just what you want to do. Don't allow any guesswork about it. If you
"think out" these things the home grounds will improve year by year, and
you will have a place to be proud of. But the planless system which so
many follow never gives satisfactory results. It gives one the
impression of something that started for somewhere but never arrived at
its destination.
Old border plants which have received little or no attention for years
will be greatly benefited by transplanting at this season. Cut away all
the older roots, and make use of none that are not strong and healthy.
Give them a rich soil. Most of them will have renewed themselves by
midsummer.
If you do not care to take up the old plants, cut about them with a
sharp knife, and remove as many of the old roots as possible. This is
often almost as effective as transplanting, and it does not involve as
much labor.
The lawn should be given attention at this season. Rake off all
unsightly refuse that may have collected on it during winter. Give it an
application of some good fertilizer. It is quite important that this
should be done early in the season, as grass begins to grow almost as
soon as frost is out of the ground, and the sward should have something
to feed on as soon as it is ready for work.
Go over all the shrubs and see if any need attention in the way of
pruning. But don't touch them with the pruning knife unless they really
need it. Cut out old wood and weak branches, if there are any, and thin,
if too thick, but leave the bush to train itself. It knows more about
this than you do!
Get racks and trellises ready for summer use. These are generally made
on the spur of the moment, out of whatever material comes handiest at
the time they are needed. Such hurriedly constructed things are pretty
sure to prove eyesores. The gardener who takes pride in his work and his
garden will not be satisfied with makeshifts, but will see that
whatever is needed, along this line, is well made, and looks so well
that he has no reason to be ashamed of it. It should be painted a dark
green or some other neutral color.
Rake the mulch away from the plants that were given protection in fall
as soon as the weather gets warm enough to start them to growing. Or it
can be dug into the soil about them to act as a fertilizer. Get it out
of sight, for it always gives the garden an untidy effect if left about
the plants.
Go over the border plants and uproot all grass that has secured a
foothold there. A space of a foot should be left about all shrubs and
perennials in which nothing should be allowed to grow.
If any plants seem out of place, take them up and put them where they
belong. If you cannot find a place where they seem to fit in, discard
them. The garden will be better off without them, no matter how
desirable they are, than with them if their presence creates
color-discord.
Peonies can be moved to advantage now. If you cut about the old clump
and lift a good deal of earth with it, and do not interfere with its
roots, no harm will be done. But if you mutilate its roots, or expose
them, you need not expect any flowers from the plant for a season or
two.
Get stakes ready for the Dahlias. These should be painted some
unobtrusive color. If this is done, and they are taken proper care of in
fall, they will last for years. This is true of racks and trellises.
Provide yourself with a hoe, an iron-toothed rake, a weeding-hook, a
trowel for transplanting, a wheel-barrow, a spade, and a watering-pot.
See that the latter is made from galvanized iron if you want it to last.
Tin pots will rust out in a short time.
Take your watering-pot to the tinsmith and have him fit it out with an
extension spout--one that can be slipped on to the end of the spout that
comes with the pot. Let this be at least two feet in length. This will
enable you to apply water to the roots of plants standing well back in
the border, or across beds, and get it just where it will do the most
good, but a short-spouted plant will not do this unless you take a good
many unnecessary steps in making the application.
Be sure to send in your orders for seed and plants early in the season.
Have everything on hand, ready for putting into the ground when the
proper time comes to do this.
SUMMER WORK IN THE GARDEN
If weeds are kept down through the early part of the season, there will
not be a great deal of weeding to do in midsummer. Still, we cannot
afford to take it for granted that they require no attention, for they
are most aggressive things, and so persistent are they that they will
take advantage of every opportunity for perpetuating themselves.
Therefore be on the lookout for them, and as soon as you discover one
that has thought to escape your notice by hiding behind some flowering
plant, uproot it. One weed will furnish seed enough to fill the entire
garden with plants next year if let alone.
If the season happens to be very dry, some of your plants--Dahlias, for
instance,--will have to be watered if you want them to amount to
anything. These must have moisture at their roots in order to flower
well.
