2o8 The American Flower Garden 



heart and peonies, to be broken, and countless insignificant 

 seedlings to be sacrificed. Lightly lift off the coarser cover from 

 the plants on a dull, flat potato fork, leaving on only the fine, 

 short part of the manure. Most of the substance washes away 

 into the soil. Plants will quickly push their way through what 

 is not dissolved by rain and overspread it until it is quite con- 

 cealed. The light mulch is found to be beneficial when hot, 

 dry weather comes. In June, after all the plants are well above 

 ground, some voracious ones may require a trowelful of coarse, 

 slowly soluble bone meal mixed through the soil about them, 

 or a few draughts of weak liquid manure just before blooming 

 time. When perennials are covered in winter with litter or leaves 

 which supply no food, it is well to lightly fork in some very old 

 short manure about the roots, where they will not come immedi- 

 ately in contact with it, after all the plants are up in late spring. 



During prolonged drought, when it would be impracticable 

 to soak the whole garden at one time, divide it into sections and 

 thoroughly water one of them each evening at sundown. It is 

 better to give every plant a deep, satisfying drink once a week 

 than to sprinkle them all every night. Sprinkling encourages 

 roots to form near the surface where they are likely to bake. A 

 plant should be induced to root deeply and so become drought 

 resistant. Plants like Japanese irises, larkspurs, chrysanthemums, 

 Canterbury bells, meadow rue, mallows, ferns, and superbum 

 lilies probably never get all the water they really need for their 

 best development in our sun-baked, torrid gardens. Feeding 

 and watering are the essentials of success with perennials. 



Where shall they be planted? Everywhere! Imitate nature 

 and "paint the meadows with delight " if you have no garden. 

 Parkinson societies are greatly needed in our new land to beautify 



