JULY PROBLEMS 101 



to suffer somewhat. In time of drought the garden 

 assumes an air of passive endurance; one does not feel 

 the growing and blowing, and while there may be plenty 

 of bloom, it appears to be produced without enthusiasm 

 and quite lacks the spontaneous exuberant quality that 

 one is conscious of in the earlier year. Then must we 

 stir the soil assiduously to conserve what little moisture 

 there may be left and water whenever that may be done 

 thoroughly, as surface wettings do more harm than 

 good. 



Hardly less painful to the plants are the electric 

 storms with twisting, devastating winds and pounding 

 rains, and woe to the gardener who has not done his 

 staking in season and with intelligence! A prostrate 

 garden is his bitter portion, and not all the king's horses 

 and all the gardeners in the world can repair the broken 

 stalks of Larkspur and Hollyhock, raise up the crushed 

 masses of Coreopsis, Gypsophila, and Anthemis, or mend 

 the snapped stems of lovely Lilies. A storm, such as we 

 are all familiar with, can do damage in half an hour that 

 we, even with Nature's willing cooperation, may not re- 

 pair in many weeks. But with faithful cultivation, in- 

 telligent watering and staking, and a knowledge of the 

 plants at one's command, much may be done to avert 

 calamity and to make this month a month as full of in- 

 terest and beauty as the gay seasons past and to come. 



Tall spires of Larkspur are still reaching skyward 

 when July comes in. Sweet Williams, Coreopsis, Scar- 



