GARDENS EVERYWHERE 



MORE GOOD LESSONS IN SOILS, PLANT- 

 ING, MANUAL TRAINING AND ART MAY 

 BE WORKED OUT OF BULB CULTURE 

 THAN FROM ANY ONE OTHER FORM OF 

 GARDENING. — A FEW PENNIES SPENT 

 IN BULBS MEANS SOME PLEASURE 

 WITH FLOWERS FROM EARLY FALL 



Conducted by 



ELLEN EDDY SHAW 



New York 



Outdoor Planting of Bulbs 



THERE is nothing so effective in the 

 spring as a bed of bright blossoming 

 bulbs. So one of the first pieces of outdoor 

 work in the fall is the preparation of the bulb 

 bed and buying "Dutch" bulbs. 



If along the sides or front of your school 

 building there is a narrow strip of ground, 

 this would be a good place for bulbs. Daf- 

 fodils, bright tulips, or hyacinths look well 

 in just such a strip. Perhaps along each 

 side of the front walk you can dig up 

 narrow strips, say three feet wide. Put 

 in some of the kinds of bulbs just suggested 

 above. A round bed of red, or red and 

 white, single tulips is a gorgeous sight in 

 early spring. 



It is well to bear in mind this — that bulbs 

 do best and look best in great masses; also 

 bulbs of one kind in a bed are far more 

 pleasing than those of different kinds mixed 

 together. 



When one has a big stretch of lawn put in 

 crocus bulbs here and there all over it. 

 This is not very practical for public school 

 planting because a school rarely has suf- 

 ficient extent of grass space to use for this 

 purpose. 



The time to plant depends upon the 

 weather. It is always well to get all out- 

 outdoor planting done well before the time 

 of frost. Why? Because you wish to get 

 the bulbs in while the earth is still warm. 

 Bulbs lie in the ground all winter slowly 

 putting out roots, slowly starting to push 

 up toward the light above. For good root 

 forming they need this long time of slow 

 growth. But there is no need to rush it on 



by planting during that warm period we 

 are sure to have every fall. 



But when the first snappy weather comes 

 get your bulbs in the ground. 



Before this the ground may be prepared. 

 In all the beds dig down about two feet. 

 Work over the soil well. Make it fine and 

 free from lumps and stones. Ordinary 

 garden soil will be right for these beds. 

 Put no fertilizer in. If your ground is clayey 

 mix sand with it; this makes a lighter soil. 

 Clay soil is what we call a heavy soil. Bulbs 

 require light soils. 



Now comes planting. Different kinds of 

 bulbs require different depths of soil. The 

 table below shows the depths which give 

 greatest satisfaction for the given varieties. 



BULB PLANTING TABLE 



Name 



Depth 



Distance 

 Apart 



Distance 

 between Rows 



Hyacinth . 

 Tulip .... 

 Daffodil . . . 



6 in. 

 4 in. 

 4 in. 

 2 in. 

 i in. 

 i in. 



4-6 in. 

 4-6 in. 

 4-6 in. 



10-12 in. 

 10-12 in. 

 10-12 in. 



Snowdrop 

 Grape Hyacinth . 

 Crocus 



1 Plant these in clusters all 

 1 over the lawn. Do not 

 f leave more than three 

 ) inches between bulbs. 



Early in the fall plant bulb boxes full of bulbs. 

 Be sure to stain the box as shown by the smaller 

 ones in this print 



Make a furrow to the depth required, 

 place the bulb pointed end up and cover. 

 It is a good plan to sprinkle sand where 

 the bulb is to set. This helps the drainage. 



About the time of the first frost the bed is 

 to have its final cover put on. So place over 

 the entire bed stable manure some two 

 inches thick. This gives warmth all winter 

 long. Over this put dry leaves and cover the 

 whole with sacking or thick paper. This 

 last covering should be held down with stones. 



As soon as the snow comes many gardeners 

 take off the sacking or paper. They claim 

 not enough air gets to the bed when so tightly 

 closed over. It does no great harm if left 

 on. The plants in the spring perhaps are 

 a bit more tender. 



You will have such fun in early spring 

 seeing, poking up through the leaves, the 

 pointed ends of the bulbs, tender and a bit 

 sickly looking from long hiding in the dark. 

 It's amazing, though, how sturdy and fine 

 they soon look. 



Directions for Making a Sieve 



A SIEVE is almost indispensable for all 



•**■ indoor work in planting. Before the 



bulbs are planted the soil should be run 



through a sieve to free it from stones and 



130 



lumps. This sieve is a good piece of fall 

 manual training work. Any boy could make 

 one easily at his own home. 



MATERIALS 



2 small boards 13 x 2 J x \ in. 

 2 small boards 7 x 2 J x \ in. 

 2 strips of wood 12 x \ x \ in. 

 2 strips of wood 8 x § x \ in. 

 Fine wire netting 13 x 8 in. 



Make the framework of a box without a 

 lid using the 13-inch pieces for the sides and 

 7-inch pieces for ends, putting the ends 

 between the side pieces. Use the wire 

 netting for the bottom of the box, nailing it 

 on with the strips of wood. Paint the sieve 

 with two coats of dark green paint. 



Indoor Planting of Bulbs 



EVERYONE ought to have a pot or box: 

 of bulbs in midwinter. They are 

 easy to grow indoors and so very satisfactory. 

 It is delightful at Christmas or when shut into 

 the house by heavy storms to have a pot of 

 bright flowers to enjoy. 



It is wise to plant your first lot of bulbs 

 about the first of October. Florists claim 

 that each month a bulb is kept unplanted 

 it loses in value. By value they do not mean 

 price but soundness and the power to pro- 

 duce good flowers. If you buy a number of 

 bulbs why not plant at intervals two weeks 

 apart, and so have blossoms coming on at 

 different times? You can estimate pretty 

 accurately about blossoming. You must 

 plan on putting them away in the dark for 

 five or six weeks, and then when taken out 

 it often means three weeks or more for the 

 blossoms. Schools can plan so bulbs will 

 not blossom during the Christmas recess, or 



Even such an unpromising strip as this can be- 

 used to advantage 



