Demobilizing the Garden w. c. mccollom 



Getting Back to Pre-war Conditions — Reconstruction and Replanting Shubberies and Borders, Lawns, etc. 





Nothing like water! and an irrigating outfit is a wonderful saving in labor 



AN OLD darky hostler 

 commenting on the good 

 qualities of one of his 

 charges that just lost a 

 race due, he thought, to very poor 

 driving, said: "If you tie that 

 horse to a post and lick him hard 

 he ain't got any speed, but you 

 cut that rope and jest says 

 'giddap' then no north wind could 

 ever ketch him." The rope is 

 now cut for the gardener, so let 

 us see how fast we can go; as 

 for the past few years, we have 

 done our mite tied to a post, as 

 it were! We have largely fed 

 ourselves and our families, re- 

 leasing the product of the farmer 

 to supply our fighters and friends 

 across the seas. We were not 

 driven to this task. On the con- 

 trary, we rather welcomed the 

 opportunity, but all the same 

 we were not doing things that 

 we really wanted to do. Our 

 gardening was circumscribed. 



Brush up and clean up all around! Get out the shears and regain control of all hedges, and formal 



decorative plants 



^^OW we can be just a little selfish; we can 

 ^ ^ start planning again on a personal and per- 

 manent basis. We worked early and late trying 

 to make bushels grow where only pints grew be- 

 fore; we spaded up our sentimental Rose garden 

 to grow potatoes; we labored with an old bent- 

 nose spade, not purchasing a new one because 

 there was other and more important use for steel; 

 we bought string because the Government re- 

 quired the raffia; fertilizer we used as sparingly 

 as the small boy uses soap and water; we counted 

 our seeds — yes, we did — so there would be 

 enough to go around. 



Why did we do all these things? Not just 

 because the Government asked us to, but because 

 of our conscience. We wanted to do these things 

 to help others. The proof is the success that 

 accompanied the spontaneous outburst, for no 

 enterprise can be successful unless it is backed 

 by a willing spirit. Now conditions are different, 

 and we can once more do the things that were 

 postponed for the" period of the war." We can 

 and ought to start new Constructive work. 



/""\NE big lesson that the war brought home 

 ^-^ is a wider realization of the fact that from 

 the earth come all the necessaries of life. There 



And just for the pure pleasure of it we can conscientiously 

 sow Sweet Peas on the fences that so lately held beans 



163 



With the changed conditions the neglected greenhouse will again be brought into operation 



is plenty of reconstruction work 

 ahead for the ambitious gar- 

 dener, many of the newgardeners 

 were seriously handicapped due 

 to haste in choosing locations. 

 Hard work and constant applica- 

 tion helped many to overcome 

 these obstacles. But these gar- 

 dens must now be brought up to 

 their proper standards. They 

 must be replanned if lacking in 

 practical essentials; they must 

 be improved ornamentally; 

 hedges may be planted to en- 

 hance the appearance, or perhaps 

 a fence covered with cane fruits 

 will best suit the purpose. The 

 garden must have a worthy set- 

 ting to excite interest and admi- 

 ration; where there is nothing at 

 stake indifference breeds neglect. 



Reconstructive Planning 



TT WAS quite apparent even to 

 ■*■ the layman that, while we 

 were busy hoeing beans, many of 

 our garden friends (and even favorites) were 

 neglected, simply because they were not "good 

 to eat"! That was all very well in its way, 

 but we now want to "brush up." Are we going 

 to let the returning soldiers see a run-down 

 America to welcome them — they who have seen 

 the gardens of France and England? So, if 

 you have a garden "hobby" just get on it and 

 ride, because your interest will insure results. 

 Don't ponder long over dividends from the gar- 

 den, but get busy and improve your garden and 

 its surroundings — put it back where it belongs! 



If the hedge was winter-killed in the severe 

 cold of 1917-1918 plan now to replace it as soon 

 as spring opens. If implements are beyond the 

 point of sensible repair get new ones, now. In- 

 vest the earnings from your Liberty Bonds in 

 your garden, make even the garden rejoice that 

 the war is over. Make a general inventory of 

 the needed garden materials — stakes, labels, 

 weeders, garden lines, and other necessities. 

 Don't, oh! don't try to garden with poor tools; 

 get good ones, the best you can afford. Take a 

 lesson from Uncle Sam: plan big. 



"FLOWERS are to the eye and mind what 

 " vegetables are to the taste and stomach. 

 Our minds have been filled to overflowing with 