Other plants may be able to get along with a mulch of grass-clippings
from the lawn. Most of our annuals will stand quite a drouth.
If one is connected with a system of waterworks it is an easy matter
to tide a garden over a drouth. But where there is nothing but the pump
to depend on for a supply of water, I would not advise beginning
artificial watering except in rare cases, like that of the Dahlia. We
always find that so much work is required in supplying our plants from
the pump that after a little we abandon the undertaking, and the result
is that the plants we set out to be kind to are left in a worse
condition, when we give up our spasmodic attention, than they would have
been in if we had not begun it.
It is well to use the hoe constantly if the season is a dry one. Keep
the surface of the soil open that it may take in all the moisture
possible. On no account allow it to become crusted over.
Seed of perennials can be sown now to furnish plants for flowering next
season.
Look to the Dahlias, and make sure they are properly staked.
Be on the lookout for black beetle on Aster and Chrysanthemum. As soon
as one is discovered apply Nicoticide, and apply it thoroughly, all over
the plant. Promptness is demanded in fighting this voracious pest.
During the latter part of summer, when the extreme hot weather that we
have at the north sets in, cut away nearly all the top of the
Pansy-plants. This will give the plants a chance to rest during the
season when they are not equal to the task of flowering, because of the
hot, dry weather which is so trying to them. Along in September, when
the weather becomes cooler, they will take a fresh start and give us
fine flowers all through the fall.
Look over the perennials and satisfy yourself that there is
color-harmony everywhere. If you find a discord anywhere, mark the plant
that makes it for removal later on.
Be sure to keep all seed from developing on the Sweet Peas. This you
_must_ do if you would have a good crop of flowers during the fall
months.
If any plants seem too thick, sacrifice some of them promptly. No plant
can develop itself satisfactorily if it is crowded.
Poor plants will find their way into all collections. If you find one in
yours, remove it at once. There are so many good ones at our disposal
that we cannot afford to give place, even for a season, to an inferior
kind.
Let neatness prevail everywhere. Gather up dead leaves and fallen
flowers, cut away the stalks of plants upon which no more flowers can be
expected, and keep the walks looking as if you expected visitors at any
time, and were determined not to be caught in untidy garments.
While the good gardener can always find something to do in the garden,
he will not have as much work on his hands at this season as at any
other, therefore it is the time in which he can get the greatest amount
of pleasure from his flowers, and in proportion to his care of them
earlier in the season will be the pleasure they afford now.
FALL WORK IN THE GARDEN
Because the growth of grass on the lawn is not as luxuriant and rapid in
fall as it is in midsummer, is no reason why the lawn should be
neglected after summer is over. It should be mowed whenever the grass
gets too tall to look well, clear up to the end of the season. The neat
and attractive appearance of the home-grounds depends more upon the lawn
than anything else about them. It is a good plan to fertilize it well in
fall, thus enabling the roots of the sward to store up nutriment for the
coming season. Fine bonemeal is as good for this purpose as anything I
know of except barnyard manure, and it is superior to that in one
respect--it does not contain the seeds of weeds.
Go over the garden before the end of the season and gather up all plants
that have completed their work. If we neglect to give attention to the
beds now that the flowering-period is over, a general appearance of
untidiness will soon dominate everything. Much of the depressing effect
of late fall is due to this lack of attention. The prompt removal of all
unsightly objects will keep the grounds looking _clean_ after the season
has passed its prime, and we all know what the Good Book's estimate of
cleanliness is.
Seedlings of such perennials as Hollyhock, Delphinium, and other plants
of similar character, ought to be transplanted to the places they are to
occupy next season by the last of September. If care is taken not to
disturb their roots when you lift them they will receive no check.
If you give your Hybrid Perpetual Roses a good, sharp cutting-back early
in September, and manure the soil about them well, you may reasonably
expect a few fine flowers from them later on. And what is more
delightful than a perfect Rose gathered from your own garden just at the
edge of winter?
