THE GARDEN WEEK BY WEEK 

 Jan. they will probably be gathering flowers in October (the 

 Rose is very nearly an all-the-year-round plant nowa- 

 days), and certainly they will be planting in November. 



Mainly about Seeds 



January is rarely an active month in the garden. It 

 is a month of preparation rather than of active work. It 

 is the great seed-buying month. The last batch of New 

 Year Cards has hardly finished fluttering through the 

 door than the heavy thud of the catalogues begins. The 

 minor writer quivers at the thumps in the letter-box ; 

 they so often mean returned manuscripts. But the 

 garden-lover rejoices in them. He pores over the 

 descriptions of new plants. He gloats over the beautiful 

 pictures. 



Old garden stagers never delay despatching their 

 seed order until the Spring. They have learned from 

 experience that they are never quite safe unless they get 

 the seed early and keep it by them. Weather vagaries 

 have to be reckoned with. If amateurs sometimes have 

 to lag behind the calendar they can sometimes anticipate 

 it. Let me give an illustration. 



I am presently going to say that a person who has a 

 warm, sheltered place in the garden may sow green Peas 

 in the latter half of February. That is quite the orthodox 

 thing. But if there is snow on the ground he will not 

 act until it has gone, and that may mean sowing in 

 March. Supposing that at the end of January the 

 weather is mild, and the soil dry enough to crumble 

 freely, is there any serious objection to anticipating the 

 calendar by a whole month ? There is not. If the 

 favourable conditions for sowing come, and the grower 

 has the seed by him, let him take the risk with a light 



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