koehler] NATURE-STUDY AND SCHOOL GARDEN 103 



with a neat looking fence and high shrubs just within to keep the 

 garden private, a place in which to entertain visitors, to have 

 outdoor plays, festivals, special games, a place to work in, to 

 beautify, to enjoy, to watch the ways of the birds and all other 

 living things cared for there by the children. 



PLANNING A SCHOOL GARDEN 



The plans for the garden should be the children's work; they 

 should visit various places, in and near the city that are examples 

 of landscape gardening, to get suggestions; they should study 

 such magazines as The Country Gentleman, Country Life in America, 

 The Garden Magazine, garden catalogues, as well as practical 

 books on gardening; they should plan how to keep the garden 

 blooming from early spring until late fall and learn to group flowers 

 for color effects and for plants that bloom at different periods. 

 They should study the enemies of the garden as well as its friends. 

 What are the friendly birds and insects; how do they help us, 

 and how can we help them ? What are the enemies of our garden 

 and how can we best get rid of them ? This will necessitate series 

 of lessons on various weeds to see why they are so sturdy, their 

 harm and how to get rid of them ; or, what birds can we be likely 

 to attract? Why do we want them' How can we keep them 

 happy in our garden? There will also be series of lessons on 

 helpful insects and how they help, a study of their life cycle to see 

 how and when we can best destroy those that are injurious. 



Such a garden would include a study of soils, drainage, and plants 

 adapted to that particular environment, reasons for cultivation of 

 soil, conservation of moisture, etc., all for the purpose of producing 

 the best results in that particular place. It would include familiar- 

 ity with many garden flowers, annuals as well as perennials, 

 shrubs and trees, through selecting and cultivating suitable ones 

 for the school garden. A small greenhouse with potting bench, 

 transplanting facilities, indoor sprouting and forcing of early 

 plants would extend greatly the opportunities for nature-study. 



One progressive course of study suggests that each class choose 

 a class tree to study. This tree studied in its different phases, 

 characteristic shape, fruits, leaves, stages of growth and seasonal 

 changes will make excellent art studies for decorating booklets, 

 making class posters, calendars, and programs for different class 



