70 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



February. 



THE COMPLETE GARDEN.* 



BY A WELL-KNOWN HORTICtTLTXmiST. 

 II. 



Besides the kinds of soil referred to one very 

 commonly met with is the gravelly soil, so 

 called from the presence in it of numerous 

 small stones or pebbles. The gravel of such does 

 not enhance its value for gardening purposes, 

 excepting in some degree to perform a mechan- 



to such vital matters as healthfulness of local- 

 ity, comfort, beauty of surrounding scenery, 

 etc. It is obvious that these are entirely sep- 

 arate and distinct from the question as to 

 whether the soil is, or is not fit to support plant 

 Ufe. Indeed it usually is the case that the 

 I most naturally fertile soils are found in low- 

 ' lands, the place of all others most unfit for the 

 home of man. 



Other things being equal, one should choose 



Garden. Sunken Fence artd Boundary. OuUumj Umdscupe. 



MAKING THE MOST OF CIRCUMSTANCES BY SEEMINGLY EXTENDING THE GARDEN. 



ical duty, by separating its parts, promoting 

 drainage and by holding in storage solar heat. 

 If the percentage of gravel be great, it is liable 

 to be ahnost valueless for cultivation, but should 

 it contain only a moderate proportion of gravel 

 stones, it may be fertile, easy of tillage and in 

 every way desirable. The poorer kinds o£ gravel 

 soU usually overlay subsoils, which come nearer 

 being gravel beds than anything to which can 

 be applied the term soil. When the testing 

 pits reveal such subsoils, leave the land alone 

 for garden purposes. 



But one may possess groimds having build- 

 ings and other improvements the soil of which 

 is not very serviceable for a garden. It does not 

 necessarily foUow, such being the case, that 

 nothing satisfactory can be done with it. Poor 

 soil presents serious diawbacks, but by bring- 

 ing time, skillful cultm-e, and other recog- 

 nized methods of improvement to beai', even a 

 soU somewhat inferior in character may be so 

 ameliorated as to offer some chance for raising 

 fair garden products. Of course the smaller 

 the garden the less discouraging the work of 

 undertaking to improve a poor soil. 



If its natm-e is that of a stubborn clay, 

 by the incorporation of sand, loam, lime, 

 coal ashes, cinders and manure deeply into 

 the surface stratum, and also by deep culture 

 even below this line, as weU as proper under- 

 draining, such a soil may be rendered capable 

 of meeting the needs of many plants. Is the 

 soil the reverse of this, being too sandy or 

 gravelly, the addition of vegetable matter in the 

 form of leaf mold from the woods, tm'fy loam, 

 manm'e, peat, marl, or even by introducing 

 into it a certain proportion of clay, as improv- 

 ing agents, there will be a decided change for 

 the better. With poor soils capable of being 

 improved must be classed those worn out soils, 

 which once were of good quality for support- 

 ing crops and trees, but which have been ex- 

 hausted of the requisite quantity of plant food. 

 It is possible to make such again fertile by the 

 application of manure and good tillage, but it 

 would be neither a quick nor an inexpensive 

 operation. 



Beside these suggestions, however, stands 

 out boldly the fact, which must never be 

 lost sight of, that all such methods ai-e neces- 

 sarily costly. It is always a great gain to start 

 the garden on a soil of the best chaiacter, re- 

 quiring no such special treatment. In garden- 

 ing on organically bad but improved laud, 

 whilst a certain degree of success may be at- 

 tained, one must, on the other hand, be pre- 

 pared for being shut off from many of the finer 

 enjoyments of which a garden complete is cap- 

 able of affording. 



SITUATION, SUEBOUNDINGS, ETC. 

 The garden in which the majority of people 

 are interested is the plot of ground which is 

 the seat of the home. Important as is the 

 matter of the soil to the place, there are other 

 elements which should not be ignored. I refer 



* Copyright, 1887, by Popular Gardening Publishing Co. 



neither the highest or lowest points for estab- 

 lishing the complete home garden. Land 

 gently rolling is more desirable than that 

 which is level, not only because it is di-ier nat- 

 urally, but because its surface even when 

 unadorneti presents a more pleasing a-spect and 

 variation of lines to the eye that count for 

 much in the making of a beautiful place. The 

 home plot when level should be capable of be- 

 ing rendered dry by underdrainage. 



The question of an abundant water supply 

 for the garden is a great one. Without doubt 

 the ideal garden should be situated on the 

 banks (provided not too low) of a lake, river 

 or creek. There should at least be a strong 

 rill passing within its borders. In addition 

 to the mere superficial beauty of living water 

 scenery associated with a garden, the presence 

 of water lines permits of the culture of 

 numerous aquatic and sub-aquatic plants, 

 something very desirable, but which, without 

 the.se, would be nearly impossible. 



