THE GARDEN OF AN AMATEUR FLOWER GROWER. 



J 07 



which I think make a very attractive and 

 permanent border." 



A GREAT DIFFICULTY. 

 " The greatest difficulty many amateur 

 flower growers have with their gardens," 

 continued Mr. Whyte, " is to decide how to 

 arrange their perennials and their annuals 

 so as to ensure a constant succession of 

 bloom. It is not good gardening to have a 

 bare spot in the garden at any time. I have 

 succeeded in overcoming this difficulty fair- 

 ly well. Some advise using nothing but per- 



One of the Paths and Arbors in Mr. Whyte's Garden. 



This cut shows one of the long paths. The arbor is made of cedar poles and is covered with grape 

 vines. In the foreground is a white phlox. 



ennials, but I prefer to mix my annuals 

 among my perennials to keep up the bloom. 



" Visitors to my garden sometimes re- 

 mark, ' What a lot of work it must be to look 

 after so many flowers.' My reply is that if 

 it was work I would not undertake it, but as 

 it is a pleasure I enjoy it and wish I could 

 do more. I manage to do the bulk of the 

 digging, but in the spring I have to secure 

 a little help to get things ready in time for 

 planting. During the summer the only as- 

 sistance I require is to cut the grass, as that 

 is a job I do not attempt. 



" I use two hand implements, which are a 

 great help in the care of the garden ; in fact, 

 I would not know what to do without 



them. In cleaning the paths and working 

 among the plants I use a Dutch hoe. An 

 improved form, the crescent hoe, does even 

 better work, as it cuts both ways. With 

 it I can cover a large surface of ground with 

 small effort. The smaller tool is of great 

 assistance for weeding purposes, as with it 

 the weeds can be removed from around the 

 plants without injuring them, and at the 

 same time the soil is stirred up. Much 

 more work can be done with this little im- 

 plement than with the hands, and the an- 

 noyance of soil- 

 ing the hands is 

 avoided. 



" Long ago I 

 found that if I 

 was to succeed 

 with my garden a 

 vigorous fight 

 must be main- 

 t a i n e d against 

 weeds. This fight 

 has to be contin- 

 ued all season, but 

 is the most exact- 

 ing during June 

 and July. If the 

 weeds are kept 

 under control dur- 

 ing these months 

 they do not cause much trouble during the 

 remainder of the season. 



" Every year I like to experiment with 

 different varieties of fruits and flowers, and 

 in this way succeed in finding many that are 

 specially well adapted to eastern Ontario." 



" How do you manage to maintain the 

 fertility of your garden?" Mr. Whyte was 

 asked. 



" My stable yields about 25 cart loads of 

 manure a year, and I buy about 10 more," 

 replied Mr. Whyte. " I also use wood 

 ashes, but find it difficult to secure enough. 

 Every second year I obtain about 25 bushels 

 of ashes. The greater part of the ferti- 

 lizers are used for the small fruits and the 



