February, 1 9 I S 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



25 



Ferns (Osmunda cinnamomea and O. Claytoni- 

 ana) for these give the greatest foilage per plant 

 and are permanent as a Peony. With them I 

 have planted light-colored Darwin Tulips. 



Lilies, the tall hardy sorts, as L. tigrinum, 

 L. speciosum, L. Henryi, L. elegans, L. 

 superbum, L. regale, L. Sargentiae, I am 

 adding to the asparagus bed to the detriment 

 of neither. Narcissus of all sorts form an 

 irregular row under the grape trellis; a double 

 row of Gladiolus divides the salad garden. 

 I am now trying to find a few more spots 

 where flowering herbs can go in among the 

 fruits and vegetables without taking up 

 valuable room. 



But I nearly forgot the most distinctive 

 flower feature of the place — the window 

 boxes. Six of them, of the self-watering kind, 

 are placed on the piazza rail. As they are on 

 the shady side of the house, I must have 

 shade-enduring herbs. For main efFect there 

 is a very vigorous double-flowered form of red 

 everblooming Begonia, and two boxes of them 

 in the house in winter fill the six in summer. 

 The inner side droops in Wandering Jew 

 (Tradescantia fluminensis), green and varie- 

 gated. As it is tender a sufficient stock is 

 carried over winter in the two boxes of 

 Begonias in the house. The front face is 

 Creeping Charlie, Moneywort (Lysimachia 

 Nummularia); as this is hardy it is dumped 

 in the vegetable garden in the fall and divided 

 again for the boxes in the spring. When I 



want the boxes different I can use the other 

 Wandering Jew (Zebrina pendula) and the 

 Begonia can vary to any of the semperflorens 

 type in pink, rose, and white. 



TjXDR the initial planting of this lot, it 

 ■*■ would require some $50.00, but I 

 obtained many plants by exchange, gift and 

 seed. The yearly cost for seeding and plants 

 is less than $5.00, allowing for a few new 

 vegetables and bulbs each year. For tools I 

 have spade, spading fork, two hoes, wheel 

 hoe and attachments, lawn mower, pruning 

 and grass shears, wheel barrow and knapsack 

 sprayer. There are other tools I would like, 

 but I make out with the present equipment. 

 As for time, it takes about a day a week 

 during the growing season (an hour or two 

 daily), but for planting and first weeding at 

 least two days a week are required. By 

 keeping the permanent plantings mulched 

 with dry litter and grass clippings, the weeding 

 of many beds is nearly avoided. 



This lot gives fruit and vegetables the year 

 round for a family of five, flowers for the table 

 and the neighbors, and from the street or 

 house windows has its interests and beauties 

 all the year. As an investment it repays in 

 cash a thousand times the yearly outlay in 

 money and time while the intangible returns 

 cannot be shown by measure. Extreme 

 utility and beauty can be combined in the 

 same lot. 



\A7ITH small grounds, such as the 40 x 100 

 * » foot lot often available for the suburban 

 dweller, many of these fruits and vegetables 

 must be omitted, and preference given to 

 those that require very little room in pro- 

 portion to the crop. A suggested layout 

 for such a plot is given on page 23. _, I 

 should prefer that the house be near the 

 street, and the area between house and 

 street would be in lawn. A few fruiting 

 shrubs, as currants and gooseberries, may 

 be planted against two sides of the house. 

 Shade will be afforded by the trees on 

 the street. A grape vine gives shade 

 and fruit over the rear porch, and on 

 a trellis along the east side of the house. 

 Beneath the grape a few spring bulbs and 

 such enduring herbs as German Iris and 

 Phlox will give a bit of flower garden. The 

 remaining half of the lot is to be plowed (or 

 rather spaded) yearly, but the sides and rear 

 are in permanent planting, as asparagus, 

 strawberries, black raspberries, etc. (but not 

 red raspberries or blackberries as they spread 

 underground too much for so small a place). 

 Along the east line three dwarf apples (early 

 midseason and late) are all the orchard fruit 

 possible. Tomatoes on trellis or poles may 

 be grown close to the south wall of the house. 

