CHAPTER I 

 LISTING, SELECTING AND ORDERING PLANTS 



ALTHOUGH it is necessary to give numerous hints on good 

 maintenance, the work, or, I might more truthfully say, 

 pleasure of providing it is really not such a comprehensive task 

 as it might seem. An old gardener once expressed his idea of success, 

 in a few words, "Look to your garden a while each day and get the 

 weeds while they are young." Thus, if one knows just what to do 

 and when to do it, and does not put it off, the task, which at first might 

 seem huge, becomes a minor one. 



The importance of providing careful direction and guidance in 

 growth cannot be overestimated. All planning is done with an idea 

 in mind. When the idea is carried out in the actual arrangement of 

 land and landscape, the forces of man and nature must combine if the 

 idea and purpose of the design is to be realized. A place carefully 

 planned and laid out never offers the best appearance if it is not 

 properly maintained throughout the year. 



Proper care includes more than keeping things clean and neat, 

 although that is a large part of the work. Proper care includes, also, 

 attention to the things which have to do with the health, gSrowth, and 

 appearance of the plants that they may have the best chance to do the 

 work prescribed for them. 



It is not the purpose here to provide a manual of gardening, but to 

 give those points concerning planting and maintenance which have been 

 found to be most needed or desired by the home owner, and attention 

 to which will insure more than the average success in planting and 

 caring for ornamentals. 



LISTING NEW PURCHASES 



After the plans have been made and the plants specified, the lists 

 for ordering must be prepared. Listing the chosen varieties offers an 

 excuse to ramble through the catalogues to find new friends or old 

 favorites. 



A list for ordering, properly made out, includes: 



1 . The number of plants desired. 



2. The complete Latin or trade name. 



3. The size, grade or age. 



