For August, 1923 



193 



In the Garden and in the Greenhouse 



GEORGE F. STEWART 



IX THE GaRDEN 



THIS portion of the year, late August and early Sep- 

 temlier, was the last month of the year with the 

 ancients. They eave it the name Elool, a word 

 which comes from a root in the Hebrew language meaning 

 "to lament or mourn." This being the dryest month of the 

 year in Judea, vegetation became all dried, and burned up, 

 causing a scarcity of food for cattle and much distress. 

 A feeling of sadness sometimes comes over us as we go 

 into September with occasionally an early frost, cutting 

 short the b'all flowering season in the garden. 



Everything in the garden is reaching a clima.x. ]\lany 

 fruits and flowers ha\'e gone by. and others are fast ap- 

 proaching the ripening period. The last of the season's 

 flowers will be in their full glory. The beautiful Anenome 

 japonica is at its best generally when an early frost comes 

 and destroys it. The late flowering Aconitums we also 

 have at this season, very welcome indeed when yellow 

 colors seem to predominate. Helianthus in variety stand 

 out boldly in the borders, Boltonias, late flowering Phlox, 

 Lilium speciosum rubrum, Henryii, and some of the earlier 

 chrysanthemums keep them compan}'. A touch of pink 

 would be ver\- helpful in the borders at this season. We 

 have tried pink Dahlias but the least bit of early frost gen- 

 erally blackens them if they are at all exposed to the morn- 

 ing sun. Late flowering Cosmos are very often cut down 

 with frost before they flower and we have to resort to pot 

 growing to get any flowers from them. 



Perennial seeds may be sown for next year's garden. 

 The borders will require constant attention to make them 

 look well. Staking, hoeing and watering must be attended 

 to and all dead flowers removed. 



Lilies for next year's garden may be planted as soon as 

 received. Plant at least ten inches deep. It is a pity that 

 growers of lilies for commercial pur[X)ses do not grow 

 their bulbs entirely from seed. If they did so, I believe 

 we should be very little bothered with diseased bulbs as 

 small lots that we ha\'e grown seem to be entirely free 

 from disease. 



The Dahlias will now be flowering and if large flowers 

 are desired, disbudding will have to be resorted to; they 

 should also be given plenty of water at this stage, and 

 strict attention jsaid to staking. A little stimulation with 

 plant food will help their flowering. 



Gladioli should have been planted deep enough to do 

 without staknig, though it is safest to examine them to 

 see if they need any support before the weight of the 

 spike tips them over. 



Give the rose beds plenty of food and water ; remove all 

 faded flowers. 



This is a good time to look over the peonies to see if the 

 clumps are growing too large or if any variety should be 

 discarded to give place to something better. We examined 

 quite a few seedlings while judging at the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society this Summer, and truly they are get- 

 ting like several other things; the variations from known 

 varieties are very few. Indeed, it would take a connois- 

 seur to detect the difference of many of them. 



Seeds of pansies, English daisies, forget-me-nots, blue 

 Butterfly Delphiniums should be sown about the first of 

 August. Delphinium Blue Butterfly is classed as an annual 

 in some catalogs, but it is a perennial. \\'e have had a 

 plantation in the same place for three years and this year 

 it has been a ma'^s of flowers. It is one of the finest plants 

 for cut-flowers we have had, and keejis flowering over- 

 quite a lon.g period. 



Any planting or changing of evergreens may be done 

 in early September. A deep well-pulverized soil is what 

 they delight to grow in. but great care should be taken 

 that they do not suiYer for lack of water. But on the other 

 hand, do not over-water. The new positions should be all 

 in readiness before the plants are dug so that the roots will 

 not be long exposed to the air. Plant them firmly and give 

 a clean cut to any of the strong roots, that have been 

 broken in the operation. Conifers as a rule seem to 

 make new roots in September as soon as the ground be- 

 comes moist after the dry weather in Summer. 



The celery will now be growing fast and every en- 

 couragement should be given to it by hoeing often, to 

 keep it free from weeds and to keep the surface of the 

 ground open and loose. An occasional application of fer- 

 tilizer before watering will encourage growth. Before 

 earthing up any, a slight dusting of powdered lime around 

 the plants is beneficial. Spray often to prevent rust. Dust- 

 ing is probably better than spraying for this fungus. Thin 

 out the lettuce. In September a sowing of lettuce may 

 be made in cold frames for later use and if one has plenty 

 of frame space a sowing of beans, beets and carrots can 

 also be made. Sowings of cabbage and cauliflower may 

 be made during the same month to have an early batch in 

 the Spring. Be careful not to allow sowings of beets or 

 anything else to become over-crowded. They will grow 

 much more rapidly ,at this season if given plenty of room. 



Late corn will also need every encouragement to ma- 

 ture. Remove all growths at the base of the plants, and 

 give them plenty cil room. 



Tie up endive at intervals of about ten days, just enough 

 to keep up a succession, as it may go bad by decaying if 

 too much is tied up at any one time. 



Parsley should be transplanted into a cold frame right 

 away, so that protection may be given it when cold nights 

 arrive. Seeds ma_\' be sown for early Spring use. as pars- 

 ley roots that have been grown all Summer will run to 

 seed very early in the Spring. Sow also plenty of Prickly 

 S])inach in vacant places where other crops have been re- 

 moved. 



As soon as the onion crops die down lift them and 

 sjiread them out in the sun to get thoroughly dry before 

 storing them for the Winter. LIse the larger onions first 

 as the small ones keep much better. 



Be sure and sow cover crops on any vacant piece of land 

 that is not required for late crops. When manure is scarce 

 these crops, when plowed under, are a good substitute for 

 barnyard manure, adding humus to the soil. A mixture 

 of Rye and Hairy Vetch may be sown quite late in the 

 season. We shall probably, in the future, have to resort 

 more to this method of supplying the soil with organic 

 matter than in past 3'ears. Already truck gardeners are 

 finding great difficulty in getting enough manure for their 

 needs, the motor vehicles doing away with so many horses. 



Renovating of lawns, if such work is in mind, should 

 be attended to early. Plough as deeply as possible; add 

 plenty of manure and bon,e meal, cultivating thoroughly 

 for some time before re-seeding. This will give the seeds 

 of weeds a chance to germinate and be killed before the 

 lawn is leveled and laid down. 



In the fruit garden it is better to harvest tlie fruit before 

 it gets dead ripe. Peaches, plums, etc., that have to be 

 shipped some distance will arrive in very poor condition if 

 shipped when fully ripe. Apples are also better if gathered 

 before they begin to drop too freely. If a high wind rises 

 as they approach the ripening stage, a heavy loss of fruit 



