Booh of Gardens 
99 
February 
THE GARDENER’S CALENDAR 
Foliage trees may 
b e trimmed, this 
month, before the 
sap rises 
Why not some rasp¬ 
berries or other 
cane fruits around 
the garden? 
Late this month 
sow sweet peas un¬ 
der glass for later 
garden effects 
SUNDAY 
MONDAY 
| TUESDAY 
j WEDNESDAY 
| THURSDAY 
| FRIDAY 
SATURDAY 
As sunbeams 
through 
liberal space 
And nothing 
jostle or dis¬ 
place, 
So waved the 
pine-tree 
through 
my thought 
And fanned the 
dreams it 
neverbroughl. 
— Emerson. 
This calendar of the gardener’s labors is aimed as a re¬ 
minder for undertaking all his tasks in season. It is fitted 
to the latitude of the Middle States, but its service should 
be available for the whole country if it be remembered 
* or ever y one hundred miles north or south there is a 
difference of from five to seven days later or earlier in 
performing garden operations. The dates given are, of 
course, for an average season. 
1. Better 
get out the 
sashes for the 
hotbed and 
cold-frame, and 
see that they 
are in good 
condition . 
Broken glass 
may need re¬ 
placing, and 
the wood 
should be 
painted to pro¬ 
tect it from 
the weather. 
2. No one 
can garden 
well with dull 
or poor quality 
tools. This isthe 
time to do any 
repairing that 
may be neces¬ 
sary. All edged 
tools must be 
sharpened; 
kerosene and 
grease will 
check the rust 
on all the metal 
parts. 
3. All plants 
that have been 
in the same 
pots for any 
considerable 
time, such as 
palms and oth¬ 
er decorative 
things, 
should be re¬ 
potted before 
their active 
growing season 
starts. Top 
dressing is the 
alternative. 
4. Plant 
stakes are 
necessary evils; 
we all wish 
that the plants 
would not re¬ 
quire support¬ 
ing, but they 
do, and we 
must accom¬ 
modate them. 
Order stakes 
now. If you 
can’t do this, 
cut some in the 
woods. 
5. Have 
you ordered 
your supply of 
seeds? They 
should be on 
hand now. An 
old bread tin 
makes a good 
mouse - proof 
storage for 
them. Don't 
let the seeds 
get damp — a 
cool, dry place 
is the ideal 
storage. 
6. Summer 
flowering bulbs 
such as cannas, 
gladioli, dah¬ 
lias, caladium, 
etc., should be 
looked over 
carefully. Ex¬ 
cessive heat or 
moisture will 
start them into 
growth; damp¬ 
ness with a low 
temperature 
is apt to cause 
decay. 
7. Have you 
progressed any 
further than 
your mind 
with that rose 
garden you 
have been con- 
sidering all 
these years? 
Each year that 
you postpone 
establishing it 
means that 
you are losing 
just that much 
pleasure. 
8. Have you 
pruned your 
fruit trees? 
They will pro¬ 
duce if left in 
a natural 
state, but not 
nearly so well. 
Good fruit is 
produced 
only where in¬ 
telligent prun¬ 
ing is prac¬ 
ticed, so your 
labor will be 
well repaid. 
9. Decid¬ 
uous trees and 
shrubs also re¬ 
quire pruning 
to keep them 
in good health. 
Early flower¬ 
ing subjects 
such as the 
lilac or spireas 
are best 
pruned after 
they have fin¬ 
ished flowering 
along in the 
spring. 
10. Pea 
brush, bean 
poles and to- 
are necessities 
of a productive 
garden. A few 
hours spent 
with an axe in 
the woods will 
furnish you 
with these 
needed acces¬ 
sories. Gather 
them before 
they leaf out. 
11. Bay 
trees, hydran¬ 
geas, oranges 
and other 
plants of this 
type that are 
used for decor¬ 
ation outside 
in the summer 
should be 
looked over to 
see if the tubs 
will stand up 
through 
another sea¬ 
son’s use. 
12. Have 
your trees 
looked over 
carefully to de¬ 
termine their 
true condition. 
It takes a life¬ 
time to grow 
good trees but 
they are sub¬ 
ject to injuries 
of many kinds. 
A little tree 
surgery at the 
right time will 
save them. 
13. If you 
like golf you 
should have a 
practice green 
constructed on 
your grounds 
in some 
screened cor¬ 
ner where you 
can practice 
when you want 
to. Sow it with 
fescue and 
creeping bent 
grass in equal 
quantities. 
14. It is 
much easier to 
overhaul your 
lawn mower 
now in the 
garage than it 
will be next 
summer on the 
lawn. At least 
the gear boxes 
must be 
cleaned out 
and repacked 
with vaseline, 
and the other 
bearings oiled. 
15. Start to 
prepare your 
hotbed now. 
At least 12 
inches of good 
hot manure 
will be neces¬ 
sary for mak¬ 
ing it. Tramp 
this firm and 
cover it with 
about 4 inches 
of good garden 
soil that has 
been well 
screened. 
16. Start 
sowings now In 
the greenhouse 
of the hardy 
vegetables 
such as cab¬ 
bage, cauli¬ 
flower, lettuce, 
celery, toma¬ 
toes, etc. Use 
flats or seed 
pans for great¬ 
er convenience, 
and provide 
plenty of 
drainage. 
