October, 10 10 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



127 



at whole families so well as through mine. 

 Mothers and older sisters have come in 

 often to ask questions and tell of the happi- 

 ness brought into otherwise flowerless homes. 

 This winter I want to make it possible 

 for many, many more children to have bulbs, 

 and I do hope that this little account of my 

 first club may inspire other women who 

 love children and flowers, to do likewise. 



Monthly Suggestions 



The following suggestions apply as well 

 to the home garden as to the school garden: 



(i) Clean up the school garden. Cut 

 out all old plant growth. 



(2) Start a compost pile of leaves. 



(3) Buy your bulbs at once. 



(4) Wash all old and new flower pots. 



(5) Make markers to label pots of bulbs. 



(6) Have the children gather any good 

 flower or vegetable seeds from the garden. 

 Dry these thoroughly by placing on a sunny 

 window sill. 



(7) The primary children can make 

 seed envelopes for hand work. 



(8) Put the big boys right to work on 

 window boxes, if these are needed. 



(9) Boys of the intermediate grades can 

 make a set of sieves for fall potting use. 



(10) Make screens from laths and cheese 

 cloth. Thus be ready for early frost. 



(11) Try this. Make a seed-bed in a 

 sheltered corner where drainage is good. 

 Fill in with soil from the woods. 



(12) Fall planting is another good lesson 

 for children. Plant seeds of phlox, poppy, 

 lettuce, endive, and radish. 



(13) Try some small fruits. It is just 

 the month to set out currants and goose- 

 berry bushes. 



(14) Why not plant a barberry or dog- 

 wood bush on the school grounds? 



(15) September is the peony planting time. 



(16) Harvest beets, carrots, and turnips. 

 Leave an inch of stalk above the root when 

 you cut off the leaves. 



(17) Do not forget to get your work in 

 before the school garden contest closes. 

 This date is October 31st. But do not wait 

 until the last minute. Send in at once your 

 garden plan, a description of your work, 

 pictures and products, if possible. 



Bulb Culture in a Nutshell 



TIME to buy — Place orders from the middle 

 of August to the middle of September. 

 Selection — Choose bulbs which are large, heavy 

 for their size, firm, and spotless. 



Varieties for Outdoor Planting or Bedding 



Tulips 



Brutus 



Chrysolora 



Pottebakker 



Due Van 





(red) 



(yellow) 



(while) 



Thol 



Narcissus 



GoldenSpur 



Van Sion 



Campemelle 



Poeticus 



Hyacinth 



Rose Max- 



King of the 



King of the 



Bouquet 





ima 



Blues 



Yellows 



Royal 

 (white) 



Varieties for Indoor Planting or Forcing 



Tulips 



Crimson 



Yellow 



Rose 



Due Van 





King(red) 



Prince 



Grisdelin 



Thol 



Narcissus 



Spurius 

 Major 



Horslieldi 



Van Sion 



Paper 

 White 



Hyacinths 



King of the 



Sarah 



L' Innocence 



Roman 





Blues 



Bernhardt 

 (pink) 



(white) 



Varieties 



Preparation of soil — For the outdoor bed, spade 

 in well rotted manure digging down about 18 inches. 

 Have manure below where bulbs are to rest. 

 Place bulbs on a cushion of sand. Cover the soil 

 to proper depth. Just before frost, cover the bed 

 with a thick layer of leaves; two inches of manure 

 may be put on first. Never plant the outdoor bed 

 in wet weather. 



For indoor planting a good potting soil is 3 parts 

 loam, I part leaf mold, and i part sand. Leaf mold 

 is not necessary, but it adds humus and enables 

 the soil to hold more moisture. 



Potting — Two of the pictures on this page tell 

 the story of potting. 



One may use for this work pots, pans, and flats. 

 The pan has some advantages over the pot. It 

 takes up less room and shows less of red clay. 



In reckoning on the number of bulbs to allow 

 for a given size of pot and pan, this table may help: 





NO. OF 



6-IN. POT 



8-IN. PAN 



Tulips 

 Narcissus 

 Hyacinths 

 Crocuses 



5 

 ?. 

