May. The first charm of the garden from plans made the previous fall. All ablaze with yellow tulips 



A Pictorial Diary of a Beginner's Garden— By M. T. R. 



Cleveland, 

 Ohio 



SHOWING WHAT A BEGINNER CAN ACCOMPLISH WITH NO HELP EXCEPT FROM BOOKS AND MAGAZINES— 

 THE FUN OF MAKING YOUR OWN MISTAKES IN YOUR OWN WAY— SOMETHING SURE TO SUCCEED 



Photographs by the author 



A/TY SURPRISE and delight knew no 

 -!-▼ -1 bounds when I was able to gather a 

 few flowers from my first gardening attempt, 

 which consisted of some roses and shrubs 

 purchased at random from a "floral agent." 



They had been hurriedly planted in promis- 

 cuous beds made by simply turning the soil, 

 which had lost all of its vigor by having 

 grown grapes for years. 



I knew enough to put them on the south 

 side of the house, but had a hard time con- 

 vincing the old German gardener that the 

 prospective lawn would not be improved by 

 having flower beds scattered upon it. 



Realizing that, after all, gardening was 

 not a mystery, and that one need not be a 

 genius to raise flowers, I became absorbed 

 in the next summer's plans, which resulted 

 in this little garden. 



After reading every readily obtainable 

 book on the subject, I was ready by the 

 middle of September with my design, and 

 the work began. 



Where the former beds had been seemed 

 to be an ideal place for a little formal garden, 

 and the helpful old gardener entered into my 

 p!?in= with zest. Together we staked and 



planned, the borders and beds were dug out 

 a foot in depth, the ground removed, and 

 good light soil with plenty of well-rotted 

 manure put in. 



My various readings had put one idea upper- 

 most in my mind — that "manure is the boss 

 of the garden," as an old gardener once said 

 to me, so my quest was for old manure. One 

 day, after bargaining for a fine lot, I was 

 called into the house to receive a book agent. 

 She looked the horror she felt when I assured 

 her that I would far rather buy manure than 

 books. She probably thinks me too degraded 

 to ever visit me again. My own experience 

 has proved that one of The Garden Maga- 

 zine contributors was right when he said 

 that " with five dollars for a garden, three 

 of it should go for manure." 



Mrs. Ely's "A Woman's Hardy Garden" 

 has been invaluable to me, and my gratitude 

 has prompted me to thank Mrs. Ely, but I 

 fear she must be burdened with letters from 

 grateful beginners. I stood in the garden 

 directing the planting from her book, which, 

 until the advent of The Garden Magazine, 

 was our text-book on all' gardening subjects. 

 From her directions I " started a seed bed 



which, although not put in until the latter part 

 of July, was quite successful, and the plants 

 were as large as those one buys at. a nursery. 

 There were sixty Sweet Williams, innu- 

 merable foxgloves and Canterbury bells 

 (called by the old gardener "the williams," 

 "the gloves" and "the bells"), thirty chrys- 

 anthemums, three dozen hardy pinks and 

 two dozen hollyhocks. My other perennials 

 I chose while in bloom from a nearby nursery 

 which guarantees all plants. The few that 

 were winter-killed were replaced in the early 

 spring, proving to me the wisdom of fall 

 planting for they were much larger and 

 ahead of the spring -planted ones. 



Annuals I had in profusion, and I tucked 

 them in everywhere. Four of the long centre 

 beds which my friends try to tease me by 

 calling "graves " I filled with seedlings 

 started in the house March ist, and owing 

 to my inexperience many were my trials over 

 them. Up to this time I had not seen The 

 Garden Magazine, or 1 should never have 

 made the mistake of planting my seeds in 

 such heavy soil, in which the poor things 

 could not grow. The seedlings appeared, 

 were transplanted, but seedlings they re- 



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June. The herbaceous plants taKe up the succession. Columbines, iris, poppies, Sweet William and Canterbury bells in evidence 



10 



