THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 201 



glory, may have passed but Mother Nature has 

 not been forgetful of July's place in her af- 

 fections, and there are lovely things in the gar- 

 den that belong to this month of Mid-summer. 

 Sweet Peas, Portulaca, Marigolds, and many 

 other annuals will be bursting forth in prolific 

 blossom, all of which should be kept carefully 

 picked, for if the garden flowers are allowed to 

 bloom without cutting they will soon go to seed 

 and by the middle of August such a garden 

 will be a sorry sight. The late-blooming flow- 

 ers such as the Dahlias, Cosmos and Chrysan- 

 themums should be encouraged to take on a 

 bushlike form by the process of "pinching," 

 as thus they will attain the ever-to-be-desired 

 compact growth. Many of the herbaceous 

 plants such as the Dahlia and the Gladiolus — ■ 

 Roses also — should be staked if this has not al- 

 ready been done. Perhaps no phase of flower- 

 garden care is more apt to be overlooked by 

 one inexperienced in gardening than the atten- 

 tion of this sort which should be given early 

 in the season to all those plants which will come 

 to require some support other than that of their 

 own stalks. 

 July will find Aquilegias still blooming, 



