May, IgII 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
GARDEN NOTES 
CONDUCTED BY CHARLES DOWNING LAY 
MY MINIATURE GARDEN 
By Mrs. P. L. GILL 
AST summer we rented a small house 
on the north shore of Long Island. 
There was quite a little ground 
around the dwelling, so I determined to 
grow my own vegetables. 
I knew nothing at a!l about gardening 
and my plan was much ridiculed by my 
family and friends. I was told that the 
garden would be a failure and that what- 
ever | did get out of it would cost me many 
times more than the vegetables I could 
buy. So much fun was made of my proj- 
ect that I determined to keep strict account 
of every cent I spent on the garden and of 
everything I got out of it, the latter valued 
at the market prices. 
I selected a plot of ground about 30x35 
feet at the back of our lot, and early in May 
engaged an old German to spade it up, 
plant the seeds and take care of it for me 
until we took possession of the house the 
first of June. His time amounted to $2.25. 
He used 75 cents worth of fertilizer, and 
planted radishes, beets, peas, string beans, 
corn and lettuce, the seeds costing 65 cents. 
He also set out six tomato plants and one 
row of lettuce plants, amounting to 25 
cents. He laid out the garden in twelve 
30-foot rows made up as follows: 
Four rows of peas, two rows of string 
beans, two rows of radishes (when they 
were exhausted we planted our second lot 
of beets in their place), two rows of let- 
tuce, one row of beets, one row of tomatoes 
and four rows of corn in two plantings. 
My further expenses were as follows: 
50-foot hose and nozzle........... $5.29 
“LGW EL 2: oe ee 29 
254°... 6240.0 Ue ee 33 
ESIFIALE MMCASHEC: 5.25 ee eee ees 20 
2 packages beet seeds for second 
(LAtHGC ee: 2 oo Ee 10 
Frames for tomato plants and man’s 
bes Setting thei up... 6.256: i) 
$6.96 
These, with the items cited before, that 
is, the man’s labor, the seeds and plants, 
made a total of $10.86. This was my en- 
tire outlay on the garden. Perhaps it was 
not quite fair to charge up the entire cost 
of the hose and gardening implements, for 
of course they were in perfectly good con- 
dition at the end of the summer and can 
be used again. But the season was, as any 
gardener will remember, an exceedingly 
dry one, and I feel that the hose fully paid 
for itself in keeping the plants in good con- 
dition through the long drought. 
After we moved to the country the first 
of June, I did all the work of the garden 
myself. One of my mistakes, and I made 
a good many, was that I had planned too 
small a garden. I am not strong and I was 
afraid, being totally unused to the work, 
that I would not be able to look after a 
larger piece of ground. I found, however, 
that I could have worked a piece twice the 
size—and doubled my profits. But to go 
back—as I said, I did all the work myself, 
except for a little help on Saturdays and 
Sundays from my busy husband. 
Here is a list of what we got out of the 
(Continued on page xxi) 
CONSIDER THE LILIES 
By GLADYS HYATT SINCLAIR 
ANY people have a strong fondness 
for lilies and roses who care very 
little for lesser flowers. Yet they 
seem to think “having flowers” means 
having quantities of annuals and peren- 
nials with here and there one of their 
great favorites. The expense involved 
deters some from investing in the gar- 
den queens; the mere lack of boldness 
and determination to have what they 
want and leave the rest seems to hold 
others to the conventional mixture. 
Isn’t it a little odd that, while we 
Americans are so quick and vigorous in 
maintaining our individual preferences in 
music and books, in buildings and fur- 
nishings and dress, we should think our 
gardens must ever hold the same flowers 
that grace our neighbors’ gardens, only 
venturing a change of arrangement? 
Why doesn’t the man who has numbers 
of his favorite, the setter, have all sorts 
of his favorite, the carnation? Why does 
the woman gardener who delights in lil- 
ies as she does in Persian kittens, eschew 
every other animal and grow every other 
flower? 
Many places large enough to have 
everything and a rose garden have the 
rose garden; but why do we so signally 
fail to consider the lilies? Of their maj- 
esty and beauty there is no question; 
but I think most lily worshippers do not 
know that there are lilies enough to sat- 
isfy the most ambitious, to please the 
most fastidious and to keep a garden 
a-bloom from May to October. 
