90 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



of COW manure in the mixture. In addition, mix in a good 

 supply of coarse bone — the grade known commercially as 

 "inch bone" being the best for this purpose. With this 

 mixture the bed should be filled to within six inches of the 

 top. It should be tramped down sHghtly while filling in, 

 so that it will not lie too loose. The top layer should be 

 good garden loam, preferably run through a medium- 

 meshed sieve, into which a good dressing of high-grade 

 fertiUzer or fine bone is mixed. This will make the job of 

 plant setting very easy and wiU furnish congenial conditions 

 for the Httle new roots. (See cut on page 300.) 



All of this may seem like a good deal of trouble to take 

 for such a simple thing as a hardy border, but it is the only 

 way of making sure of good results. Smaller beds, round 

 beds and places for individual clumps should aU be prepared 

 in much the same way. When only a few plants are to be 

 set a hole may be quickly prepared with a post-hole digger. 



Flower Beds for Annuals 



The making of new flower beds for armuals need not be 

 done so thoroughly, as these may easily be enriched every 

 year when they are dug up. It is a good plan, however, 

 to remove four inches or so of the top soil and to mix the 

 manure, compost or fertilizer with the soil below. This 

 wiU put the richest part of the plants' feeding ground well 

 below the surface, thus inducing the roots to strike down, 

 keeping them farther away from the effects of dry weather 

 and from possible injury by summer work in the bed. 



Neighboring trees are often the cause of poor results with 

 flowers. Many of the ordinary fruit and shade trees send 

 their roots thirty to forty feet in search of food, and when 

 one of them runs across such a rich pocket as is furnished 

 by a highly fertilized flower bed it seems to make itself at 

 home, sending out a mass of fine feeding roots. Small 

 roots may be cut off with the edger, shoving it down eighteen 

 inches or so all round the edge of the bed. The larger ones 

 must be cut back with an ax. 



