Plan 



17 



helps, four things that will be of great assistance to 

 the experienced gardener, and that are indispensable 

 to the success of the beginner. They are the Plant- 

 ing Plan, the Planting Table, the Check List and 

 the Garden Record. 



Do not become discouraged at the formidable 

 sound of that paragraph and decide that after all 

 you do not want to fuss so much over your garden ; 

 that you are doing it for the fun of the thing any- 

 way, and such intricate systems will not be worth 

 bothering with. The purpose of those four garden 

 helps is simply to make your work less and your re- 

 turns more. You might just as well refuse to use 

 a wheel hoe because the trowel was good enough for 

 your grandmother's garden, as to refuse to take ad- 

 vantage of the modern garden methods described in 

 this chapter. Without using them to some extent, 

 or in some modified form, you can never know just 

 what you are doing with your garden or what im- 

 provements to make next year. Of course, each of 

 the plans or lists suggested here is only one of many 

 possible combinations. You should be able to find, 

 or better still to construct, similar ones better suited 

 to your individual taste, need and opportunity. That, 

 however, does not lessen the necessity of using some 

 such system. It is just as necessary an aid to the 

 maximum efficiency in gardening as are modern 

 tools. Do not fear that you will waste time on the 

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