64 GARDEN GUIDE 



Watering, although beneficial, is less necessary if the soil is 

 always kept loose. In dry seasons water may be applied, using plenty 

 at one time. Little drippings of water are bad for all plants, for they 

 only destroy the surface looseness. Syringing the foliage is bene-' 

 ficial; in many cases it serves to keep insects in check if done vigorously. 

 Wherever possible, water should be laid on for use in the 

 garden. 



Staking. Many of the perennials will become tall and some 

 support will be necessary. Do not make it conspicuous. Paint the 

 stake green and tie with green cord or raffia, but do not use an old mop 

 handle nor tie with brilliant calico. A light, but long stake placed at 

 , the center of the plant is effective. Branchlets may also be used. In 

 that case scarcely any tying is needed. Let the stakes be placed 

 early; when the plants have made a great growth they cannot be 

 effectively supported, so that a natural appearance is lost. The whole 

 beauty of a garden is frequently marred by the absence of stakes or a 

 poor method of staking. 



Removal of Old Flowers and Seed Pods. All old flowers, 

 seed pods and dead leaves should be removed from time to, time. 

 They should be burned. Old flowers harbor thrips, a very minute 

 insect which is usually found in the heart of a Rose bloom; they cause 

 a shabby appearance of the petalage. Seed production is a most 

 debilitating process; the plant therefore should be prevented from 

 doing this excessive labor. When the old flowers are picked the 

 energies are often turned to a second crop of bloom. Many dead 

 leaves- are diseased and are a menace to the other plants. Besides 

 this, old flowers,,dead leaves and seed pods give an air of untidiness to 

 the garden. 



The propagation of perennials is discussed in a separate chapter, 

 page 200. 



Necessity for Replanting. Some of the later blooming peren- 

 nials, especially HeUanthus, Rudbeckia, Asters, Boltonia, Physostegia, 

 Achillea, ,need to be replanted or parts of them removed each year. 

 Five or eight shoots of these perennials can be chosen and the rest dug 

 up and moved to another place. This is the only way to keep some 

 of the weedier growers in subjection. Perennials which bloom from 

 crowns in the early Spring are usually impatient of being moved 

 often, examples being Bleeding Heeirt, Oriental Poppy, Dictamnus, 

 Red Hot Poker and Peony. Iris reproduces rapidly and is best 

 divided every two or three years; Phlox every three or four years and 

 Peony only every five or six years. Many perennials, as Delphinium 

 and Columbine, increase by a gradual enlargement of the 



