Book of Gardens 



101 



March 



THE GARDENER'S CALENDAR 



Third Month 



Now is the time to 

 start putting in cut- 

 tings of the bedding 

 plants 



The manure mulch 



on the lawn shoidd 



be raked tip and 



carted aisav 



^fft 



Barrels or tall bas- 

 kets placed over the 

 rhubarb will make 

 better stalks 



SUNDAY 



30. Most or 

 the diseases to 

 which potatoes 

 are heir are 

 caused by dry. 

 hot weather. 

 Potatoes like 

 cool, moist soil. 

 Prepare a piece 

 of ground and 

 plant them 

 now. or as soon 

 as the soil can 

 be worked. An 

 early start 

 makes success. 



2. All the 

 necessary 

 pruning must 

 be attended to 

 now. Foliage 

 trees and 

 shrubs, all the 

 Ilowering types 

 that blossom 

 on the term- 

 inals or the 

 new growth, 

 such as roses 

 and fruits of all 

 khids re((Uire 

 attention. 



0. WTiere 

 absolutely ne- 

 cessary, bay 

 trees, hydran- 

 geas and other 

 ornamental 

 plants should 

 be re-tubbed. 

 Others nan be 

 re-fertilized bv 

 digging out 

 some of the old 

 soil with a 

 trowel and fill- 

 ing in with a 

 rich mixture. 



16. Specimen 

 trees of all 

 types that are 

 not crowing 

 satisfacturil y 

 can be invigor- 

 aied by cutting 

 a treneli en- 

 tirely around 

 the tree about 

 four feet 

 from the trunk 

 and lining it in 

 with good lirh 

 earth well 

 tamped down. 



23 All the 

 various garden 

 tools will soon 

 be in use regu- 

 larly. Are they 

 in proper con- 

 dition? Good 

 work is impos- 

 sible with poor 

 or dull tools. 

 Go over all the 

 implements, 

 removing any 

 rust and sharp- 

 ening the 

 cutting edges. 



MONDAY 



31, Rhubarb 

 should now be 

 showing some 

 growth. Bar- 

 rels placed over 

 the plants will 

 give earlier and 

 better stalks. 

 Beds that were 

 not mulched 

 should have a 

 good applica- 

 tion of manure 

 dug into them 

 at about this 

 time. 



3. Chrysan- 

 themums for 

 next fall must 

 be propagated 

 now. If the 

 space Is avail- 

 able it is a good 

 practice to put 

 in a batch of 

 cuttings every 

 four weeks un- 

 til June to as- 

 sure a long 

 period of 

 bloom In the 

 autumn. 



10. Cannas, 

 especially the 

 newer or better 

 types, should 

 be divided by 

 cutting the 

 eyes separate- 

 ly. They can 

 then be rooted 

 by placing in 

 sharp sand, or 

 they may be 

 potted up in a 

 very light soil 

 mixture if you 

 prefer. 



17. This is 

 the time to 

 think of flowers 

 for next winter 

 in the green- 

 house. Primula 

 of the Chinese 

 or Obconica 

 type, cyclamen 

 and antirrhin- 

 um are three of 

 the best sorts. 

 They should he 

 started from 

 seed now under 



24. The top 

 protection on 

 the rose bushes 

 can now be re- 

 moved; dig the 

 winter mulch 

 of manure well 

 under. A lib- 

 eral applica- 

 tion of bone 

 meal to the soil 

 will produce 

 worth-while re- 

 sults during the 

 flowering sea- 

 son. 



TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 



This calendar of the gardener*s labors is 

 aimed as a reminder for undertaking all his 

 tasks in season. It is fitted to the latitude 

 of the Middle States, but its service should 

 be available for the whole country if it be 

 remembered that for every one hundred 

 miles north or south there is a difference 

 of from five to seven days later or earlier 

 in performing garden operations. The 

 dates given are, of course, for an average 

 season. 



4. Asparagus 

 is one vege- 

 table that 

 starts growth 

 very early, so 

 dig the winter 

 mulch under 

 now. hill up the 

 rows on the old 

 plantings, and 

 apply salt lib- 

 erally to the 

 bed. New 

 plantings 

 should be 

 started now. 



