THE MONTH'S REMINDER, JANUARY, 1919 



The purpose of the Reminder is to call to your attention the things which should be thought about or done during the next few weeks. For full details as 

 to how to do the different things suggested, see the current or back issues o/The Garden Magazine. An index of contents is prepared for each completed 

 volume, and is sent gratis on request. Index for VOL. XX Fill is now ready. 



THERE is only one way, of keeping oppor- 

 tunity from giving us the "go by" this year 

 in the same way as it did last year. — Plan, 

 now, to be ready to open the door wide at every 

 knock ! Ever notice a new street after the real 

 estate agents and contractors got through with 

 it? The lots and even the houses may be as 

 near alike as "two peas in a pod." Let a year 

 pass! Come back. The monotony has begun 

 to disappear. Striking differences are beginning 

 to show up. Return next year. Hardly any 

 two places are alike. Another year or two, 

 and you can hardly make yourself believe that 

 all these places started out only recently with the 

 same advantages and disadvantages. What makes 

 the difference? Planting, of course — but, back of 

 the planting, the PLANNING. The owners of 

 some of those houses started out with a definite 

 idea of what they wanted to achieve. Others 

 did not. The planning makes all the difference. 



Fix the Ideal in Mind 



"IXyHAT do you want? That is the first 

 * * question to decide. Do you know what 

 you're after? "Of couise, I do," is your first 

 thought. Try it. Put it down on paper. Dis- 

 cuss it with the other members of the family, 

 and see how far you get before you have to begin 

 to make changes. 



Then what you do plan to put in must, of 

 course, be limited — limited first by space, and 

 secondly by time required to care for it. Most 

 people make the mistake of thinking expense is the 

 only limit, but space and time are more important. 



What Best Suits the Place 



TF ^ OU analyze any place, you will find it is 

 made up of many parts — lawn, shrubs, orna- 

 mentals, trees, fruit trees, and vegetable garden. 

 Hedges, walks, drives, and so forth are incidental. 

 All this applies not only to the brand new place, 

 but to the old place as well. Don't be afraid 

 to use radical treatment. Put down on paper 

 your place as it is; then, make it over the way 

 vou would like to have it. Some natural fea- 

 tures — big trees, stones, buildings and so forth 

 cannot be changed. But there will be much 

 that can be changed, if you do it gradually — a 

 bit here and a bit there, but all working toward 

 a definite end. Here are the steps to follow. 



First, lay out space to be devoted to shrubs, 

 flower beds, borders, and so forth. Keep in mind 

 the fact that many fruit trees are ornamental 

 and can be used for a double purpose. 



Second, get the lawn clear. If it is already 

 dotted with shrubs, small trees, and hole-in-the- 

 ground flower beds, plan to move or eliminate 

 them; a clean sweep of good lawn, is, without 

 exception, the most attractive feature your place 

 can have, if it is anything more than a lot. 



Third, select a permanent place for the vegetable 

 garden, preferably with a southeastern or a 

 > iithern exposure. Plan to put a good, sub- 

 stantial hedge around the north and west sides 

 to shelter it. 



After this general survey, go over in detail, 

 not only plans, but all the supplies, accessories 

 and so forth you will want in each different 

 "department" of your place. 



For the Lawn 



DON'T be content with a "moth eaten" lawn. 

 If it is getting worn out, make definite 

 preparations now to renew it in the spring. 

 Having the materials on hand when the time 

 comes is more than half the work! First of all, 

 you need a supply of good seed. To reseed 

 altogether, figure on a quarter of a pound to 

 each one hundred square feet. Reseeding a sod 

 already in fairly good shape of course will not 



take so much. Avoid cheap seed, that is light, 

 full of chaff, and containing many undesirable 

 grasses. Poor seed will cause trouble for many 

 years and you should buy lawn grass seed only 

 from the most reliable scoures. In putting down 

 a big lawn, it will pay you to consult last year's 

 articles on lawn making in the Garden Maga- 

 zine. 



Get a lawn roller. No single implement con- 

 tributes so much to the welfare of your lawn. 

 With ordinary care it will last a life time — and 

 help the lawn to do so, too! 



Keep the lawn edged. There is a handy, new, 

 inexpensive little edger to keep the lawns and 

 drives and walks in condition which should find 

 a place in every tool shed. It is easy to use, 

 does good work and won't get out of order. 



Keep your lawn well fed. Special fertilizers 

 for lawn use are sheep manure, ground bone and 

 high grade humus. With these and plenty of 

 water, you will have little trouble in keeping a 

 good lawn. Plenty of water in dry weather 

 means a portable irrigating outfit. You will 

 never be without one after you once see it in 

 operation. 



For the Garden 



TV/IAKE a garden plan early this year. You 

 ^- ■*■ can't tell what you want in the way of 

 seeds, plants, fertilizers or anything else until 

 you have your plan made. Follow the many 

 suggestions given on other pages of this issue of 

 the Garden Magazine — but get at it now for 

 the spring comes apace! Order your seeds extra 

 early again this year. Spinach, tomatoes and 

 some other things which were scarce last year, 

 are in good supply again now — but peas, some 

 varieties of beans and corn, and numerous other 

 things are short. To make sure, get your WHOLE 

 order in EARLY. Transportation conditions have 

 straightened out a little, but help is still very 

 scarce and the seedsmen will be overburdened 

 with work again this year during the busy period. 

