vanburen] a grand RAPIDS SCHOOL GARDEN 97 



At the back of the garden we have a long row of hollyhocks, 

 golden glow and fleur-de-lis, and as each blooms in turn, it forms 

 a splendid mass of color extending across the garden's entire 

 width. At the south side we planted our shrubs that came from 

 the grounds of the old building. A number of these were the 

 snowberry bushes and they were particularly beautiful last fall. 

 In front of the shrubs are tulips, crocuses and narcissus. Vines 

 were planted to cover the wire fence and rows of sunflowers 

 were placed outside. 



Our dahlias, gladioli and cannas were all carefully lifted 

 by the janitor and children and stored away in the basement 

 ready for spring. 



BULBS. 



Two years ago we began raising bulbs in the winter. These 

 were purchased by the Civic Health and Beauty Committee of 

 one of our literary clubs and came from Holland. They were 

 fine large bulbs and were sold to the chil- 

 dren for a small sum. We had a florist 

 come to school and explain the method of 

 raising them. We potted the crocuses, 

 hyacinths and tulips in pots solicited from 

 my friends, many of whom were glad to 

 get rid of them. A junk dealer in the 

 neighborhood gave me thirty or forty pots 

 and he was remembered when the bulbs 

 were in bloom. The children brought very 

 few of them. When the supply was ex- 

 hausted we used chalk boxes, cheese boxes, In Bloom. Feb. 20, 1912. 

 anything we could get. A trench was dug 



in the garden, lined with boards, filled with several inches of dirt 

 and left until the first of February. When that time came the 

 pots were brought into the house and placed in a cool dark room 

 for two weeks and occasionally watered. Many of the bulbs 

 had grown an inch or more. The tulips we learned, should be 

 kept in a cool place until the leaves were well developed; other- 

 wise the buds blasted. They were gradually brought into a 

 warmer, lighter place and watered more frequently in order to 

 have them in bloom at a desired time. Keeping them longer in 

 a cool place delays the blossoming. We found they thrived bet- 

 ter if kept in a sand table in several inches of sand. 



WINTER EXHIBITS. 



For two years we have had a bulb exhibit in the Assembly 