5. All new 

 plantings of 

 hardy stock 

 must be set 

 out. The earlier 

 in the planting 

 season this is 

 done the less 

 losses you will 

 have. Just as 

 soon as the 

 frost leaves the 

 ground is the 

 proper time for 

 work of this 

 sort. 



11. Sowing 

 of all the more 

 common types 

 of annual flow- 

 ers should be 

 attended to 

 now. Asters, 

 zinnias, calen- 

 dula, balsams, 

 salvia. mari- 

 gold, scabiosa, 

 pansies. stocks, 

 etc.. are some 

 of the many 

 varieties that 

 may be planted. 



IS. Before 

 the buds burst 

 on the de-^idu- 

 ous trees and 

 shrubs, the 

 whole growth 

 should be 

 looked over 

 carefully for 

 any caterpillar 

 nests, which 

 can easily be 

 destroyed by 

 burning with- 

 out injuring 

 the plants. 



25. Sweet 

 peas may be 

 sown out of 

 doors now. Dig 

 trenches about 

 two feet deep 

 and the width 

 ol a spade. Fill 

 the trench with 

 good top soil 

 and manure 

 well mixed and 

 sow the seed 

 about two 

 inches below 

 the surface. 



12. Have 



you everything 

 in readiness for 

 the opening of 

 the big garden 

 drive next 

 month? Seeds, 

 garden line, 

 plant labels, 

 measuring 

 stick, pea 

 brush. bean 

 poles and 

 tomato sup- 

 ports are a few 

 essentials. 



19. Small 

 fruits of the 

 different types 

 can be planted 

 now. Grapa-i, 

 raspberries, 

 blackberries, 

 etc., can be 

 trained on wire 

 trellises, or 

 stakes mav be 

 used. The lat- 

 ter are neater 

 and more eco- 

 n o m i c al of 

 space. 



26. Boards, 

 straw, burlap, 

 cornstalks and 

 other winter 

 covering ma- 

 terials for box- 

 wood and such 

 tender plants 

 must be re- 

 moved now. If 

 possible, select 

 dull, cloudy 

 weather for 

 carrying on 

 this operation 

 Important, 



6. Changes 

 of all kinds 

 where the mov- 

 ing of plants, 

 sod, hedges, 

 etc., is 1 n - 

 volved must be 

 carried Into ex- 

 ecution at 

 once. This also 

 applies to gar- 

 d e n walks 

 which, it 

 altered in early 

 spring will set- 

 tle by summer. 



13. Better 

 make arrange- 

 ments now to 

 use your green- 

 house for some 

 useful purpose 

 this summer. 

 Potted fruits, 

 chrj'santhe- 

 mums, melons. 

 English forcing 

 cucumber. = . 

 etc., are some 

 of the many 

 possible prod- 

 ucts. 



20. All the 

 best varieties 

 of dahlia roots 

 should be 

 started into 

 growth so that 

 cuttings can be 

 made of those 

 desired. If the 

 roots are laid 

 upon a few 

 Inches of sand 

 and watered 

 freely they will 

 soon start Into 

 growth .J 



27. Mulches 

 of all kinds ap- 

 plied to shrub- 

 bery holders, 

 perennial 

 plantings, flow- 

 er beds, etc., 

 should t)e dug 

 under. In doing 

 this, get the 

 manure as deep 

 as possible and 

 see that it is 

 thoroughly in- 

 incorporated 

 with the soil. 



FRIDAY 



Bm now the 

 moon's a ghost 

 in silver mail. 

 As , blowing 

 I- h T o u g h a 

 storm of stars, 

 the earth 

 Dips downward 

 into daion, de- 

 l u g e d with 

 light- 

 Sunlight which 

 is the golden 

 laugh of God. 



-Harry Kemp 



7. Cuttings 

 of all the vari- 

 ous types of 

 bedding plants 

 should be 

 started in sand 

 in the green- 

 house early 

 this month. 

 Coleus, geran- 

 iums, iantana, 

 heliotrope, ag- 

 eratum, etc., 

 are some which 

 come under 

 this heading. 



14. Any 

 changes in old 

 plantings or 

 new plants 

 contemplated 

 for the peren- 

 nial border 

 should be fin- 

 ished up at the 

 earliest mo- 

 ment. Those 

 which are 

 planted early 

 in the season 

 will flower late 

 this summer. 



