_Flower Garden and Greenhouse._--Window and greenhouse plants should
be in their finest bloom. Firing may be entirely dispensed with,
though care must still be exercised in ventilating. If weather is cold
and backward, however, and in very northern regions, care must be
taken not to stop firing too soon, or the plants will mildew and
become stunted. Every precaution must be used to keep the air moist.
"Moss culture" may be tried, the common sphagnum or moss of the
swamps, mixed with one-twentieth of its bulk of bone-dust, being laid
as a mulch on the top of the earth of the flower-pots; its effect is
to shield the pots from the sun, and at the same time stimulate the
roots to come to the surface. By the end of the month all of the
plants that are wanted for the summer decoration of the flower border
may be planted out, first loosening a little the ball of earth at the
roots. If the weather is dry, water freely after planting. When the
greenhouse is not to be used during the summer months, camellias,
azaleas and plants of that character should be set out of doors under
partial shade; but most of the other plants usually grown in the
conservatory or window garden in winter may be set in the open border.
Flower-beds should be kept well hoed, and raked, to prevent the growth
of weeds next month.
Pelargoniums, pinks, monthly roses and all the half-hardy kinds of
flowering plants should be planted early, but coleus, heliotrope and
the more tender plants should be delayed until the end of the month.
Annuals that have been sown in the greenhouse or hotbed may be planted
out, and seeds of such sorts as mignonette, sweet alyssum, Phlox
Drummondii, portulaca, &c., may be sown in the beds or borders. The
china aster is now one of the most popular of summer and fall plants.
The seed may be sown in the north as late as the middle of May, or
even the first of June, with good results for fall blooming. If the
plants are started early in the greenhouse, they are likely to spend
themselves before fall, and therefore a later sowing should be
provided.
_Lawns_ should be mown, and the edgings trimmed.
_Fruit Garden._--The hay or leaf mulching on the strawberry beds
should be removed and the ground deeply hoed (if not removed in April
in the more forward places), after which it may be placed on again to
keep the fruit clean and the ground from drying. Where it has not been
convenient before, most of the smaller fruits may yet be planted
during the first part of the month. Tobacco dust will dislodge most of
the numerous kinds of slugs, caterpillars or worms that make their
appearance on the young shoots of vines or trees. Fruit trees may be
planted this month, if they were not planted in March or April. If
they have been kept fresh and dormant, they should still be in good
condition. The broken roots should be cut back to fresh wood, and the
tops should be headed back in proportion.
_Vegetable Garden._--Attention should be given to new sowings and
plantings for succession. Crops sown last month will have to be
thinned out if large enough. Hoe deeply all transplanted crops, such
as cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, &c. Tender vegetables, such as
tomatoes, egg and pepper plants, sweet potatoes, &c., can be planted
out. Seeds of Lima beans, sweet corn, melon, okra, cucumbers, &c.,
should be sown; and sow for succession peas, spinach, lettuce, beans,
radishes, &c., every ten days.