102 i tj \. :*' 'I- 1 - ."GmroRN/A GARDEN FLOWERS 



and trust the soft tissue to make better new ones for itself. Some 

 growers do best with tip cuttings the top six or eight inches of the 

 new shoot planted two thirds of its length in the ground, but the lower 

 parts of the sterns also do well. For grand color effects in the Cali- 

 fornia open-air garden all through the autumn and early winter, the 

 chrysanthemum has no rival. 



Pinch the early bloom-shoots out of new carnation plants; it will 

 cause them to grow more stocky for later bloom. 



Start new plants of herbaceous annuals and perennials for fall 

 blooming. Seed sown so late in the open ground should be lightly 

 covered with litter to keep the soil-surface moist. 



Dahlia tubers may be planted out for early fall bloom. 



Vines should be watched and undesirable shoots shortened or 

 pinched out. 



Smilax should be shooting new growth. Cut away all the old 

 growth, cover the roots with a dressing of well rotted manure, water 

 well and string up the new growth before it gets tangled badly. 



Keep the sweet peas .from making pods if you desire continuous 

 bloom. Mulch the surface to keep the roots in moist soil and water 

 well. Drench the foliage well to keep down red spider. Keep the spent 

 pansies picked and prevent seed-formation. 



House plants should be watched against drying out for summer 

 evaporation is beginning. 



See that the whitewash is in good shape on the green house and 

 frame sashes. 



JUNE. 



The chief June task of the novice in California gardening is to get 

 wisdom about the use of water. The long, dry season lights its torch 

 even amid the brilliance of the early summer bloom and will scorch 

 the blossoms and sere the lawn almost before the gardener is assured 

 of its approach. To prolong the early bloom and to maintain thrift 

 in the late-blooming plants, June work must be earnestly pursued. Its 

 first essential is to maintain vigorously the deep and fine tilth of the 

 surface soil which was enjoined for May; the second is to use water 

 wisely. 



Two things rule in the garden use of water; quantity and method 

 of application and they rule jointly; neither can displace the other 

 without reducing desirable effects. The whole truth about it would 

 require a treatise, but -a few hints may be helpful. The safest thing 

 to do first is to knock a hole in the bottom of the eastern watering-pot: 

 it will look just as well that way in a picture and that is about the only 

 use for it in California. Let the watering-pot perish because it pro- 

 duces an impression of wetness without the substance thereof. The 



