Missouri Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 
Vol. III St. Louis, Mo., March, 1915 No. 3 
SPRING IN THE GARDEN 
Springtime brings with it more important duties in the 
garden than any other season of the year; furthermore, it is 
the season at which many of the things essential to the future 
success of the garden should be done,—things which either 
cannot be done at all or are aecomplished at a disadvantage 
later in the season. Too frequently the early spring days pass 
before it is realized that plants are growing, that seeds are 
sprouting, and that the proper time for starting a garden has 
already passed ; a garden should be made before, not after, the 
leaves are on the trees. The spring gardening season being 
close at hand, the following notes have been prepared embody- 
ing certain suggestions for some phases of the season’s work. 
Lawns.—The lawn undoubtedly should receive the first 
attention in the spring. After the frost is out of the ground 
and as soon as the lawn is in such condition that it can be 
comfortably walked upon, it should be thoroughly raked 
with an iron rake in order to remove all dead grass and 
. other material, such as stones, sticks, and leaves. Thorough 
raking further tends to loosen the soil, thereby snare 
the latter a good growing place for seed, which shoul 
be applied after the raking. On established lawns, reseeding 
is not always sig rH 8 though it is not a bad practice to 
reseed all lawns lightly whether they seem to need it or 
not. On established lawns, only blue-grass and red — 
need be used, whereas the addition of Italian rye and Rhode 
Island bent is desirable for new lawns. In reseeding estab- 
lished lawns many people prefer to add a little white clover, 
others, however, choosing only blue-grass or red top. After 
the seed has been sown, the lawn should be very lightly 
covered with either good rich soil, prepared humus, or 
thoroughly decomposed cow or horse manure. The purpose 
of this application is es cover the seed and to give 
it a un rich medium in which to grow. Where soil or 
prepared humus is used, it is desirable to add some fertilizer, 
(37) 
