November, 1915. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Garden Suggestions for November 



255 



THE planting of bulbs for spring 

 blooming should be finished as 

 soon as possible now. Hard, 

 freezing weather may be expected al- 

 most any time, and it is not an easy 

 task to have to dig off a few inches of 

 frozen earth in order to plant the 

 bulbs. 



When planting is completed the 

 autumn cleaning should begin in 

 earnest. Deciduous trees are now 

 shedding their leaves, and in large 

 gardens, where many of these trees are 

 accommodated, it is always a relief 

 when the last of the leaves are down._ 

 The leaves should be gathered, as free 

 from sticks and stones as possible, and 

 stored in an out of the way corner for 

 future use. 



Oak and beech leaves are the best 

 for preparing leaf mould for potting 

 purposes. Elder, Maple, Chestnut, 

 and other leaves are usually raked 

 into heaps and burned. This practice, 

 however, is one we do not advocate. 

 These leaves can be turned into valu- 

 able manure by being mixed with other 

 garden refuse, and allowed to decom- 

 pose. 



A few of the Elder, Maple and Chest- 

 nut leaves mixed among a bulk of 

 others will not be harmful. Some 

 authorities claim that leaves gathered 



Henry Gibson 



in town gardens are not fit to use in 

 preparing leaf-mould for potting pur- 

 poses. This, however, is contrary to 

 our experience, as we never have found 

 them to have a bad effect on plant life. 

 The Wild Garden. 

 As a general rule the wild garden is 

 left to take care of itself. The falling 

 leaves afford fine protection for many 

 of the smaller plants, yet they should 

 not be allowed to congregate in bulk 

 and bury the dwarf plants. Wild 

 gardens are becoming very popular 

 and, inasmuch as it may be described 

 as a cheap form of gardening, they 

 are likely to become more popular still. 

 While it is rather late in the season to 

 think of making additions in the way 

 of trees and shrubs, yet plans could be 

 laid for carrying out this work in the 

 spring. Tn making additions, care 

 should be taken to avoid the creation 

 of a stiff, formal appearance. Straight 

 lines of trees are not desirable, and 

 foot paths should be irregular and 

 winding. A charming path may be 

 made of irregular shaped stones. This 

 could be done now, so long as the 

 ground remains open. Too much care 

 should not be taken in making the 

 stones fit in evenly, as the spaces be- 

 tween them may be filled with soil and 

 planted with alpines. 



Plans can be formulated for plant- 

 ing unshaded positions with rambler 

 roses of the Dorothy Perkins type. 

 They may be had in a variety of shades, 

 and if allowed to roam at will they 

 provide a glorious carpet of color 

 when in bloom. Tree stumps or in- 

 verted tree roots can be used to sup- 

 port roses of the Penzance hybrid 

 class. The strongest varieties should 

 be selected, and although they will re- 

 quire but little attention when once 

 established, it is important that they 

 be planted in good soil. 



Other parts of the wild garden may 

 be adorned by the planting of a few 

 dogwoods, (Cornus Plouida) both pink 

 and white may be used. They form a 

 pleasing contrast when in bloom in the 

 early spring, and they are also desir- 

 able for the display the berries make 

 in the fall. When transplanted the 

 dogwoods are slow to start into 

 growth, but they are very tenacious of 

 life, as what may appear to be a dead 

 tree, will eventually show signs of life. 

 Narcissus may also be used to ad- 

 vantage for producing effect in the 

 wild garden. These should be planted 

 in conspicuous groups, rather than 

 scattered over a larger area. Forget- 

 me-nots are perhaps one of the best 

 subjects for the decoration of the 



The absence of straight lines adds greatly to the beauty of thi.s perennla' border. I'lan now 



for next year's burdi r. 



