ictober, 1916. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



243 



October Precautions and Preparations for Winter 



% /| ORE important gardenrng oppar- 



yI tunities are missed between 



September 15th and October 



"ith than at any other time in the 



-ear. Spring has its own particular 



us^h of seeding and planting. Three- 



inirths of all other planting can be 



lone as well or better in the fall. Save 



1 year in the development of your 



^I'ounds by planting permanently 



laffodils, darwin tulips, paeonies, and 



'ies. You will probably save that 



iieh time by planting trees and shrubs 



his fall. The chances are that, if you 



I'nve their planting until spring, you 



11 't plant at all — you will be too 



Misy. 



The fall is the be.st time to perfect 

 vowr perennial border, by rearranging, 

 multiplying, and buying new plants 

 (vhen there is a better assortment to 

 shoose from. Enjoy your garden longer 

 this year by having a lot of old boxes, 

 barrels, and matting to throw over the 

 vegetables and flowei's to keejj frost 

 out. Before frost comes, pull up the 

 tomatoes by the roots, fruit' and all, and 

 hang them in the cellar or outhouse. 

 Tomaitoes, like pears, have a better 

 flavor when ripened on the shelf or in 

 the cellar. You can gain a month on 

 spinach by sowing seed outdoor:- now. 

 Mulch tiie little plants toward the end 

 of November. Treat pnnsies the same 

 A crop will be ready about the end of 

 April. 



Having secured your bulbs for the 

 garden, buy half a dozen bulb pans and 

 plant some of each variety of bulbs for 

 winter blooming in the house Mulch 

 everytJiing you plant in the garden, but 

 not until the ground is frozen. Prune 

 all .<ihrubs that need shaping up, f nd 

 bush fruits to a few strong shoots, cut- 

 ting about three feet long. Bring hy- 

 '' niigeas and oleamders that have been 

 tubs into a dry cool cellar for the 

 r winter and trim them into shape. 

 The pro'per time to take up gladoli, 

 dahlias, cannas, and tuberous begonias 

 l' is when the tops are killed with frost. 

 i Put them in a dry, frost-proof cellar, 

 ; giving the canna a little more attention 

 ' by leaving the earth on the roots and 

 ; keeping it a little warmer than the 

 ; others. 



' The old-fashioned way of covering 



: rose bushes with straw and manure for 



' the winter is not the correct method. 



; Prom long experience I find that draAv- 



; ing the earth up around them five or 



six inehe^s is not only the easiest but the 



surest way of protecting them. The 



climbers may be bagged or tied up with 



straw, but will do just as well without 



any protection, unless they have been 



planted in the fall, when they will 



Geo. Baldwin, F.R.H.S , Toronto, Ont. 



need some protection. For the district 

 of Toronto, the spring is the best time 

 to plant or transplant any kind of rose. 

 Give the celery -its final earthing up 

 now, and have some boards amd straw 

 handy for frost protection. Ground 

 that has been occupied by garden crops 

 is best thoroughly dug in the fall and 

 manure added. Do not break the clods ; 

 simply turn them upside down on top of 

 the manure you have trenched in. This 

 exposes them to the frost, and to conse- 

 quent aeration during the winter. The 

 strength of the manure will have be- 

 come incorporated with the soil under- 



neath. The following spring, such 

 soils will be found to work well, and 

 may be prepared for any desired crop 

 by levelling down and scattering on 

 broadcast slaked lime and powdered 

 sulphur for cutworms and grubs. 



Have a general clean up, burning 

 everything that will burn before the 

 snow flies. If you have time, it would 

 be just as well to have all materials 

 necessary for making the hot-bed ready 

 to make an early start in the spring. 

 Cut and bum the tops of asparagus. 

 Remake the rhubarb bed if two or three 

 years old. It will pay to do so. 



What Bulbs to Grow 



1?. G. Henders in, Montreal, Que. 



Crocuses are essential if the garden 

 is to be enjoyed to the full in the 

 spring. They can, moreover, be used 

 either in beds in borders, in grass, or 

 in pots for the house. Crocuses in 

 pots should be planted close together, 

 and the pots plunged outside until 

 growth begins. Twelve cents will pur- 

 chase sufficient for two pots. Snow- 

 drops undoubtedly look best in clumps 

 under trees and in grass. Snowdrops, 

 crocuses and narcissi show to much 

 greater advantage where the ground is 

 slightly imdulatijig, and those who are 

 fortunate enough to possess a semi- 

 wild spot, opportunities offer them- 

 selves for producing delightful effects. 



Nor must we overlook other kinds of 

 bulbs merely because they do not hap- 



pen to be quite so well known. For 

 those who have a glass house or winter 

 garden I would recommend a few bulbs 

 of the Freesias. They are not costly, 

 running to about five cents each. The 

 flowers grow on stems about eighteen 

 inches high and are about two inches 

 long with a strong perfume. They are 

 pure Avhite, with some yellow in the 

 centre. 



The scillas are a large family, and 

 should be given a place in every wild 

 garden. An early kind is Scilla bifolia, 

 flowering about March. Another, per- 

 haps better known, is S. Sibiriea, of a 

 bright blue color, which does matuifi- 

 cently for pots. Scattered about 

 amongst .'-nowdrops they give a charm- 

 ing effect. 



This .shows how flowers brighten the backyard of Mr. R, A. Fletcher, 144 Rowland Ave., 



Toronto, Ont. 



