I recently heard a well-known English "gardener" re- 

 mark, "I have found that it is from the amateur that we 

 specialists often receive most valuable hints," and what 

 this specialist has said is most decidedly so. 



The purpose of Our Garden Journal is to serve the amateur. 

 It will be conducted and controlled by amateurs, and pub- 

 lished only for Amateur Flower Gardeners and Garden 

 Lovers, and we hope to convert all Garden Lovers into 

 becoming Flower Gardeners as well — ^who will love flowers 

 not only as they see them grow in the garden, but loving 

 them, will want to grow and care for them themselves. 



It is to the awakened and growing desire of the amateur 

 flower gardener, because of her love and devotion to her 

 garden, because of her desire to know why, and how, and 

 when Our Garden Journal owes its birth, and we feel that 

 we owe it to all the great number who love flowers, the 

 great number who love flowers not only as they see them 

 produced, but who will love to grow them when they realize 

 how easily it may be done, and who will feel a fine and 

 proper elation when they can display proudly a glowing 

 garden and say "Behold, this is my work"; it is to these 

 Our Garden Journal is dedicated; for these it is intended, 

 and to these all its energies will be devoted in all its various 

 departments. 



All those who know even remotely the difficulties entailed 

 in getting out the first number of a magazine will be kind to this 

 debutante; its faults — they are many, we know — are more 

 perhaps of omission than commission ; but soyez tranquille. 



They will be remedied and the debutante will develop 

 into one of the really desirable girls of the Younger Maga- 

 zine Set. 



What I am going to tell you now is just of my own ex- 

 periences, of my method of work, of the way I work in my 

 garden, so that if anything I say does not agree with the 

 cultural directions given in the various nursery catalogues, 

 or does not exactly agree with what plantsmen, or growers, 

 or writers of books on gardening say, or have written or may 

 write, as the only proper methods of flower gardening, 

 please remember I do not say they are mistaken — for I am only 

 speaking of my own personal experiences in actual garden 

 work, and of my way of gardening in my garden. 



Ill 