In many Oriental languages, according 
to good authority, lily means a flower— 
a blossom. To most of us the lily brings 
the image of purity and the white lilies 
are the prime favorites of their family. 
Of these the old, old Madonna lily (Luil- 
lium candidum), is the easiest to grow, 
most dependable and one of the most 
beautiful. It is the same hardy white 
lily that graced our grandmothers’ box- 
bordered gardens, finding their severe 
lines and formal arrangement the very 
best setting for its immaculate and nun- 
like beauty. Candidum bulbs of the 
largest size cost but one dollar and fifty 
cents a dozen, or ten dollars a hundred. 
They must be ordered early and planted 
in August or early September before 
their autumn growth begins. The bulbs 
should go a foot apart,.as they multiply 
rapidly. In my experience and that of 
others, candidum is the only lily not 
benefitted by deep planting. A covering 
of three inches is enough for large bulbs, 
where other lilies would need six. 
It is a sorry fact that the “lily disease,” 
a sort of blight, is partial to the candi- 
dum. Dusting the bulbs with sulphur 
before planting helps, and Bordeaux 
mixture sprayed on the foliage every 
spring before the blight gets a foothold, 
is the best preventative. L. candidum 
blooms in June and July. When stalks 
with one or two open flowers are cut and 
placed in water every flower will open 
and the house will be filled with exquisite 
perfume for a week. It is best to plant 
XV 
PP ootted Dutch 
+ BULBS FREE | 
4  ThisFreeOffer to July1, 1911 | 
As an extra inducement to order ||| 
your Bulbs early and to avoid being 
rushed later in the season, we wll 
} give FREE to the first 1000 people 
| sending orders for $5.00 or more, 
100 Beautiful Assorted Narcissus Bulbs, 
suitable for naturalizing or bedding. 
These are all hardy, /mported Dutch 
| Bulbs. This offer is good until July 1, 
only. Order early or you may be disappointed. 
e e 
We are Specialists 
in Dutch Bulbs andimport direct fromimmense | 
stock in Holland, controlled exclusively by us. 
We therefore seil you these Superior Imported 
Bulbs as low as wholesale prices on ordinary 
American stock. We import to order only— | 
so do not wait until Fall to purchase stock. 
Send today fr our Import Price List and save 207, to WG on | 
your order. Write at onceas you may not see this vifer again. 
A. S. DREYER COMPANY 
Bulb Importers 
482 Judd Street, WOODSTOCK, ILL. 
————— 
| 
If ouradvertisement describing this wonderful insecticide escaped 
your attention last month, let us write you direct respecting its 
great efficiency for destroying the insect pests infesting both 
flower and vegetable plants. 
For full information address 
APHINE MANUFACTURING CO., Madison, N. J. 
CYCLONE 
ENCES and Gates for Farm, Home, 
Parks, or Cemeteries. Increase 
BEE property values. Strong, Lasting, 
Handsome. Easily erected — ail 
heights up to 10 feet. 
Our catalog and prices will interest 
you. Wepay freight, 
THE CYCLONE WOVEN WIRE FENCE Co. 
1235 East 55th Street Cleveland, Ohio 
~“Farr’s Hardy Plants”—A book 
that tells about the w Snde ful Irises, Peonies, Poppies and 
Anemones that have made Wyomissing famous, besides numer- 
ous other garden treasures. More than a mere catalo gue—Free. 
Bertrand H. Farr, Wyomissing Nurseries, 643 E Penn St, Reading, Pa) 
Pergolas 
Ready to Set Up 
WE ship these pergolas in crated sec- 
tions with simple instructions that 
will enable any one handy with toels to 
quickly and easily assemble them. 
They are so much cheaper than similar 
equipment when made to order, that even 
the owners of modest-priced homescan now 
afford to beautify their gardens with a 
pergola of absolutely correct design and 
attractive appearance. 
Send today for tkis 
book showing various 
styles of pergolas, also 
gateways, posts, bound- 
PERGOLA | ary markers, etc. 
| _ BOOK | cae 
fs | The Pergola Co. 
155 LaSalle Street 
CHICAGO ILL. 
we 
