The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies

“Afoot?” Lizzy asked, puzzled. She looked down at her shoes. “What game? What are you talking about?”


Verna sighed. “It’s just something a detective said once, in a book. Well, I’ll see you tonight, at Bessie’s. Maybe Buddy will do something brave.”

“See you tonight,” Lizzy said, and picked up her handbag with a sigh. She would finish her garden column, turn it in, and then go home and tell her mother about the house. She wasn’t looking forward to it.





SEVENTEEN

THE GARDEN GATE





BY MISS ELIZABETH LACY





On Sunday, the Darling Dahlias held their planning meeting for the annual talent show that’s coming up on October 24 in the gymnasium at the Darling Academy. The program, under the direction of Mrs. Roger Kilgore, includes the Carsons’ Comedy Caravan, the Tumbling Tambourines, the Akins’ Spanish fandango, the Juggling Jinks, and many other unique and exciting acts. We’re still looking for another act or two, so if you sing, dance, play the accordion, or recite poetry, please give Mrs. Kilgore a call. Admission to the program is only twenty cents, children a nickel. We hope you will come and bring the whole family. (Mrs. Kilgore says to tell you that there has been a costume modification in the Spanish fandango.) Miss Bessie Bloodworth’s Angel Trumpet (Brugmansia ) is blooming now. I saw it this weekend, and it’s beautiful. It smells heavenly, too, especially when the big peach-colored trumpets open in the evening. Miss Bloodworth says to tell you that she’ll be glad to show it to you and give you some cuttings, as well. But you have to remember that this is a poisonous plant, so if you have children, you might want to think twice before you fall in love with it.

Mrs. Kilgore has some lovely summer phlox in her garden just now, along with zinnias and marigolds, cosmos, asters, and roses. She’ll be glad to share some of those blossoms for a beautiful bouquet on your dining room table, but she hopes you’ll come prepared to help deadhead. (She’s got an extra pair of clippers she’ll let you use.) If you don’t know what deadheading is, Mrs. Kilgore explains it this way: “The plant’s main purpose in life is to flower, set seed, and make baby plants. So if you clip off the flowers, you frustrate the plant, and a frustrated plant just sends out more blooms to try to frustrate you.” Thank you, Mrs. Kilgore, for that explanation.

The summer rains came at just the right time and it’s been a bountiful year for Darling’s vegetable gardens, as you can probably see by the stands along the roadsides, where people are making a little extra money by selling part of their bountiful harvest. Between now and frost, you’ll be able to find tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, beans, squash (summer and winter), sweet potatoes, pumpkins, southern peas, maybe even some late corn. If you’ve got some extra jars and lids, why not get out that canning kettle and get to work? Come January or February, when you start bringing up those gleaming jars from the fruit cellar, you’ll be glad you did!

Speaking of pumpkins, looks like there’ll be plenty this year and you’re certain to want one or two for your front porch when Halloween rolls around. But if you’d like to keep some over the winter, you’ll want to know how to keep them from spoiling. Pick only the deep orange, solid pumpkins, and leave a three-inch stem. Try not to scratch or poke a hole in the rind. Dip the pumpkins in a bucket of water and chlorine bleach (4 teaspoons per gallon). Cure them at room temperature for a week to harden the rind, then store in a cool place. Rinse before using. Your pumpkins will keep at least through Christmas, by which time you will have turned them all into holiday pies.