LAWN AND FLOWER GARDEN 105 



lonely spot and add much of beauty and brightness to 

 our surroundings. The flower garden may be composed 

 of a few little plants growing by the cottage door, a 

 single bed in the lawn in front of the house, a part of the 

 vegetable garden set aside for flowers, or a large and 

 pretentious space occupied by many of the pet flowers 

 of the family, and from which an abundance of blos- 

 soms may .be gathered to decorate the dining-table or 

 the various rooms of the house when desired, or for sale 



(Fig- 32). 



As with most of the farm and garden crops, much of 

 the success in flower growing depends upon the nature 

 and richness of the soil. The land should be well under- 

 drained if wet, and be made rich by working in fine 

 stable manure, leaf mould or other organic matter. If 

 the flower garden or beds are under large trees, much 

 difficulty will be experienced in preventing their roots 

 from taking up all the moisture and plant food we may 

 apply. This can only be prevented by cutting off every 

 year or two, with a sharp spade, the fine fibrous roots 

 that work up into the beds, and replacing the soil thus 

 taken with rich loam and manure. In this way we may 

 hope to have a good show of annual plants or Dutch 

 bulbs even under the dense shade of the elm, the most 

 avaricious feeder of all our ornamental trees. 



Wild Flowers Upon The Lawn. 



While in the country we find almost everywhere an 

 abundance of wild flowers, many of the most beautiful 

 of these are seldom seen, though they may be success- 

 fully transplanted to our grounds and gardens. 



Thus in a rocky, shaded place in a rather moist soil, 

 or under the shade of trees, we may grow the blood-root 

 (Sanguinaria) , the wake-robins (Trillum), hooded vio- 

 lets, ferns, etc. Upon rocks in springy soil we will be 



