32 THE BEGINNER'S GARDEN BOOK 



house-owners are collecting and burning the leaves that fall 

 from the trees, even though these will make the best bedding 

 in the world. Let them lodge in the shrubberies and the 

 gardens ; rake up those from the open lawn and add to the 

 heaps. Spread them evenly, so that there shall be no bare 

 spots ; and if you have a little manure to throw on the leaves, 

 to hold them down, then they will stay in place all winter, 

 even though the snow does not come until late. Or keep 

 them in place with a little earth. In this way much money, 

 often spent for manure, will be saved. The leaves, once thus 

 bedded, and matted together with the rain, will presently 

 begin to rot ; in the spring they may be dug into the ground, 

 and so what so many people wastefully burn becomes good 

 plant food. 



Thus the garden has gone into winter quarters. A few 

 plants may be yet yielding in the frames, and all the peren- 

 nials are but waiting to start into growth in the spring. But 

 the good garden which has been employment and pleasure 

 to us must be left to itself till the winter is gone. 



Review Questions 



1. What do gardeners fear in the early fall ? Tell the signs of its 

 coming. Tell how to protect against it. What plants do you first 

 protect ? 



2. Why is a hill garden safest ? 



3. Why do we dig tender roots ? 



4. Give an account of the second fight against the frost. 



5. Why do we spade bare ground in the fall ? 



6. Why do we now plant certain bulbs ? Describe the planting 

 of the different kinds. Which ones have you planted ? 



7. Tell how and why to cover flower beds. 



