PARK AND CEMBTERY 
15 
WINTER BULB FLOWER SHOW AT FAIRMOUNT SCHOOL, 
CLEVELAND, O. 
gas-laden air, surrounded by weeds, tin 
cans, bottles and rubbish, indicated a iove 
of beauty which makes the whole world kin 
Judge Dellenbaugh, the generous friend 
of school children, to stimulate bulbous 
plant culture, presented i,ooo bulbs to each 
school making a creditable showing at the 
flower shows this year. These bulbs, 
40,000, have all been planted and are in the 
soil waiting for the first warm breath of 
spring to call them forth in all their grace, 
beauty and loveliness. The bulbs have 
been disposed of in as many different ways 
as there are schools, some in formal beds,' 
some in borders and others scattered 
through the grass to come up in unexpected 
places. It would have delighted the Judge’s 
heart to have seen fifty-four eighth-grade children of 
the Warren School, each supplied with twenty bulbs, 
armed with a knife, sharp stick or “dibble,” on their 
knees in the grass, tucking the crocus bulbs away in 
snug comfortable places for che winter. 
As the Warren School received the first 'prize for 
the school gardens, the children had five hundred 
tulip bulbs, which were placed in two circular beds 
in the front yard. After the beds had been prepared 
and made smooth, the children had a practical lesson 
in geometry. They found the center of the bed, drove 
a stake to which was tied a cord in such a manner 
that it would move freely around the stake. The bulbs 
Avere to be planted in concentric circles six inches apart. 
The cord was tied around another sharp stake six 
inches from the one in the center, making the radius 
of a circle a foot in diameter. Successive circles were 
made by increasing the radius six inches each time. 
The bulbs were set five inches apart in the circular 
grooves, and covered with four inches of soil. As an 
additional protection a light dressing of manure was 
added, which will be increased later in the season when 
it is needed. 
Last spring 47,000 bulbs were ordered through the 
Home Gardening Association by the children and 
teachers. The bulbs were shipped direct from Hol- 
land and delivered to the schools in their foreign pack- 
ages. The consignment consisted principally of tulips, 
narcissuses, daffodils and some hyacinths.- These will 
be used especially for school room decoration. The 
manner of caring for the bulbs varies with conditions 
and experience of school officials. Fortunately some 
of the custodians of the school buildings are trained 
gardeners, and are able to give valuable assistance in 
bulb and floral culture. 
The teachers and children of the Fairmount School 
have been very succesful with their bulbs. The school 
is provided with a number of boxes 36x9x9 inches, 
painted green, used as window boxes. The janitor 
prepared a compost heap of dry leaves, manure and 
soil which he turned thoroughly several times during 
the summer, making it a good potting soil for the au- 
tumn. The boxes were half filled with soil, and bulbs 
used which will produce a succession of blooming. The 
Crocuses were used for the edge of the boxes for 
earliest blooming, and a hyacinth in each end for late 
blooming, with narcissuses and tulips for intermediate 
blooming. The boxes were all buried in a pit in the 
back yard, and covered with six inches of earth, and 
a top dressing will be, added later. About January 
first the boxes will be removed from the pit, taken to a 
cool place and when the leaves appear they will grad- 
ually be. brought to the light. For five weeks there will 
be a wealth of bloom to delight every^ child’s heart. 
“OUR FLOWERS” — SCRANTON SCHOOL FLOWER EXHIBIT, CLE'VE- 
LAND, O. 
