The Garden Magazine 



Vol. XIII— No. 2 



Published Monthly 



MARCH, 1911 



j One Dollar Fifty Cents a Year 

 I Fifteen Cents a Copy 



[For the purpose of reckoning dates, New York is 

 generally taken as a standard. Allow six days' difference 

 for every hundred miles of latitude.] 



As the Frost Leaves 



PLANT the hardiest seeds just as 

 soon as the ground can be worked 

 — that means: on light grounds, as soon 

 as the frost is out; on heavy grounds, a 

 little bit later, as they must take time to 

 dry out and warm up a little. For earliest 

 crops, sow on the lightest and highest 

 ground. 



Vegetables: In the open: asparagus, car- 

 rot, chicory, corn, salad, mangel wurzel, 

 parsnip, peas, salsify, sea kale, spinach. 

 For first sowings of peas, use round- 

 seeded kinds. If you want sea kale this 

 season, read the article "Sea Kale In Nine 

 Months," by W. C. McCollom, in the 

 March, 1908, Garden Magazine. 



In greenhouse or hotbed, for planting 

 out when the weather is safe, sow now: 

 beets, broccoli, all the cabbage family, 

 cardoon, cauliflower, celeriac, leek, lettuce, 

 celery, eggplant, kohlrabi, okra, onion, 

 parsley, squash and tomato. 



Under cover, to mature inside, sow bush 

 beans, cucumbers, melons. 



Begin your successions by sowing every 

 week from the first of March, in frame or 

 greenhouse, cress, mustard, radish. It is 

 not too late, at the beginning of this 

 month, to try an outdoor mushroom bed, 

 but this is the last chance. 



Flowers: All hardy annuals can be sown 

 this month in the open air, to flower where 

 they are sown. Give room by thinning 

 out. Or they can be sown in the green- 

 house or hotbed and transplanted out- 

 doors as soon as the ground is right. 



The half-hardy annuals and tender 

 perennial plants that are grown as annuals 

 must be started in heat. Read Mr. 

 Adams's article on page 74. 



As early as possible plant bulbs of hardy 



lilies. It is yet too early to put outdoors 

 any other roots, except peonies, which 

 were not planted last fall. 



Plant perennials in the hardy border 

 any time from now on. Also transplant 

 shrubs and rearrange groups. It is per- 

 fectly safe to transplant any time in the 

 spring, even while they are in bloom, any 

 shrubs that flower before the leaves come. 



Fruit Garden 



SET out fruit trees any time now. 

 Prune the orchard trees. Thin 

 out currant bushes, graft cherries and 

 plums. Cut back two-thirds of last year's 

 growth of dwarf trees, if it was not done 

 during the winter. Prune raspberries and 

 trim up the grape vines. (See The Gar- 

 den Magazine for March, 1910.) 



Make new strawberry beds, planting 

 some of the novelties and testing out their 

 behavior in your region. Nothing in 

 the garden has more strongly marked 

 local peculiarities. 



Lawns and Grounds 



REMOVE gradually all protective ma- 

 terial that was used during the 

 winter, especially the covering of bulb 

 beds, rose beds, etc. Replace if the 

 weather suddenly becomes colder. 



Mulch afresh all stock planted last fall. 

 Bring in and distribute manure and give 

 a final overhauling to all shrubberies and 

 plantations, repairing any winter damage 

 by wind or ice. 



Prune roses and plant new beds. At- 



tend to the roses as early as possible, 

 because they make early growth. If 

 you want large flowers, don't be nervous 

 about cutting back. Roses flower on the 

 new wood. For a quantity of flowers, 

 prune moderately; the weaker the growth 

 the greater the necessity of pruning. 



Prune now all flowering shrubs that 

 flower on the current season's growth, such 

 as Hydrangea paniculata, garden roses, etc. 



Roll lawns and repair all heavage by 

 winter frosts. Fill the hollows, beat down 

 high places, top dress and scatter a pinch 

 or two of seed on any bad spots. 



Remove coarse, rank weeds before they 

 start strong growth. 



Spray while the trees are yet dormant. 

 See page 98. 



Work the Hotbeds 



MAKE hotbeds at any time, using clean, 

 fresh manure — a layer two feet 

 thick tramped down hard. Be careful 

 not to let the heat get too great. Put 

 a few inches of soil over the heating ma- 

 terial and after the first fermentation 

 seeds may be sown. Give air on all fine 

 days when the weather is warm, and 

 remember the bed must be kept moist. 

 Better use two thermometers — one for 

 the air and the other for the soil. In 

 here you can sow all seeds of annuals 

 and perennials for transplanting in the 

 open, all tender vegetables, and propagate 

 hardy perennials in quantity. By sowing 

 a pinch of lettuce seed every ten days a 

 succession of salad can be kept running 

 ahead until the outdoor crop matures. 



WE'LL PAY $500 



FOR THE BEST HOME GARDEN OF 

 HALF an ACRE, OR LESS 



If it is the most productive and the best managed plot during the season of 191 1. 

 We want the actual records of a well=managed home garden — its plan, its opera- 

 tion, yield, successions, etc., because we believe that besides better living, there 

 is actual money to be made or saved in making the garden work for you. 



This award will be made for the best account of a well-managed garden of a half- 

 acre or less in the year 191 1, provided the account really tells how the greatest 

 productiveness may be achieved. This competition is open to all, whether present 

 subscribers or not. The only conditions are: — 



1. Notice of intention to compete to be given not later than May 20th, ion. 



2. A complete record of work to be submitted at the end of the season, with names of varieties grown, 



yields, etc., and an exact record, in detail, of all labor and expense, with bills and vouchers. 



3. All entries must be accompanied by a plan of the garden and its succession plantings. 



4. All contestants must submit their manuscripts not later than October Jist, ign. 



5. The prize-winning manuscript, with photographs, etc., to become the property of THE GARDEN 



MAGAZINE. The right is reserved to purchase any other MSS. at our regular rates, or 

 not to award the prize at all, if the MSS. submitted are not sufficiently worthy. 



73 