Perennials can be divided and reset, if necessary, immediately after
they have ripened off the growth of the present year. If this work is
done now, there will be just so much less to do in spring.
Before the coming of cold weather all tools used in gardening operations
should be gathered up and stored under cover. If any repairs are
needed, make note of them, and see that the work is done in winter, so
that everything needed in spring may be in readiness for use. It is a
good plan to give all wood-work a coat of paint at the time it is stored
away, and to go over the metal part of every tool with a wash of
vaseline to prevent rust.
Have a general house-cleaning before winter sets in. Cut away the stalks
of the perennials. Pull up all annuals. Rake up the leaves, and add
everything of this kind to the compost heap. All garden refuse should
find its way there, to be transmuted by the alchemy of sun and rain, and
the disintegrating forces of nature into that most valuable of soil
constituents--humus. Let nothing that has any value in it be wasted.
After hard frosts have killed the tops of Dahlias, Cannas, Caladiums and
Gladioluses, their roots should be dug, on some warm and sunny day, and
prepared for storage in the cellar or closet. Spread them out in the
sunshine, and leave them there until the soil that was dug with them is
dry enough to crumble away from them. At night cover with something to
keep out the cold, and expose them to the curative effects of the sun
next day. It may be necessary to do this several days in succession. The
great amount of moisture which they contain when first dug should be
given a chance to evaporate to a considerable extent before it will be
safe to put them away for the winter. Cut off the old stalks close to
the root before storing.
While clearing the beds of dead plants and leaves be on the lookout for
insects of various kinds. The cut-worm may still be in evidence, and may
be found among the rubbish which you gather up. And if found, destroy it
on the spot. This precaution will go far toward safeguarding plants in
spring, many of which are annually injured by the depredations of this
pest.
When you are sure that cold weather is at hand, cover the bulb-bed with
coarse manure or litter, hay, or straw, as advised in the chapter on The
Bulb Garden. And give your Roses the protection advised in the chapter
on The Rose.
Cover Pansies lightly with leaves or evergreen branches. If you have
mulch enough, apply some to your hardy plants, and next spring note the
difference between them and the plants which were not given any
protection.
BY WAY OF POSTSCRIPT
A CHAPTER OF AFTERTHOUGHTS WHICH THE READER CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS
[Illustration: PLANTING TO HIDE FOUNDATION WALLS]
Think things out for yourself. Do not try to copy anybody else's garden,
as so many attempt to do. Be original. What you see on your neighbor's
home grounds may suggest something similar for your own grounds, but be
content with the idea suggested. He may not have a patent on his own
working-out of the idea--indeed, the idea may not have been one of his
originating--but the manner in which he has expressed it is his own and
you should respect his right to it. Imitation of what others have done,
or are doing, is likely to spoil everything. If the best you can do is
to copy your neighbor's work servilely in all its details, turn your
attention to something else. If all the flower-gardens in the
neighborhood were simply duplicates of each other in material and
arrangement, the uniformity of them would be so monotonous in effect
that it would be a relief to find a place that was without a garden.
* * * * *
Never imitate anything that you see on the grounds of wealthy people
with cheap and inferior material. The result will be a sham that will
deceive no one, and you will soon tire of it, and the sooner the better.
Be honest. If you have only cheap material to work with, be satisfied
with unambitious undertakings. Let them be in keeping with what you have
to work with--simple, unpretentious, and without any attempt in the way
of deception. The humblest home can be made attractive by holding fast
to the principle of honesty in everything that is done about it. It is
not necessary to imitate in order to make it attractive. Think out
things for yourself, and endeavor to do the best you can with the
material at hand, and under the conditions that prevail, and be content
with that. The result will afford you vastly more satisfaction, even if
it does not measure up to what you would like, than you can possibly
realize by imitating another's work. There is a deal of pleasure in
being able to say about one's home or garden, "It may not be as fine as
my neighbor's, but, such as it is, it is all mine. I have put myself
into it. It may be plain and humble, but--there's honesty in it." And
that is a feature you have a right to be proud of.
