DICTIONARY OF SEASONABLE GARDEN WORK. 



I. PLEASURE GARDENING. 



Abronia umbellala is a fine trailing plant, well suited 

 for rock-work, baskets, or beds, flowering freely during 

 the autumn months. Seed may yet be sown, although 

 it would be better to use plants started earlier 



Achimcncs. — Give liquid manure occasionally, to 

 prolong their beauty. 



Alpine plants flourish well on a well-constructed 

 rockery, but in our hot dry summers they require shade 

 and shelter. Rockeries supply the required thorough 

 drainage, and the long fine roots of the plants can run 

 down into the crevices, where the soil is cool and moist. 

 If such plants are to grow in the border, excavate it to 

 the depth of i8 inches; put in a layer of stones or rub- 

 bish six inches deep, and fill up with a mixture af good 

 fibrous loam and leaf-mold, with sand enough to keep 

 it porous. After planting, the surface of the soil may 

 be covered with small stones or rough gravel. 



An7iitals. — Seed of most kinds, except of late bloom- 

 ers, may yet be sown. Keep those planted earlier free 

 from weeds. Thin at an early stage, and stir the ground 

 around them often. 



Autirrhinnms. Allow no seeds to form during the 

 summer ; its plants will bloom all the more freely and 

 will push up young, vigorous shoots that will safely en- 

 dure the winter. 



Azaleas should go into the open air for the summer. 

 Put them into a sheltered, shady position, or place lath 

 shutters, with lathes an inch apart, over them. Their 

 pots should be plunged. 



Begonias. — The tuberous varieties may safely be 

 planted out after they have sprouted. Select a warm, 

 moist, half-shaded situation. Flowering begonias for 

 next winter may still be propagated. An inverted glass 

 tumbler placed over the cuttings provides desirable 

 moisture, and thus aids in rooting. 



Biffnonia yadicans. or trumpet-creeper may be train- 

 ed into a weeping-shrub form by stopping first the stem 

 at the desired height, and afterwards the laterals. 



Bulbs, that have bloomed may be lifted as soon as they 

 begin to wither. Lay them in clumps in a shady place, 

 with some soil over their roots, to insure perfect ripening. 



Cacti. — After blooming, plunge their pots in a warm, 

 sunny border to complete their growth. 



Calceolarias usually do better for winter flowering if 

 seed is sown now, than if this is put off until July or 

 August. The seeds germinate more freely now, and the 

 plants will have a longer period of growth before the 

 flowering season. Too much pains cannot be taken 

 with these fine seeds, which bear neither covering nor 

 watering from overhead any too well. 



Callasxnz.y be bedded out in good soil during summer. 

 This will check their growth, and cause them to lose 

 most of their leaves, but they will be replaced by new 



healthy ones later. Early in September lift and pot the 

 plants, preparatory to their season of bloom. 



Chi-ysanthemums, whether in pots or bedded out, 

 should now be making good growth. Before the end of 

 the month pinch them back for the last time. These 

 plants like plenty of food and moisture, with at least 

 four or five hours of sunshine each day. 



Cinerarias. — Sow seed as directed under Calceo- 

 larias. 



Climbing plants in houses require special attention 

 during the summer. Their growth should be moderately 

 free, and thinning, training and stopping be given as 

 needed. 



Cyclamen. — See directions given for Calceolarias 

 Dahlias are apt to be broken down by wind storms. 



It is not safe to leave them without a support of some 



kind. 



General Greenhouse Management . — Shade the 

 glass overhead with a wash made of naphtha, so mixed 

 with white lead as to resemble thin milk ; or with ordi- 

 nary lime-water (white wash). Keep windows and ven- 

 tilators open ; and sprinkle the walks and under the 

 benches freely. The greenhouse may thus be made an 

 attractive and not an uncomfortable place all through 

 the summer. Orchids, climbers, hanging-baskets, etc., 

 can be used to advantage for tasteful decoration. Such 

 plants, as azaleas, oranges and most tender shrubs are 

 managed most easily by being moved outdoors for the 

 summer into partially shaded places. 



General Laicn Management . — Timely use of the 

 lawn-mower must not be neglected. Cut out all coarse 

 perennial seeds. Keep edges of walks and drives in 

 good order and free from weeds. Early in this month, 

 put some sort of mulch around dahlias, carnations, 

 chrysanthemums, rhododenrons and other plants in the 

 borders. 



Gladiolus may yet be planted. Stake those planted 

 earlier to prevent their being harmed by wind and heavy 

 rains. 



Hedges. — Both deciduous and evergreen kinds may 

 be shorn just as the present season's growth begins to 

 harden. This checks growth without injury to the 

 plants. 



Hibiscus. — Strike cuttings for next year's bloom. The 

 old plants that flowered in the house last winter may 

 be set out in the garden. 



Hollyhocks require thinning when standing close 

 together. 



House Plants. — Plunge the pots up to their brims in 

 earth, sand or coal-ashes. This will save much labor 

 in watering plants during the summer. Smaller inverted 

 pots, placed under those that are plunged, prevent the 

 roots of plunged plants from entering the soil below, 

 and keep earthworms out of their pots. 