21. If you 

 are considering 

 new lawns this 

 spring get the 

 ground ready 

 for seeding just 

 as soon as it 

 can be worked. 

 Early sowings 

 will prove to be 

 much freer of 

 weeds than 

 those which are 

 made during 

 the summer 

 months. 



28. Manure 

 applied to 

 lawns last fall 

 must now be 

 raked up. All 

 lawns should 

 be raked clean 

 and rolled or 

 tamped. A top 

 dressing of 

 wood ashes and 

 bone meal will 

 help to produce 

 a good vigor- 

 ous growth of 

 grass. 



SATURDAY 



1. If you 

 have not al- 

 ready planted 

 them, seeds of 

 cabbage, cauli- 

 flower, celery, 

 parsley, let- 

 tuce, tomatoes, 

 egg-plant, pep- 

 pers, leek and 

 onions should 

 be sown. See 

 page 41 for de- 

 tailed informa- 

 tion on this 

 work. 



8. All the 

 exotic plants, 

 such as ken ti as, 

 dracaenas, 

 cocos. arecas, 

 etc., should be 

 re - potted at 

 this time. Use 

 pots about 1- 

 inch larger 

 than the plants 

 now occupy. 

 The soil must 

 be light, con- 

 taining plenty 

 of leaf mold. 



15. Make a 

 habit of heel- 

 ing in your nur- 

 sery stock the 

 Instant it ar- 

 rives. Stock 

 that is allowed 

 to lie around in 

 the wind and 

 sun is certain 

 to show heavy 

 lo.sses. because 

 its roots will be 

 dried out and 

 the smaller 

 ones will die. 



22. The cov- 

 ering on the 

 strawberr ies 

 should be re- 

 moved and 

 burned and the 

 manure mulcli 

 can be dug un- 

 der. In cases 

 where for some 

 reason no fall 

 mulch was ap- 

 plied the bed 

 should be well 

 manured and 

 dug in. 



29. All trees 

 and shrubs 

 that are sub- 

 ject to attacks 

 of San Jose 

 scale should be 

 sprayed with 

 one of the sol- 

 uble oil mix- 

 tures before 

 the buds swell. 

 At least forty- 

 eight hours are 

 needed to 

 smother these 

 pests. 



/RECKON ye'll think I'm a crazy old fool when I tell ye what I dove this mornin', but 1 couldn't help it 

 no more'n a song-sparrer settin' in the sun down along the brook can help whisperin' away to himself 

 about how spring's comin' in a couple o' days. Wa'l, here it is, anyway — / went out in the pasture lot an' 

 flew a kite till 'Liza hollered fer mc ter come in ter dinner! Dunno jes' why I done it, 'cause ye know 

 I'm shadin' seventy year an' the rheumatiz's been pesterin' me all winter. Somethin' in the feel a' the 

 wind, though, an' the way the cloud shadders raced, kinder reached 'way down inside me an' took a-holt, an' 

 I jes' had ter go. Fun? Why,^ say, stranger, I ain't had such a good time in I dunno when! Reg'lar kid I 

 was, a-settin' ag'in the sunny side o' the barn, feelin' that queer springy pull on the string an' watchin' the 

 kite swingin' lazy-like away tip thar between the clouds. Sent some paper messages up the string, too; 

 funny how dark they looks when they gits up a ways, an' then all silvery as the wind Hips 'cm around so they 

 ketches the sun. Made me feel twenty year younger, an' — wa'l, I don't care if the rhenmatiz is extry bad 

 tonight! —Old Doc Lemmon 



The m u I c h under 



shrubbery, roses, 



etc., should be dug 



under this month 



t'liiin. ftiir \diul dp- 

 plied to the lawn 

 will kill off many 

 weeds 



Most roses need se- 

 vere pruning now. 

 Leave two or three 



bftd"^ on 77riv wood 



ig;^g^^g^lgm|||g|d 



Potato planting may begin just as soon as 



the ground can be worked. Cool, moist 



soil is the best 



k*^ 



All the plozang should be Jinished as soon 



as possible. Use a subsoil plow and get 



down really deep 



Keep the soil well stirred around the plants 



in the cold-frame. A small "claw" is the 



best tool to use 



