BETTER GARDENS— HOW ARE WE TO GET THEM? 



Fig. 1978. "Terraces and Stairways." 

 Italian Garden Near Rome. 



grown. It has a nice yellow flower, very 

 like the sunflower, and its roots make one 

 of the best veg"etable products that we have. 

 Once put them in and they 

 are so prolific that you will 

 never be able to get rid of them 

 should you want to do so. 

 Freezing does them no harm, 

 and if cooked for a long while 

 their flavor is almost unsur- 

 passed. Used raw they are an 

 exceedingly economical food 

 for hogs. The asparagus will 

 be most ornamental if the 

 stalks are allowed to grow 

 the latter part of the season, 

 though the yield of the bed 

 next year will not be as good. 

 Grape vines are a very taking' 

 ornament for the walls of a 

 house. 



Another line along which we might work 

 is that of economy of labor. Let us not ^o 

 on planting annuals year after year where 

 perennials will do. Nor let us buy foreign 

 novelties where native trees and plants 

 would be better. The catalpa tree is being 

 widely planted now, but although its leaves 

 and blossoms are beautiful, it is until the 

 beginning of July an unsightly stick in the 

 garden. Our native elm has much more 

 graceful lines, and the scarlet maple and the 

 mountain ash give finer color effects. The 

 most satisfactory shrubs for the garden-are 

 the old favorites. The Forsythias are es- 

 pecially desirable on account of their early 

 bloom. The Japan quince, Tartarian honey- 

 suckle, Thunburg's barberry, are all good 

 shrubs. We would call attention to the var- 

 iegated elder, with its white and green leaves, 

 as being- perhaps the most elegant of all our 

 shrubs. It is hardy, and can be had at a 

 very low price. Wild flowers can be ob- 

 tained by any one, and coming into flower 

 a little earlier in the garden than they do in 

 the woods, g^ive pleasure in the first spring 

 days. Large clumps of red and white tril- 

 liums are ver\- effective if grown side by 

 side. 



Fig. 1979. " Formal Garden." 

 Garden at Hampton Court, England. 