 2 

 6 



10 

 8-10 



8 

 12 



The flat is just a low box which holds a number 

 of bulbs. A good size is the following: 2 x i x J ft. 

 The bottom may be made by simply nailing narrow 

 boards across, leaving f inch spaces between each. 

 This gives ample drainage space. A flat of these 

 dimensions holds 40 tulip bulbs 



In planting the flat, place first J inch of broken 

 pot, cinders, shells, or stone for drainage. Then 

 I -inch soil should be put over this, and place bulbs 

 on this layer of soil. 



Depth to place bulbs — In regular planting and 

 potting, consult the two tables below: 



Outdoor Planting 



Tulips 4 in. deep 4 in. apart 



Narcissus 4 " " 4 " " 



Hyacinths 6 " " 6 " " 



Crocuses i " " i " " 



Indoor Potting 



Tulips, I in. below surface Hyacinths, i in. below surface 



Narcissus, to the surface Crocuses, i in. below surface 



Care of Potted Bulbs — After potting, place in 

 the cold and dark for from 5 to 12 weeks. Water 

 enough to prevent the soil from drying out. A 

 better method is the following: Dig a trench 18 

 inches deep. Fill in 6 inches with ashes. Place 

 on this layer the potted bulbs. Water well. Cover 

 with soil or coal ashes. Leave out until time 

 to bring in. Unless little rain falls, the bulbs will 

 need no further attention. 



Time to Bring Bulbs to Light — When there is a 

 wonderful root development, so great that the roots 

 are pushing through the drainage hole, bring up 

 the bulbs to light. Another point to hold in mind 

 in this, that the leaves must also be developed to the 

 point of spreading apart. Thus the bud can easily 

 push up and out. 



House-Temperatutie Table 



During rooting 40 degrees 



For growth of stem 50 



For growth of foliage 50 " 



For best flowers 60 '* 



Best all-around temperature 55 " 



Note — 80 per cent, of bulb failures is due to the high tem- 

 peratures under which bulbs are grown. 



For Bloom from Christmas to Easter 



Potted Third Week in October 



Chinese lilies bloom from Dec. 23 to Jan. 12. 

 Double Roman narcissus from Jan. 13 to Jan. 25. 

 Grand Soleil d'Or narcissus from Jan. 22 to Feb. 13. 

 Crocus from Feb. 7 to Mar. 12. 

 Van Sion narcissus from Mar. 7 to Mar. 25. 

 Princess Marianne tulip from Mar. 23 to Apr. 0. 



Water Culture — Chinese lilies, Paper White 

 narcissus, and Roman hyacinths do well planted 

 in sand and water. Do not neglect the period 

 in the dark. This is as necessary as it is in the case 

 of earth culture. 



To grow hyacinths in glasses, choose the varieties 

 recommended in the catalogues. Use soft rain 

 water and place a bit of charcoal in the glass. 

 Keep water just touching the base of the bulb. 

 Place in the dark until the root system has reached 

 the bottom of the glass. 



Hints on Culture — Water bulbs freely during 

 the flowering stages. To prevent bulbs blossoming 

 low on short flower stems, get a big root growth 

 before the tops start. Another way is to put paper 

 cones over the top of the bulb. Make the cone one 

 foot high with an upper opening the size of a half- 

 dollar. 



To avoid blasted flowers, be sure no draft 

 strikes the flower beds. 



To insure large blossoms, buy large bulbs. 



To get Christmas bloom, plant Chinese lily. Paper 

 White narcissus, and Due Van Thol tulips. This 

 is the only tuhp which can be used for Christmas 

 blossoming. 



After Blossoming — Let the flowers completely 

 wither, dry and die. This will take weeks. Then 

 cut all foliage down to about one inch from the bulb. 



Summary — Good bulbs — perfect drainage -^- 

 fine root development — proper temperature: ob- 

 serve these points carefully, and success is sure. 



Use a bit of a broken pot arclied 

 over the hole and one incli of coarse 

 drainage material to prevent washing 



Note coarse soil next to drainage 

 material. Leave one-half inch free 

 space at top for watering 



Force now. Protruding roots sig- 

 nify that the pot is full of good root 

 development 



The opening of the outer leaves say 

 also that it is time to bring the pot 

 into heat to force 