 Start early, avoid the rush and get what you want! 



Order your fertilizer early, too. The war is 

 over, but there are no surplus stocks. In fact, 

 owing to greatly increased demand, it is going 

 to be as hard to get this year as last. Don't 

 take risks by waiting; order now. Get highest 

 grade you can buy — cheap fertilizer is almost 

 as much of a deception and a snare as cheap seed. 

 If your needs are extensive it will be well to buy 

 the "raw materials" — nitrate of soda, tankage, 

 dried blood, bone meal, and acid phosphate — 

 separately, and mix your own fertilizer for gen- 

 eral purposes; otherwise not. 



Remember permanent plants for the garden: 

 Have you all the asparagus and rhubarb you 

 can use? Or have you tried asparagus and 

 failed with it on account of the "rust" which 

 has wiped it out entirely in some sections, 

 Rhubarb for canning as well as plenty to eat. 

 If you haven't got that now set out a few more 

 plants this spring. Put it on your garden plan. 



Plan to improve your garden this summer: 

 Can't do it all at once of course. Group your 

 vegetables so those harvested late will come 

 together. Then you can remove every stone 

 in that section of the garden; plow or trench it 

 one to two feet deep; manure heavily; drain if 

 necessary; have it ready to yield bigger crops 

 than ever for years to come. Put it down on your 

 plans now so it won't slip your memory later. 



Keep your garden equipment up to date: Are 

 you one of the gardeners who bought an outfit 

 of tools when you started in years ago, and 

 haven't bought anything but a trowel and a 

 new watering pot since? Try out the new tools — 

 there are many very good ones that save time 

 and cost very little. Especially good are the 



178 



new adjustable rake-hoes; the slide, or scuffle 

 hoe with a light frame or shoe to guide it (and 

 several useful attachments) — especially good for 

 the very small garden, where there isn't quite 

 enough work for the regular wheel hoe outfit; 

 the combination disc and wheel hoe, which not 

 only cuts off all weeds, but breaks up the crust 

 at the same time; and the hand wheel "pulver- 

 izer," designed to use after spade or fork just as 

 the harrow is used after the plow. Don't wait 

 till garden time; get the catalogues now and 

 order any of these you can use to advantage. 



Reconstruction in the Flower Beds and Borders 



TV/FAYBE you've sort of felt it your patriotic 

 ^ ■*■ duty to rather let the flower beds take 

 care of themselves the last year or two. If so, 

 brush up! There have been a number of fine 

 new things. Look over the two March numbers 

 of Garden Magazine for 1917 and 1918, if you 

 want a complete summary to make your selec- 

 tions from. 



Plan now t6 make changes. Are all your flower 

 beds satisfactory? If not, you can at least lay 

 'em out now on paper the way you'd like to 

 have them. Perennials that have been in the 

 same place several seasons will do all the better 

 for being changed. Don't wait till you can 

 attempt to do everything at once. 



Order nursery stock and summer plants early: 

 Even last year local florists were surprised at 

 the un-anticipated late demand for flower seeds 

 and plants, for which there was not time to 

 wait for nursery delivery. Stocks of many 

 things are low because of coal restriction, and 

 because of labor shortage. The wise gardener 

 will order plants early this year. Shipped later, 

 of course, whenever he is ready for them. 



Pick out the "trimmin's" for the garden: 

 Do you fully realize how much of the general 

 effect of the lawn and flower garden may be 

 due to tasteful selection of a few "accessories"? 

 A lawn seat; a bit of wire fencing; artistic plant 

 supports; a simple but appropriate bird bath; etc., 

 etc., may give just the finishing touch that lifts 

 the whole out of the commonplace and furnishes 

 attractive individuality! Now is the time to 

 study over these things, and fit them into your 

 plans on paper. 



For the Greenhouse and Frames 



U* LOWER seed for spring bloom inside, such 

 as Stocks, Clarkia, etc.; plants like Helio- 

 trope, Paris Daisies, Begonias, etc.; long-season 

 plants for next winter, such as Cyclamen, Ar- 

 disia, Primroses, Gloxinia; vegetables for early 

 starting, such as cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower, 

 beets, onions (Spanish types), and celery; — 

 order these things without further delay, even 

 if you are not yet ready to send in the order for 

 flower and vegetable seeds for outdoor sowing. 



Remember there's glass to be fixed every 

 spring. After winter snows, and winter storage, 

 and freezing and thawing, there's bound to be 

 some fixin' up to do in February and March. 

 Don't get caught without the materials again. 



For the Fruit Garden 



T-TAVE you got enough fruit on the place ? 

 ■*■■*■ If so, you deserve a medal for being a 

 rare exception to a general rule. Chances are 

 you haven't. Now is the time to look into it, 

 and plan where you can put some more. Grapes, 

 dwarf apples, pears or plums, cane fruits, can all 

 be "tucked in" here and there, even if the place 

 is small, or well filled. Study over your plan, 

 and see where there is room to fit in the kinds of 

 fruit you haven't got, or need more cf. 



