A SIMPLE FLOWER GARDEN. 



7 



and Gertrude's own experience as an amateur joung ladj 

 gardener. All reference to the doings and sayings of 

 these people must now be condensed into a bare statement 

 of what is to be done upon such a mere handkerchief 

 garden as here described. To fully understand this mat- 

 ter, it must be kept in mind that the entire garden was 

 comprised in two narrow beds or borders, each fifty feet 

 long by three wide, — in all three hundred square feet, 

 more or less. 



SOIL. 



By this is meant the loose material that covers the sur- 

 face of the earth and in which plants grow. In this garden, 

 it was of ^hat dark-brown cotor and open texture peculiar 

 to the loam that covers the best of our New England farms. 

 Some soils are better adapted to the growth of plants than 

 others. Some are not capable of sustaining any kind of 

 vegetable life. These are to be avoided. In distinguishing 

 the good from the bad, we have one simple guide. Any 

 soil in which our native weeds grow freely is suitable for 

 the culture of flowers. Where the potato and cabbage will 

 thrive, there the tea-rose and heliotrope may be cultivated 

 with success. A certain depth is also necessary. The 

 brownish surface soil must be at least twelve inches deep. 

 If more, so much the better. Any soil, therefore, that 

 answers these requirements, and is not too wet, will serve for 

 a flower garden. This objectionable feature, dampness, may 

 be remedied by 



