IN THE MAKING 25 



placing the hose nozzle between the tines and allowing 

 it to remain in one spot for several hours. In dry 

 weather it takes two or three days to get all round the 

 garden but the effect is lasting, and when this method is 

 used the watering may be done in full sunshine without 

 injury to the plants. 



The soil of the beds and borders should be kept well 

 stirred always, as this not only conserves the moisture 

 but does much toward discouraging weeds. We always 

 stir the soil after a heavy rain, for the soil is then most 

 apt to form a hard crust. 



After the garden has been made for a year or two, 

 some renovation will be required each succeeding year. 

 This is best done in the autumn. The large spreading 

 clumps of plants need to be lifted and divided and the 

 soil enriched, and this, with the beds and borders full of 

 bulbs and the ground between the larger plants pretty 

 well carpeted with creeping things, is rather difficult. 

 Each fall we decide upon a certain section of the garden 

 to be "done over," then in early October we take every- 

 thing out of that section except shrubs and climbers. 

 The bulbs are dug up carefully and laid in piles on 

 the garden-house porch and labelled, and the plants 

 are also taken up, divided, and set in the shade. The 

 space is then well spaded and a quantity of well-rotted 

 manure, with a generous supply of wood ashes, is in- 

 corporated with the soil. When the surface is raked 

 smooth, we replace the disturbed inhabitants, adding 



