January, 1910 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



17 



from April to May, 

 to prolong the 

 blooming period. In 

 writing of peonies, 

 one cannot com- 

 mend them too 

 highly. Their large 

 flowers, disposed in 

 elegant disorder or 

 with graceful regu- 

 larity, and in varied 

 colors, are magnifi- 

 cent. The plant5 

 are, moreover, very 

 hardy and they 

 have an indefinite 

 longevits", and as for 

 price, they are within 

 the reach of all. 



For the summer 

 and autumn deco- 

 rations of the 

 flower garden, I am 

 finding hollyhocks 

 to be of great 

 value. The holly- 

 hock has been in 

 our gardens for 

 three hundred 

 years, and it holds 

 Its proper place 

 there to-day. Some 

 object to the holly- 

 hock in flower gar- 

 dens on account of 

 Its height, and there 

 is good reason for 

 so doing, if they 

 are put in front of 

 low growing plants 

 mstead of at the 

 back. In such a po- 

 sition it is a stately 

 plant and the grand- 

 est of all for shrub- 

 bery borders. A 

 good selection of 

 hollyhock is unques- 

 tionably a great at- 

 traction. When 1 

 oft'set my failures 

 by my success I 

 must confess with 

 George Washington 

 that "gardening is 

 tne most interest- 

 ing, enjoyable and 

 healthful employ- 

 ment of man," and 

 1 might add, of 

 woman also. For 

 in the making of 

 this garden I am in- 

 debted for valuable 

 suggestions from 

 my wite; and that 

 is why, with mutual 

 satisfaction, we call 

 it "our garden." 



This ends the de- 



The house from the street 



Vines and shrubbery of the side 



The beginning of the garden 



scription of the gar- 

 den as it stands. 



The chief feature 

 of a garden is in the 

 beauty of the lawn. 

 Give this )Our spe- 

 cial care. Grass 

 propagates itself 

 from the roots, 

 hence frequent cut- 

 ting is ad\isable. 

 lo keep up its 

 beauty give the 

 lawn a light seed- 

 ing early in the 

 spring and fertilize 

 with Canadian 

 wood ashes. This 

 is preferable to sta- 

 ble manure, which 

 is not only unsightly 

 but contains more 

 or less weed seed. 



When sowing 

 flower seed in boxes 

 in the house or in 

 the cold frame al- 

 ways sow in drills so 

 that you can dis- 

 tinguish them from 

 the weeds that may 

 appear. It is a safe 

 rule to sow seed 

 twice the depth of 

 its diameter. As 

 you will be sure to 

 have roses in your 

 garden remember 

 that they are great 

 feeders. You can- 

 not over-feed a rose 

 bush. Prune them 

 early in the spring, 

 cutting out all dead 

 wood. This prun- 

 ing will start root 

 action, in response 

 to which new wood 

 will form on which 

 only you may expect 

 to have flowers. As 

 soon as the leaves 

 open start with an 

 occasional dusting 

 of the plants with 

 "Hammonds Slug 

 Shot" to ward off 

 impending pests. 

 One ounce of pre- 

 vention is better 

 than a ton of care. 

 Should a late frost 

 pay your garden an 

 unwelcome \isit af- 

 ter things have 

 started, wash the 

 frost off with cold 

 water before the 

 sun's rays strike 

 them. 



