The Garden Magazine 



Vol. XVII— No. 4 



Published Monthly 



MAY, 1913 



i One Dollar Fifty Cents a Year 

 1 Fifteen Cents a Copy 



mmmftm 





[For the purpose of reckoning dates, New York is 

 generally taken as a standard. Allow six days' differ- 

 ence for every hundred miles of latitude.] 



The Dangerous Month of May 



WHY? Because, in spite of its smiling, 

 sunshiny days, it may bring a sud- 

 den, unheralded frost to blight the 

 gardener's hopes. Because, after the en- 

 forced winter inactivity, we are likely to 

 rush the joyful outdoor work with more 

 enthusiasm than judgment. Because it is 

 the month of tender, succulent seedlings 

 that are the special delight of lean, 

 hungry cutworms and white grubs. 



Yet with a little care these dangers may 

 be avoided and the month made, instead, 

 one of limitless opportunity. 



Assuming that you are a busy person 

 who can give but Saturdays and Sundays 

 to the garden, and that this magazine 

 reaches you about May 6th, you have three 

 more week-ends to use somewhat as follows: 



May 10th, and II th 



You can still plant asparagus, rhubarb, 

 horse radish, currants, gooseberries and 

 strawberries. Also ornamental shrubs or 

 young trees providing the roots are kept 

 moist and protected from the sun. Dark 

 cloudy days are the best for all transplanting. 



Vegetable seeds that may safely be 

 planted outdoors now are; lettuce, bush 

 beans, beets, onions, peas, radishes and 

 spinach, all for succession. Why not risk 

 twenty hills, or so, of corn? If a frost 

 comes they can easily be protected; if it 

 doesn't you will be way ahead of your 

 neighbors; and even if the crop is lost, 

 it doesn't represent much waste or expense. 



Hotbeds should be aired regularly, often, 

 and as freely as the temperature permits. 

 The smaller plants are the less they feel the 

 effect of transplanting ; the quicker you har- 

 den them off the sooner they can be moved. 



Cucumbers, melons, squash, and pump- 

 kins may be planted in the hotbeds, also 

 more lettuce, onions and early celery for 

 future transplanting. 



Some of the early sown cabbage, cauli- 

 flower, Brussels spouts and lettuce should 

 be ready to go out in the garden. 



In the greenhouse and conservatory, 

 shade and plenty of water are the chief 

 requisites. Depending on the plants and 

 the size of the house, either sliding curtains 

 inside or whitewash on the glass outside 

 may prove best. 



Any of the summer flowering bulbs and 

 the hardier annual vines may be started. 



Harden off and plant carnations outdoors. 



Repot chrysanthemums before they be- 

 come pot bound. 



Cannas should be divided and started 

 in the hotbed; also a few more geranium 

 cuttings for next winter's plants. 



The lawn may need rolling, a little more 

 seed on bare spots, or a light top dressing 

 of bone meal or nitrate of soda. 



Give the old asparagus bed an application 

 of common salt, covering the surface thinly 

 and working it in. 



Get everything ready for the spraying 

 campaign as described below. 



Begin cultivation at once. One weed 

 prevented is worth a dozen killed, as you 

 can easily prove if you are called away 

 for a fortnight and have to leave the garden 

 uncared for. But 



Don't cultivate beans while they are moist. 

 Learn this rule so that you will remember 

 it all summer long. 



May 17th, and 18th 



Plant dahlias in ground not too rich 

 unless you want more foliage effect than 

 flowers, but you can defer starting four to 

 six weeks yet if you like. 



Sow primulas in the hotbed or in a flat 

 in the greenhouse for next Christmas. 



As soon as the house plants are accus- 

 tomed to the weather, plunge the pots in 

 some corner of the garden, or simply set 

 the plants in a border. The former will 

 keep the root growth within more con- 

 venient bounds, but either treatment will 

 have the same, gratifying effect as turning 

 a tired, stable weary horse out to pasture. 



The lawn will soon need mowing. Moral : 

 Clean, sharpen and oil the lawn mower. 



Pinch off the blossoms of newly planted 

 strawberries and bush fruits. 



Spread clean straw, salt hay or any bright 

 dry mulch between the established straw- 

 berry plants. This not only conserves the 

 moisture, but also keeps the berries clean 

 and facilitates picking. If birds cannot 



239 



be effectively scared away rig up a simple 

 tent or cover of mosquito netting. 



Remove the coarse mulch and fork or 

 plow up around fruit trees and bushes. 

 But don't plant vines, vegetables or bed- 

 ding plants in the ground thus broken, 

 unless you are ■willing to feed two crops 

 instead of one. Besides you will want to 

 plant a cover crop here a little later. 



Some of the peas are certainly ready for 

 brushing. No better material has been 

 invented than bare branches of birch or 

 some other twiggy tree, but almost any 

 sort of home-made support will serve. 



Plant again for succession, all the vege- 

 tables mentioned above, and add more 

 corn, kohlrabi, okra, and, if it is not too 

 wet, lima beans. Try the bush limas. 



Transplanted seedlings may be protected 

 from cutworms by means of paper collars, 

 Less trouble and quite effective is poisoned 

 bran mash distributed among the plants 

 at evening. However, in spite of your 

 precautions expect to lose a few, so plant 

 all you need and hold a few in reserve. 



All but the tenderest of the annual flowers 

 may now be sown. Get everything ready 

 for setting out the bedding plants — if you 

 find time for that kind of gardening. As 

 a general thing hardy perennials give just 

 as fine effects, and do away with nine 

 tenths of the work that annuals require. 



Any spare minutes left? Get busy with 

 the wheel hoe, scuffle hoe, ordinary hoe — 

 or anything; only cultivate, cultivate^ 



May 24th, and 25th 



As long as plants continue to grow, 

 nitrate of soda helps them, but it is most 

 effective right now, especially on crops in 

 which leaf and stem growth are wanted. 



Dig the Dutch bulbs as soon as the leaves 

 wither and lay them away in a dry, shady 

 place to ripen. Now is the time to bring 

 out some bedding plants to take their place. 

 Chrysanthemums should be repotted if 

 they tend to become pot bound. 



Prepare tubs, ponds or artificial pools 

 for water lilies. If you are fond of these 

 aquatics, but don't know how easy it is 

 to grow them, look up the Water Lilies 

 volume of the Garden Library. 



Cucumbers, melons, squash, lima beans 

 — almost any of the vegetables may be 

 sown now, in the garden or seed bed. Make 

 the last sowings for late onions, and start 

 the winter crops of cabbage, kale, cauli- 

 flower and celery. 



You are probably cutting asparagus now; 

 cut well below the surface of the ground 

 but don't injure the crown. And don't let 

 the cutting season last more than six weeks. 