* * * * *
Never make the mistake of neglecting good old plants for the sake of
something new, simply because it is new. Old plants--plants that have
held their own against all newcomers--are the ones to depend on. The
fact that they _have_ held their own is sufficient proof of their
merits. Had they been inferior in any respect they would have dropped
from notice long ago, like the "novelties" that aspired to take their
places. Old plants are like old friends, old wine--all the better
because of their age. There's something substantial about them. We do
not tire of them. We know what to expect of them, and they never
disappoint us.
* * * * *
Never make the mistake of thinking the shape of a bed deserves more
consideration than what you put into the bed. It's the flower that
deserves attention,--not the bed it grows in. It isn't treating a flower
with proper respect to give it secondary place.
* * * * *
Many an amateur gardener tries to have a little of everything, and the
result is that he has nothing worth speaking of, because quality has
been sacrificed to quantity. Grow only as many flowers as you can grow
well, and be wise in selecting only such kinds as do best under the
conditions in which they must be grown. Depend upon kinds that have been
tried and not found wanting unless you have a fondness for
experimenting.
* * * * *
No really artistic results can be secured by the use of seeds in which
all colors are mixed. If you desire harmonious effects, you will have to
purchase seed in which each color is by itself. A few varieties in which
there is perfect color-harmony will please you far more than a
collection in which all the colors of the rainbow are represented. Take
the Sweet Pea as an illustration of this idea: From a package of mixed
seed you will get a score of different colors or shades, and many of
these, though beautiful in themselves, will produce positive discord
when grown side by side. The eye of the person who has fine color-sense
will be pained by the lack of harmony. But confine your selection to the
soft pinks, the delicate lavenders, and the pure whites, and the result
will be something to delight the artistic eye--restful, harmonious, and
as pleasing as a strain of exquisite poetry--in fact, a poem in color.
What is true of the Sweet Pea, in this respect, is equally true of all
plants which range through a great variety of colors. Bear this in mind
when you select seeds for your garden of annuals.
* * * * *
Don't throw away any plants that are worth growing. If you have no use
for them some of your neighbors will doubtless be glad to get them. Give
them to the poor children of your neighborhood, and tell them how to
care for them, and you will not only be doing a kind deed but you will
be putting into the life that needs uplifting and refining influences a
means of help and education that you little guess the power of for good.
For every plant is a teacher, and a preacher of the gospel of beauty,
and its mission is to brighten and broaden every life that comes under
its influence. All that it asks is an opportunity to fulfill that
mission.
* * * * *
If no one cares for the plants you have no use for, give them a place in
out-of-the-way nooks and corners--in the roadside, even, if there is no
other place for them. A stock of this kind, to draw upon in case any of
your old plants fail in winter, will save expense and trouble, and
prevent bare spots from detracting from the appearance of the home
grounds. It is always well to have a few plants in reserve for just such
emergencies as this. Very frequently the odds-and-ends corner of the
garden is the most attractive feature in it.
* * * * *
Many a place is all but spoiled because its owner finds it difficult to
confine his selection of plants for it to the number it will
conveniently accommodate. There are so many desirable ones to choose
from that it is no easy matter to determine which you will have,
because--you want them all! But one must be governed by the conditions
that cannot be changed. Unfortunately the home-lot is not elastic. Small
grounds necessitate small collections if we would avoid cluttering up
the place in a manner that makes it impossible to grow anything well.
Shrubs must have elbow-room in order to display their attractions to the
best advantage. Keep this in mind, and set out only as many as there
will be room for when they have fully developed. It may cost you a pang
to discard an old favorite, but often it has to be done out of regard
for the future welfare of the kinds you feel you _must have_. If you
overstock your garden, it will give you many pangs to see how the plants
in it suffer from the effect of crowding. If you cannot have _all_ the
good things, have the very best of the list, and try to grow them so
well that they will make up in quality for the lack in quantity. I know
of a little garden in which but three plants grow, but the owner of them
gives them such care that these three plants attract more attention from
passers-by than any other garden on that street.
