Chapter XIII: Plant Your Garden If You Can

=A New Flower Game=

BRIGHT summer days are the time to be out of doors in the sweet, fresh air, with the birds and flowers, where there is plenty of space to run and have a good time. What a lot of games can be played in the open. There is Hide-and-Go-Seek, Catcher, Tag, Hop-Scotch and many more. You will be able to add a number to the list. Probably, though, you have played all of them over and over again, so we will try and think of something new. We must have a game that will be lively, interesting, and at the same time require a certain degree of skill, and the game must be one where we can enjoy the making of things requisite for the sport; but the material must not cost more than a few cents.

I have it! A game of flowers with roses that will not wilt or fade but last for a long time fresh and bright. We will call it “Plant Your Garden if You Can,” because one cannot always be absolutely sure of planting the flowers, and that is part of the fun.

=Two Dozen Roses=

will be needed for this garden game, half a dozen white, half a dozen red, half a dozen yellow and half a dozen pink. The flowers are of tissue paper and very pretty.

Cut squares measuring twelve inches along each of the four sides, from white, pink, yellow and red tissue paper; the dotted lines on the diagrams indicate where the paper must be folded (Fig. 185). Fold each square across the centre (Fig. 186). Fold again crosswise through the centre, forming a small square of four layers (Fig. 187). Again fold, this time diagonally (A to B, Fig. 187), and you will have a triangle (Fig. 188). Fold once more diagonally (Fig. 188) A to C; this will give Fig. 189. Cut straight across from E to dot D (Fig. 189), then cut a slash an inch and three-quarters deep in the centre of the edges as shown by the line F in Fig. 190. Open out the paper (Fig. 191). The slashed edges will form the petals of the rose. Curl each corner edge of every petal with a blade of a pair of scissors according to dotted lines on the petal (Fig. 192).

Begin by holding one corner of one petal between the thumb of your right hand and one blade of the scissors; gently pull your thumb and the scissors blade outward, sliding them along each side of the petal, while you hold the remainder of the paper steady with your left hand. The thumb rubs over the petal; at the same time the edge of the scissors blade scrapes the under side of the petal, which causes the paper to curl. Fig. 192 shows one petal with both of the side corners curled. When you have curled around the first half of the circle, turn the paper over and curl the petals around the other half of the circle in an opposite direction. Fig. 193 gives two petals curled forward and two backward, representing two petals on each half of the tissue-paper rose. After all the petals are curled lay the centre of the tissue paper out flat and place on it three level teaspoonfuls of flour; then gather up the edges of the rose and wind a strong thread several times around below the petals and above the flour-bag formed by the centre of the paper (Fig. 194). Tie the string, adjust the petals and the rose will be finished (Fig. 195).

=Mark Out Two Flower Beds=

where the roses are to be planted. Each bed must measure three yards in length and one yard in width. The beds must run parallel to each other and be separated by a space of three yards. Each of the two flower beds must then be divided crosswise through the centre, making four flower beds in all, two on each side—one for every player. Fig. 196 shows the plan with flower beds divided. The circles denote the station points or places where the players stand, and the dotted line the direction the roses should take when played by the girl or boy stationed at the position marked “Barbara.” The other players send their roses in like manner over the intervening space to the flower bed diagonally across from their position.

That there may be no mistake regarding each particular enclosure where the different-colored roses should be planted,

=Use Flags=

to designate the color of the various flower beds. From inexpensive cotton cloth of a solid red color cut a flag eighteen inches long and twelve inches wide; hem the raw edges; then tack one end of the flag on a slender stick one yard or more in length; sharpen the free end of the stick and push it down into the earth at the outer back corner of the flower bed intended for the red roses. Have the flag stand straight and firm. Make a white, a yellow and a pink flag in the same way. Erect each in the outer back corner of its own bed, which will be the bed where roses of corresponding color are to be planted. All the flags must be of equal height.

If the game is played at the seashore on a smooth, hard beach, mark out the flower beds by running the end of a stick along in the sand. If the game takes place on a level lawn, use white tape for marking the beds; peg the tape down to the earth with common wooden clothespins (Fig. 197), first sliding the tape in the clothespin (Fig. 198).

=The Four Rackets for the Game=

are ordinary flat palm-leaf fans, one fan to each player.

The game is played by sides, and calls for four players, two on each side.

=The Game=

is that each player in turn shall plant as many roses in her own garden as she can. Every player has six roses of one color; the two holding respectively the white and the red roses are on one side, while the two with the yellow and the pink roses take the opposite side. When all is ready and the players are at their stations, a signal is given and the game begins.

The first player holds one of her roses out with the left hand, strikes it with the fan-racket held in the right hand, and endeavors to send the rose flying and land it in her own garden. If she succeeds, the rose is said to be “planted,” and scores her one point, but should the rose go beyond the boundary line of her flower bed, fall short of it, or the flour-bag of the rose be broken, the play is a “failure” and scores one point for the opposite side. When a rose falls on the boundary line of its own flower bed, the play is a “fault,” and the player may try again with the same flower. After the first player has had her turn, a player on the opposite side tries her skill, for the turns must alternate from side to side. The game ends with the playing of the last rose, and the side scoring the greatest number of points wins the game. All roses when played must remain where they fall until the close of the game, with the exception of those falling on the boundary line of their own beds.

=A Tally Card=

will be required for keeping a record of the game. Make one of white pasteboard (Fig. 199). The initials can be changed to those taking part in the sport. Every point scored must be written under the color and initial or name of the person who scores it. When, because of the failure of one player, the opposite side scores a point, the score must be recorded in the third column belonging to that side on the tally card under the word “Won.”

=To Determine the Choice of Sides,=

which shall be first, and the distribution of colors, draw straws for the colors and toss for position of sides. To draw straws, take four straws of varying lengths, and grasp them in your hand in such a way that the extending ends of the straws seen by the other players are the same in length, while the uneven ends are closed within the hand; allow each player to draw a straw. The girl or boy taking the longest straw has first choice of colors; the player holding the straw next in length has second choice, and so on.

To toss for position of sides means that a player from each side shall toss a small stone toward a stick laid on the ground two yards distant from the spot where the players stand. A twig placed on the spot may mark the point from which the stones are to be tossed. The stones must be tossed in turn, not at the same time, and the player whose stone comes nearest to the mark wins the right for his side to the choice of position on the grounds, also the right of first play.

One charm of this game is that the roses when volleyed by the players invariably land on the ground blossom uppermost, and these twenty-four bright blossoms scattered over the green lawn or sandy beach, with gay, colored flags outlining the four corners of the garden court, and, best of all, the group of merry boys and girls, make a very attractive and pretty scene.

The game, though intended for four players, may also be played by either two or eight players. When only two take part, each must play the twelve roses belonging to his side; in other respects the rules are the same as in a four-handed game. When there are eight players, four must stand on each side and each player have three roses, two players necessarily playing the same color, but not in the same bed, as the garden on both sides must be divided into four beds that every player may plant roses in a separate flower bed; otherwise the original rules hold good.

“Plant Your Garden if You Can” may be adapted to the house when chill Autumn days appear and the weather grows cold and rainy. When played indoors the beds may be marked out by white tape as on the green lawn, only in this case wooden clothespins would be of no use, and thumb tacks, such as are used by artists, must take their place to fasten the tape down on a bare wooden floor, and safety-pins when the floor is carpeted.