTIUMS.
Such a clamor of voices reached grandma’s ears that her first thought was that the children must have the garden, at the very least, half filled with their schoolmates. But when the old lady rose from her big armchair to take a sharp look around from the window, she was amazed to learn that all the confusion was made by her two happy, healthy grandchildren Margaret and Marshall, and they were as busy as could be, planting and fussing over nasturtium plants.
“See us, grandma,” were the pleasant if imperative words when they saw their grandmother with her head stretched out as far as possible, looking first one way and then another.
“See you? Well, I should say I did, and what are you doing with that old umbrella frame, Marshall?” was the questioning response.
“Getting ready for our nasturtiums,” and the boy tossed his head laughingly towards a large quantity of the golden brown blossoms, digging energetically all the while, though, as if moments were more precious than he could tell.
As grandma was anxious to learn all about the planting, first Marshall and then Margaret told her just what they were about to do. The gardener at the Jenkins place explained what he did. “And I never saw nasturtiums look as pretty before,” said Margaret, with a sedate shake of her head. “Besides, it is an altogether new idea, not the old sort of a thing that everybody knows. It commences by planting an umbrella frame, putting the handle deep enough down not to break off with the first strong wind, or with the weight of vines, either, in case they should grow a trifle heavier on one side than the other, though, of course, this we will try to prevent. The umbrella should not be put in a corner, but in an open bed, where people can walk all around it. This frame of ours has eight sticks, and at each one we will plant a root. And we are going to plant two at the handle, one on either side, and not close enough to crowd each other. As the vines grow, they will be trained up the handle and along the sticks, making the effect of a diminutive tent, and while this old frame is rather an ungainly sight at present, in a few weeks the bed will be simply gorgeous.
“Oh, they are so pretty!” Margaret continued, lightly and fondly touching the bright flowers, “such a variety of shades, yellow, orange, even to a deep brown, and the vine is willing to wind any way we will; it is naturally graceful, with just enough foliage and not too much. Why, the old frame will be the prettiest thing in all the country around.”
“I only hope our neighbors will not watch and try the same thing for themselves,” was Marshall’s interjection.
“They probably will not before next summer,” was grandma’s assuring comment, “and then your nasturtium umbrella would be one year old.”