THE BACK-YARD GARDEN. 



^>TT^HERE is a great deal to be 

 learned about the possibilities 

 of the little city back-yard, 

 which is usually the most bar- 

 ren of places. Not a tree or plant, not 

 even a decent lawn, bearc evidence to 

 any taste on the part of the occupant 



n numerous instances, especially if he 



s "only a tenant." 

 When one stops to consider how lit- 



le the expenditure would be to get a 

 few grape vines, or ornamental climbers 

 to cover the barren walls, a few orna- 

 mental shrubs, or fruitful dwarf pears to 

 hide the ugly fence, and a few narcissi, 

 paeonies, or other hardy perennials to 

 ornament the borders of the walk, surely 

 no tenant need to live without the lux- 

 ury of an attractive as well as profitable 

 garden, a place to develop his taste, and 

 at the same time develop his physical 

 being. The illustration is from Garden- 

 ing, and shows a back garden belonging 

 to Dr. Gates, of Colorado Springs, Col. 

 No one can look at this picture with- 

 out remembering Alfred Austin's charm- 

 ing expression, " The moment I enter a 

 garden I know at once whether it is the 

 owner's garden, or the gardener's gar 

 den. Nearly all large and costly gar- 

 dens are gardeners' gardens, and on my 

 part I would not take them as a gift." 

 It is easily seen that this plot of ground 

 receives the personal care of its owners, 

 who tend to it with loving interest, and 



whose attentions are amply repaid by 

 the wealth of bloom it produces. 



Here in a climate where the hot dry 

 sun burns the petals of gladioli and 

 other flowers, so that it is necessary to 

 fasten cheese-cloth over them at times, 

 and where unusual care is required in 

 watering, we find a spot that otherwise 

 would be bare and unsightly, " blossom- 

 ing like the rose." Why is this? It is 

 because the owner possesses a love for 

 the inmates of his garden, and attends 

 to them personally. Anyone having a 

 plot of ground at their command can 

 have the same luxuriance of growth in 

 it, the same healthful out-door pleasure 

 that this gentleman evidently enjoys in 

 the care and maintenance of his garden, 

 if they so desire. A few seeds, a small 

 outlay for perennials, a spade and weed- 

 ing tools, a little patience and energy 

 and a desire to do, all backed by a love 

 for it, will soon produce a floral mine 

 whose dividends can be depended upon. 



The illustration shows about one-fifth 

 of the entire garden. Here, Rudbeckia 

 Golden Glow, a moisture-loving plant, 

 that under ordinary care attains a height 

 of about six feet, grows nearly ten feet, 

 requiring the lady picking its flowers to 

 use an eight-foot step-ladder. If every 

 back-yard in this great country of ours 

 were like this one, our nation would be 

 a much happier one. 



The Ox-eve. — This introduced weed, 

 against the spread of which an attempt 

 was recently made to induce the Penn- 

 sylvania legislature to issue an " act," 

 is getting so popular with florists, that 



they will soon have to be " protected," 

 rather than legislated out of existence. 

 The French are also fond of it. They 

 call it the common Margaret. — Garden 

 Magazine. 



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