FALL WORK IN THE GARDEN 189 



As soon as the first frost has killed the summer 

 annuals the beds should be gone over and all dead 

 growth removed and the beds raked over and put 

 in shape for spring work. It is an excellent plan, 

 when the beds are to remain empty until late spring, 

 to sow some sort of a cover crop — crimson clover, 

 rye or the like — and turn this under in the spring 

 sufficiently early for it to decay before putting in 

 the new crop of annuals or other flowers. This re- 

 places the constantly decreasing supply of humus, as 

 well as protects the ground from leaching during 

 winter — ^another source of wasted fertility, 



If one has found a certain planting unsuccessful, 

 either from an unfavorable location or from a poor 

 arrangement of form and color, one can, at this time, 

 rectify the error by changing the arrangement. One 

 of the most interesting features of gardening is this 

 studying out of the question of form and color har- 

 mony. It is not always possible to strike just the 

 right note in the planting of unfamiliar things, but 

 it is always possible to learn from experience and to 

 profit by one's failures. If one has found a plant- 

 ing unharmonious and is at a loss as to just what 

 new combination to try, one can quite easily solve 

 the problem by gathering the flowers of the plant 

 in question and carrying them around the garden, 

 placing them by the side of different plants until one 

 is found which harmonizes with it. If the plant is a 