 The 30 x 30 ft. central area is planted in 

 north-south rows of salad vegetables, dwarf 

 beans and peas, and such other low growing 

 vegetables as the family wishes. 



Sweet Peas and Snapdragons 



G. W. KERR, 



President American Sweet Pea Society 



BRAND NEW WAYS OF HANDLING— IT MEANS WORK BUT IT GETS BIG RESULTS— TRY IT 



ISN'T it fortunate, in these times i 

 particularly, when we need so 

 much to turn to gardens for solace 

 and refreshment of spirit that 

 some flowers can be had by every- 

 body without any effort — they almost 

 "grow by themselves." It is because 

 they are so easily grown that as a rule 

 they are not particularly well grown. 



Two popular flowers that are pre- 

 eminently worth while — Sweet Peas 

 and Snapdragons — will respond amaz- 

 ingly to extra care in cultivation. 

 They come in a rich range of colors, 

 and are useful beyond compare for 

 cutting and indoor decoration; and 

 they give the longest season of bloom 1 

 — June to frost. The Snapdragon can fl 

 be taken up and brought indoors for This is the 

 winter bloom. This cannot be done apart 



with Sweet Peas, however. Both these 

 flowers are eminently adapted for the Ameri- 

 can garden as this country now produces all 

 its own seed, and more. 



FORTUNATE indeed is the Sweet Pea 

 ■*■ enthusiast who is located in a section 

 where the average climatic conditions are such 

 as to ensure a regular crop of first class flowers 

 without any very special preparation. Such 

 conditions are found in our Northern states, 

 Canada and some parts of the Pacific Coast, 

 where, even should the days be very warm, 

 there is a compensating coolness at night. 



In such favored spots, and always provided 

 that the soil is in good heart, excellent results 

 may be had by either plowing, or digging the 

 soil one spit deep and sowing the seed as 

 early in the spring as soil conditions will 



"\- *> "--.'*": ' l 3"-""- < *"-'r$ I v ; j> 



"new idea" in 

 in furrows J in 



growing Sweet Peas. Individual seeds placed 2 inches 

 deep. The plants are transplanted in due season 



However, spring is upon us and 

 where no preparation was made in 

 the fall, we must now make the best 

 of present conditions. 



The two essentials to successful 

 Sweet Pea culture are: (1) Thorough 

 soil preparation; (2) Starting the seed 

 early. 



Soil preparation consists of turning 

 it over deeply and incorporating well- 

 made manure with a liberal hand. 

 Choose a position in the garden well 

 exposed to the sun but which is, if 

 possible, well sheltered from draughty 

 winds. Do not work the soil when 

 wet and sticky, but get it turned over 

 early that it may become consolidated 

 previous to sowing or planting. 



What "Thorough" Preparation Means 



allow. More intense preparation, i. e., 

 turning the soil over an extra twelve inches 

 deep, and an extra supply of well made 

 (thoroughly rotted) manure will well repay 

 the grower. 



But for one grower who has perfect soil and 

 climatic conditions there are hundreds of 

 others. However, even under adverse con- 

 ditions we can be reasonably sure of a good 

 crop of bloom by careful attention to demands. 



AS I explained in the September number 

 ■^~*- of The Garden Magazine, Sweet Peas 

 can now be most successfully cultivated in 

 our hot Southern states by using varieties 

 of the new "Early-flowering Spencer" type, 

 and sowing in the fall. Fall sowing can also 

 be relied upon for many other sections. 



T) Y THOROUGH soil preparation I intend 

 *-* that it be trenched two to three feet 

 deep. It is better to trench the entire patch, 

 but, should that not be possible, where the 

 rows are to run, the ground should be trenched 

 two feet wide. Throw the top soil to one side 

 and the bottom soil, which is usually rather 

 poor, to the other. Loosen up the bottom of the 

 trench with a pick or stout digging fork, at 

 the same time mixing in well rotted manure, 

 old garden refuse, or leaf mold. Then return 

 the bottom soil working in with it more rotted 

 manure or leaf mold, and previous to 

 replacing the top soil give the trench a 

 dressing of fine bone meal at the rate of two 

 to three ounces per yard of row. Where 

 soil is light, use, if procurable, cow manure, 

 but in all cases leaf mould when manure 



