June, 1907 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



291 



depth is greatest and taper off with dwarf 

 ones where the depth increases. Strive to 

 have the back line conform with the line of 

 the piazza, -or other lines of the building, and 

 where the plants at the back are highest the 

 bed will have to be widest, so as -to have.an 

 ■even natural slope from back to front, j as 

 the plants used for edging must be the same 

 height all around. 



Whenever the cellar doors have to be hid, 

 or a direct view of any unsightly object 

 obliterated, or a straight line in front of a 

 window is objectionable, a bed with graceful 

 lines will make a wonderful change. 



Again, a certain background of trees or 

 shrubs may be too abrupt or the fence line 

 unattractive. In such a case, a flower bed 

 rightly placed will change the entire effect. 



A gateway, or a point where two roads 

 meet can always be embellished to good ad- 

 vantage by a bed of shrubs or flowers, but 

 do not make it on too large a scale for the 

 environments. 



There are endless different situations that 

 call for original ideas, but in any case don't 

 break up the lawn or cut beds along the sides 

 of the driveway or path leading to the house. 

 Nothing looks more amateurish than a 

 promiscuous scattering of bed and shrubs in 

 such a place. 



PREPARATION OF THE FLOWER BEDS 



This is of first importance for upon it hang 

 failure or success. It is slow work at best 

 and the average person usually makes the 

 first mistake here. The practical mechanic 

 in all lines of business shows his superiority 

 in his painstaking preparation. When every 

 part is thoroughly prepared in minutest 

 detail, the actual work of construction is 

 mere child's play. 



In excavating for a dwelling, the top soil 

 and the subsoil get mixed more or less. In 

 some places, the top soil is all taken off; in 

 others, there may be one, two, or more feet 

 of it. In any case, examine it thoroughly 

 by digging into it from eighteen inches to 

 (wo feet deep, and unless there is at least 

 eighteen inches of good top soil you should 

 take off whatever good top soil there is and 



Water the plants well before distributing them to the place where they are to grow, 

 pot invert it and tap the rim on something solid 



To remove (hem from the 



lay it to one side. Then remove the poor, 

 subsoil to a depth of at least eighteen inches. 

 Put the top soil back in the bottom and add 

 as much more as is necessary to fill the hole 

 level full. 



If the bed is immediately in front of a 

 background of trees or shrubs, all the large 

 roots that encroach must be cut back. They 

 will grow again and the operation must be 

 done every year or two. It will not harm 

 the trees, for if they do assimilate some of 

 the rich, prepared soil they will show it in 

 their healthier condition. 



FERTILIZERS FOR BEDDING PLANTS 



Bedding plants consume 'great quantities 

 of fertilizing material. They make a much 

 heavier annual growth than hardy perennials. 

 Well decayed manure is always better than 

 commercial fertilizers, because they supply 

 humus, which improves the moisture holding 

 capacity and admits air to the roots. No 

 hard-and-fast rules can be laid down for 

 quantities but here are the principles: 



i. All plants that are valued mostly for 

 their foliage effects (e. g., castor oil, cannas, 

 grasses), will need more fertilizer than those 

 that are valued chiefly for flowers. 



2. The richer the soil, the more abundant 

 the growth. 



3. Plants that are grossly fed will usually 

 go more to foliage than flowers. If geran- 

 iums are planted in a rich soil they will not 

 flower half so well as they will in a soil that 

 is comparatively poor. 



4. The amateur is not likely to overfeed 

 bedding plants. Change the variety of 

 plants used every year, because it rests the 

 soil and because novelty is "part of the game" 

 in bedding to a greater extent than in other 

 forms of gardening. 



If the bed in which you are to plant geran- 

 iums was manured last year, do not give it 

 any manure this year. For other plants, I 

 would advise using a 1- to 3-inch dressing 

 of well-rotted manure, spread evenly over 

 the surface and then dug into the bed to a 

 depth of from six to ten inches. 



Vinca major, following hyacinths, showing how a shrub collection may be brightened 

 in summer when the shrubs are out of bloom. Highland ParK, Rochester 



Flowering tobacco and s&Ivia following a display of tulips. The tobacco flowers 

 all summer; in the fall the salvia is a blaze of color 



