The Planting IPlan of a Prize Garden 



THE garden that won the first prize 

 in the horticultural competition in 

 the city of Ottawa in 1914 was 

 owned by Mr. J. B. Spencer. It was a 

 small back yard, thirty-four by sixty feet. 

 In the summer of 1909 it was reclaimed 

 from a low, white sand waste, growing 



At the left hand of the illustration will 

 be noticed a number of rose bushes. In 

 the spring of 1913 a dozen of the choic- 

 est varieties of perjjetual bloomers were 

 secured from Ireland, and a small im- 

 portation was made the following spring. 

 So far, not a plant has been lost, and 



This shows Mr. Spencer's prize-wiinin^ garden as photographed in May, 1914, 



a few scrub willows. That year it was 

 filled in with the best available soil, se- 



cured from cellar excavations. Much ot 

 this, however, was of an exceedingly 

 poor quality. 



In the spring of the following year a 

 perennial border was put in along the 

 west fence, and the remainder was plant- 

 ed with vegetables, with a few sweet 

 p)eas along the eastern fence. In the 

 autumn of that year the owner was re- 

 warded with a second-class medal in the 

 Lady Grey Garden Competition. 



The following year about half the 

 ground was sodded and the remainder 

 laid out according to the plan shown in 

 the illustration. In the autumn, a first- 

 class medal in the Lady Grey Competi- 

 tion was the prize secured. From the 

 beginning of July until frosts came, the 

 table for a family of four was fully sup- 

 plied with green vegetables, and a suffi- 

 cient crop was harvested of carrots, 

 beets, onions and parsnips to last until 

 the following spring. 



In the spring of 1910 an asparagus 

 bed, consisting of three rows twenty feet 

 long, was planted, and, commencing in 

 191 2, the household has each year en- 

 joyed an abundance of this toothsome 

 vegetable. From the beginning, the 

 owner has made a specialty of tomatoes, 

 which are shown in the illustration grow- 

 ing on stakes. About two and a half 

 dozen plants have been grown each year, 

 and have never failed to supply an abund- 

 ance of tomatoes from August until win- 

 ter, besides sufficient for canning to last 

 most of the winter. 



from the middle of June until the frosts 

 have sealed up the ground, there \\ave 

 always been roses to cut for the table. 

 The varieties were recommended by ex- 

 perienced growers, and include Mrs. 

 John Laing, J. B. Clark, Frau Karl 

 Druschki, Clio, Ulrich Brunner, Hugh 

 Dickson, and Alfred Columb. There has 

 also been planted, here and there, climb- 

 ing roses, including Climbing Tausend- 

 schon. Crimson Rambler, Philadelphia 

 Rambler, and a few other well-known 

 sorts. 



The perennial border shown at the 

 right side of the illustration is about five 



feet wide and fifty feet long. It was 

 planted largely from premiums secured 

 from the horticultural society and gifts 

 from gardeners in the neighborhood. 

 After two years this border was seen to 

 be much too thickly planted, and the 

 plan was not satisfactory. In the autumn 

 of 1913 it was completely dug up and 

 laid to one side. The bed was given a 

 heavy coat of well-rotted manure, which 

 was deeply dug in. A plan was then 

 made according to the Experimental 

 Farm border, and last year it was the 

 admiration of all who saw it. 



The border consists of three irregular 

 rows. The row next the fence contains 

 hollyhocks, delphiniums, and perennial 

 heliotrope. These are planted in groups 

 of threes and fours, so as to make in 

 each case a feature. The next irregular 

 row consists largely of the following : 

 Phlox, perennial poppies, iris, anemones, 

 Canterbury bells, Shasta daisies, colum- 

 bine, and sweet william. The low-grow- 

 ing plants in front of and between the 

 rows include daisies, pinks, alyssum, 

 stonecrops, and a number of others. 



In order to maintain a perpetual show 

 of bloom, annuals were planted in vacant 

 places and to succeed early bloomers. At 

 the side of each Oriental poppy was 

 planted two cannas, "Pillar of Fire." 

 Early in the spring a five cent package 

 of Shirley poppies was scattered from 

 end to end of the bed. Here and there 

 were put in small groups of scarlet phlox 

 Drummondi. These several varieties pre- 

 sented a general scarlet glow during the 

 entire season from midsummer to the 

 middle of September. Another plant that 

 was made use of in filling spaces was 

 purple candytuft. This was planted near 

 the border and presented a very striking 

 effect during the latter part of July and 

 August. Bits of sweet alyssum were 



This illustration shows Mr. Spencer's garden as 

 97 



it lookixl in AuffUHt. Soo a4XH)mpaiiyiu^ article. 