* * * * *
Be methodical in your garden-work. Keep watch of everything, and when
you see something that needs doing, do it. And do it well. One secret of
success in gardening is in doing everything as if it was _the_ one thing
to be done. Slight nothing.
* * * * *
For vines that do not grow thick enough to hide everything with their
foliage, a lattice framework of lath, painted white, is the most
satisfactory support, because of the pleasing color-contrast between it
and the plants trained over it. Both support and plant will be
ornamental, and one will admirably supplement the other. The lattice
will be an attractive feature of the garden when the vine that grew over
it is dead, if it is kept neatly painted.
* * * * *
But for the rampant grower a coarse-meshed wire netting is just as good,
and considerably less expensive, in the long run, as it will do duty for
many years, if taken care of at the end of the season. Roll it up and
put it under cover before the fall rains set in.
* * * * *
The simple fact of newness is nothing in any plant's favor. Unless it
has real merit, it will not find purchasers after the first season.
Better wait until you know what a plant is before investing in it. We
have so many excellent plants with whose good qualities we are familiar
that it is not necessary to run any risks of this kind.
* * * * *
Many home-owners make the mistake of putting down boardwalks about the
dwelling and yard. Such a walk is never attractive, and it has not the
merit of durability, for after a year or two it will need repairs, and
from that time on it will be a constant source of expense. The
variegated appearance of a patched-up boardwalk will seriously detract
from the attractiveness of any garden. It may cost more, at first, to
put down cement walks,--though I am inclined to doubt this, at the
present price of lumber--but such walks are good for a lifetime, if
properly constructed, therefore much cheaper in the end. There can be no
two opinions as to their superior appearance. Their cool gray color
brings them into harmony with their surroundings. They are never
obtrusive. They are easily cleaned, both summer and winter. And the
home-maker can put them in quite as well as the professional worker in
cement if he sets out to do so, though he may be longer at the work.
* * * * *
But _make sure_ about the location of your paths before putting in
cement walks. That is--be quite sure that you know where you want them
to be. A boardwalk can be changed at any time with but little trouble
if you get it in the wrong place, but a cement walk, once down, is down
for all time, unless you are willing to spend a good deal of hard labor
in its removal.
* * * * *
Never do spasmodic work in the garden. The unwise gardener neglects what
needs doing until so much has accumulated that he is forced to give it
attention, and then he hurries in his efforts to dispose of it, and the
consequence is that much of it is likely to be so poorly done that
plants suffer nearly as much from his hasty operations as they did from
neglect. Do whatever needs doing in a systematic way, and keep ahead of
your work. Never be driven by it.
* * * * *
It is one of the most satisfactory laws of Nature that we can have only
what we work for. Too many seem to forget this, and think that because a
flower hasn't a market value, like corn or wheat, it ought to grow
without any attention on their part. Such persons do not understand the
real value of a flower, which is none the less because it cannot be
computed on the basis of a dollars-and-cents calculation.
* * * * *
Man, wife, and all the children ought to work together for whatever adds
beauty to the home, and nothing is more effective in this line than a
good flower-garden. I can remember when it was considered an indication
of weakness for a man to admit that he was fond of flowers. I look back
with amusement to my own experience in this respect. Because I loved
flowers so well, when I was a wee bit of a lad, that I attempted to grow
them, I was often laughed at for being a "girl-boy." "He ought to have
been a girl," one of my uncles used to say. "You'll have to learn him to
do sewing and housework." It often stung me to anger to listen to these
sarcastic remarks, but I am glad that my love for flowers was strong
enough to keep me at work among them, for I know that I am a better man
to-day than I would have been had I allowed myself to be ridiculed out
of my love for them. If the children manifest a desire to have little
gardens of their own encourage them to do so, and feel sure that the
cultivation of them will prove to be a strong factor in the development
of the child mind.
* * * * *