17. Have 
you studied 
the merits of a 
fruit border? 
No place is 
complete with¬ 
out one. Rasp¬ 
berries, cur¬ 
rants, goose¬ 
berries, black¬ 
berries, grapes 
— all these 
make excellent 
border plants 
for the gar¬ 
den. 
18. Now 
that spring is so 
near let us 
think again of 
greenhouse 
construction. 
Greenhouses 
certainly raise 
the standard of 
any grounds, 
whether they 
be for fruit or 
flowers. Early 
planning 
means fewer 
errors. 
19. If you 
cannot afford a 
greenhouse 
there are nu¬ 
merous styles 
of plant pro¬ 
tectors that are 
helpful to gar¬ 
dening. They 
should be or¬ 
dered now, as 
their greatest 
value is in the 
early season. 
Glass ones are 
excellent. 
20. No gar¬ 
den is com¬ 
plete without 
some well se- 
1 ected and 
properly ar¬ 
ranged garden 
furniture. In 
formal garden¬ 
ing pottery is 
very necessary 
to the com¬ 
pleteness of the 
scheme. Make 
your selection 
and order now. 
21 . Stock 
plants of all 
kinds of bed¬ 
ding subjects 
should now be 
started into ac¬ 
tive growth so 
that the neces¬ 
sary quantity 
of cuttings will 
be ready for 
taking when 
the proper 
time for them 
comes in the 
spring. 
22. Have 
you ever given 
a thought to 
the comforts of 
our greatest 
garden friends 
the birds? 
Why not get 
a few houses 
where the birds 
bath for the 
birds will give 
even more 
pleasure to you 
than to them. 
23. Before 
work is started 
outside you 
should make 
an inventory of 
your tools. 
Any new ones 
necessary must 
be ordered 
now Tool de¬ 
signs keep on 
being im¬ 
proved as well 
as other 
things, so look 
them over. 
24. Sweet 
peas may be 
started now in 
the hotbed or 
greenhouse. 
Paper pots are 
excellent for 
them. After 
the seeds have 
germinated the 
plants must be 
kept rather 
cool to prevent 
their getting 
soft and weak 
stemmed. 
25. Flower¬ 
ing plants of 
all kinds that 
are wanted for 
Easter must be 
started into ae- 
tive growth. 
By postponing 
this and then 
trying to rush 
them along the 
plants are in¬ 
variably grown 
too warm and 
in many cases 
ruined. 
26. Garden 
arbors as they 
are now made 
are very attrac¬ 
tive and neces¬ 
sary accessories 
of the garden. 
If you wish to 
enjoy them this 
summer they 
should be or¬ 
dered now, as 
well as the 
roses or other 
vines for them. 
27. All dor¬ 
mant trees and 
shrubs that are 
subject to the 
attacks of San 
Jose scale 
8 h o u 1 d be 
sprayed with 
one of the solu¬ 
ble oils. Trees 
that are al¬ 
ready infested 
must have at 
least two 
thorough 
sprayings. 
28. Sprays 
of all the early 
flowering 
spring shrubs 
can be cut and 
placed in water 
in the house 
where the 
flowers will 
quickly de¬ 
velop. Pussy 
willow, golden 
bell, Japan 
quince, etc., 
can be forced 
in this way. 
There is no 
peace for the 
blowing leaf. 
The end of his 
journey he 
never knows; 
He lifts from 
the ground 
with an up¬ 
ward heave; 
Or settles, as 
lulls the wind 
or blows. 
—Harry Kemp. 
'J 'HE first clear day we’ve had in a week — it’s snowed pretty near all the time since last Wea 
a this mornin’ I druv the wood sled up on the mounting fer a load o' logs. By jing, it was gr 
an’ white an’ sparkly, same as a Christmas card. There warn’t a breath of air stirrin’, an’ the 
sir, it fair hurt yer eyes to look at ’em, they was so durn white an’ still an’ kinder overpoweri 
into the sky, ye know, from behind the hills like in a picture. Clouds are blame human sorter 
how. Some’s skinny an’ gray an' old lookin’, an’ they gener’ly makes ye mighty low-spirited, 
reg'lar high fliers, feather-headed little critters that make ye feel like whistlin'; they’re fair wea 
an’ they ain’t got a care in the world. Then ther’s the dull, weepy kind, no character at all; an’ 
always in a hurry; an’ the blusterin’, thundery ones that growl like they was gain’ to kill ev’ryb 
an’ then edge past without really doin’ nothin’ to speak of. An’ they all come an’ change an’ 
thin an’ finally disappear, an’ we never see ’em again. —Old Doc Z, 
nesday — an’ 
at—all blue 
louds—wa’l, 
i’; pilin’ up 
things, any- 
Others ’re 
ther clouds, 
them that’s 
ody in sight 
grow fat er 
emmon. 
Second Month 
The stakes and 
poles for tomatoes 
and beans may be 
cut now 
Currants and goose- 
berries may be 
sprayed now for 
scale, etc. 
Proper attention to 
wounds, etc., is es¬ 
sential to the health 
of trees 
When preparing the seed box or flat, use 
plenty of drainage material such as oyster 
shells or broken crocks 
When they have made their first true leaf 
the young plants should be transplanted, set¬ 
ting them about 2" apart 
When the forcing bulbs have fully developed 
in the greenhouse they should be moved to 
a cool, dark place 