Still the greater number of homes cannot 

 have attached to them the highest type of a 

 garden here suggested. In such cases there 



THE JESSIE STRAWBERRY.— SEE NEXT PAGE. 



should at least be provisions for a fau- arti- 

 ficial supply from one or more wells on the 

 grounds. This being adequate, the employ- 

 ment of wind or steam to raise the water into 

 tanks at a suitable height for distribution, by 

 means of pipes and hose throughout the 

 grounds, would tend to make the absence of 

 natui-al supplies less felt. In any event, to 

 have at one's command, at all seasons, an 

 abundance of water for use is a most impor- 

 tant factor in conducting a complete garden. 



The general character of the surrounding 

 country should receive due consideration in 

 selecting a site for the home garden. If the 

 neighborhood is rich in woody growths, and 

 especially if large trees of vaiious kinds 

 abound, this in itself would be an index of the 

 natural fertility of the soil. The presence of 



such growths outside of our garden lines should 

 be a living incentive to our best efforts within. 

 The missionary attempt of beautifying a des- 

 ert region by planting a fine garden in the 

 midst of it, when other localities garden-like 

 in themselves coidd be chosen,^is certainly not 

 to be advised. 



It is hardly possible in ordinary sized orna- 

 mental gardens to secure that appearance of 

 breadth and extent which is one of the great- 

 est charms of large parks and landscapes. This 

 being evident, we must either confine our- 

 selves to our i-estricted possessions, or bring 

 into use contiguous views and scenery. I 

 would particularly mention those cases where 

 beyond the garden boundary, either adjacent 

 or more remote, there may be beautiful land- 

 scapes, hills, water, etc., the views of which 

 could be made to do service to our own possess- 

 ions. Let me instance a pleasing meadow 

 supporting some trees and other growths and 

 lying just beyond the boimdary of the garden. 



In the engraving herewith I show how, by 

 means of a depression (which should be five or 

 six feet deep) just within the garden line, and 

 in which the outside fence should be located 

 with its top below the general line, such a 

 meadow in a certain sense could be appropriated 

 to the garden. As is seen by the line of sight 

 extending from the portico of the house to the 

 ground beyond the boundary line, this fence 

 would not be visible fi'om that point, and to 

 the casual view it would appear as though the 

 lawn surface extended from the house to the 

 1 very farthest point in one unbroken line. If 

 this outside territory was a pastui'e lot or a 

 meadow having a not particularly fine appear- 

 ance when closely examined, distance would so 

 lend enchantment, that as an apparent continu- 

 ation of the garden, the effect might still be all 

 that could be desired. Let the reader imagine 

 in our engraving the advantage of such an ex- 

 tended vista as seen from this side of the house, 

 as compared with the same broken off by 

 an ordinary fence above the surface of the 

 ground on the boundary of the garden spot. 



This plan could often be made to afford the 

 means of adding greatly to the appearance of 

 the extent of grounds at a moderate cost. 



SHELTER BELTS. 



Unless fairly sheltered from severe winds, 

 a garden cannot be considered complete. At- 

 mosphere in motion, when not too violent, 

 is beneficial to most growing things, hence gar- 

 dens, and especially the smaller ones which are 

 closed in by buildings or high walls, are not 

 capable of yielding the best results. Where 

 winds ai-e fierce and frequent, unless their force 

 is subdued by masses of wood or other baniers, 

 the list of plants that can be well gi-own in 

 their path is comparatively small. In good 

 soil, the question of establishing wind-breaks 

 of living trees to soon have them of an effective 

 size is not an impracticable one. The quick 

 gi'owing Conifers are the best trees for this 

 purpose, as they advance rapidly in rich well- 

 tilled soil, and their growth is the heaviest neai' 

 the ground where the barrier is most needed. 

 Being for the most part evergreen, they afford 

 an equal degree of shelter in the winter as at 

 other times. 



The most approved method of planting 

 shelter belts, where space is ample, is in lines, 

 and several of them, the trees being set alter- 

 nately. My plan would be to plant either two 

 or three rows. If the foi'mer, my choice of 

 varieties would be the Norway Spruce for one 

 line and the White or Austrian Pine for the 

 other. If three rows, the third one might be 

 that quick grower, the European Larch. I 

 would have the rows four or moie feet apait, 

 with the ti-ees four feet in the row. Later on, 

 I would remove about one-half of the trees, oi' 

 more, to prevent undue crowding. If in some 

 places the wind-break met, or was widened out 

 to form masses of varying size, the effect would 

 be all the better. In other places, and espec- 

 ially in the direction from which baish winds 



