March 27, 1909. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
The Flower Garden. 
ft'hon Frosts Have Gone. 
Although frosts i?re harmful to many 
finds of plants, they do a great amount of 
’ood generally, and as far as the soil is 
;i,nc:rned, frosts pulverise and sweeten it 
and prepare it for future crops more effec¬ 
tually than the most skilled gardener can 
in the same period. 
After severe frosts have gone cut cf the’ 
ground the surface soil is loosened consider¬ 
ably : it is swollen and raised up, and any,' 
cuttings, such as those of Roses and ever¬ 
greens, will'be raised, too, and need firming 
again as scon as possible when the soil is 
dry enough to tread upon. Walk between 
the rows of cuttings and carefully', but 
firmly, press down the soil to each one as 
vcu pass along. As a rule many' cuttings 
have only formed a callus, and if they' were 
left loose in the soil they' would not get Be¬ 
yond this stage, but perish. 
New Herbaceous Borders. 
Where the work of making and planting 
new herbaceous borders has been put off until 
the spring of the year, no time should be 
lest now in getting the ground trenched, 
manured and marked out for the plants. 
Herbaceous borders may be formed in al¬ 
most any' position except beneath a number 
of trees. It is'essential that the position be 
an open one. It may be situated in front of 
a shrubbery, a wall, or in the centre of a 
kitchen garden. Of course the plants are 
charming in any' part of the garden when 
they are well arranged. 
Fig. 1 shows how to make the border and 
arrange the different kinds of plants in it. 
The latter always ,lcok best in masses, with 
here and there a good specimen plant. A 
shows the position for the smaller growing 
plants, 11 that for those of medium height 
and C and D the tallest plants and clumps 
of Liliums respectively. E denotes, in this 
irstance, the garden path, though the bor¬ 
ders may' be fronted by a wide expanse of 
lawn. 
The really important work necessary to be 
dene this week is the trenching of the soil 
and the manuring. 
Herbaceous subjects thrive splendidly in 
deeply dug, well-enriched ground, and as 
thev are required to remain for a rather 
lengthy' period undisturbed, very generous 
support must be given to them at planting 
time. Of c:urse, planting may' go on apace 
when the weather is mild enough. 
Marguerite Carnations. 
These fragrant flowers are very acceptable 
in the flower garden, and all lovers cf such 
blossoms should grow them, but amateurs, 
who have experienced great difficulty' in 
growing border Carnations, should certainly' 
raise a big stock of Marguerite Carnations. 
- Sow the seeds about x inch apart in a 
nice light compost in pans or boxes, and 
place the latter cn a hotbed or in a warm 
pit. The seeds will quickly germinate and 
the resultant plants will be fit to put out in 
their flowering quarters early' in June. The 
blooms will appear during the latter part of 
summer and throughout the autumn. 
Sow Annuals Now. 
The following annuals should be sown at 
once in boxes, or beds in cool frames: 
Asters, Stocks, Antinbinums, Marigolds, 
both French and African, Tagetes signata 
pumila, Eschscholtzias, Phlox Drummondii 
giandifloi’a, Verbenas, Cornflowers, Nastur¬ 
tiums, Cirerarias, Lupins, dwarf carmine 
and dwarf blue, l’erilla nankinensis (a beau¬ 
tiful fine-foliaged plant with dark leaves), 
Salpiglossis, Cineraria maritima, Golden 
Feather, Kaulfussia amelloides, Pcrtulaca 
and Larkspurs. 
All these are splendid for the flower beds, 
and must be supplemented a little later on 
Fig. / shows how to maize a new herba¬ 
ceous border and arrange the plants in 
groups; A, small -plants; B, plants of me¬ 
dium height; C and D. tall plants and 
clumps of Liliums at the back; E, path. 
Fig. 2 shows how to shorten lire branches 
cf newly-planted fruit trees; and also how 
to put on a ^ mulch of manure. 
Fig- 3 shows how to pot young Tomato 
plants. It is now time to put the earliest 
plants in pots. 
209 
by hardier kinds of annuals raised in the 
open border. 
The Fruit Garden. 
Shorten Newly-planted Fruit Trees. 
Young fruit trees, recently planted, both 
those trained for walls, for bushes, or pyra¬ 
mids, must be duly' pruned at once. 
Fig. 2 shows how to shorten the branches 
of a young fan-trained specimen. If al¬ 
lowed to remain their entire length, the 
branches would break into new growth at 
the points and thus leave the basal part 
bare; late-planted trees break in this way 
moie so than autumn-planted ones do. -Much 
depends upon the treatment of the young 
trees during their first season’s growth, when 
planted in" their permanent quarters, as to 
their good ferm or otherwise in after years. 
If not already done, no time should be lost 
in applying a good mulch of half-rotted 
manure. 
Late-Pruned Vines. 
The work of pruning outdoor Vines is 
often put off quite two months too late for 
the operation to be done without the less of 
much sap through excessive bleeding. But 
where any Vines are now being pruned, 
paint the cut ends of the y'oung weed with 
painter’s knotting or styptic without a mo¬ 
ment’s delay', then you will seal up most of 
the sap. Otherwise the excessive bleeding 
would weaken the Vines very much. 
Protect Poaches and Nectarines. 
All Peach and Nectarine buds must be 
protected from frosts by placing scrim, net¬ 
ting, or Fir branches over the trees. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Tomatos. 
It is- now time to put the earliest plants in 
pots, or in larger boxes. Do not make the 
mistake of allowing the young plants to 
starve for want of a better rooting space, 
and also be sure you do not unduly expose 
the plants to the cold east winds with the 
idea of hardening them. The plants may' 
be well hardened later on, at the present 
time they must be kept within the shelter¬ 
ing boards or bricks of a frame. 
Fig. 3 shows how to pc-t the y'oung plants 
singly' in 35 inch pots. The compost used 
must be chiefly' good fibrous loam, but some 
leaf soil and well-rotted manure may be 
added, though not any artificial manure. 
Celery. 
Transplant the earliest seedlings, from 
their seed pots, in boxes quite 4 inches deep, 
filled with a fairly' rich compost. Put out 
the seedlings 2 inches apart each way and 
return the boxes to a warm frame, but not 
o.a a hotbed. Many' young plants are spoiled 
every' y'ear through being unduly' forced. 
Cucumbers and Vegetable Marrows. 
A few seeds of both must now be sown, 
of the former fc-r frame culture, and of the 
latter for planting out under bandlights in 
due season. 
Potatos. 
Put in a good batch of seed tubers during 
this, week and plant them quite 4 inches 
deep except the early' kidney' varieties which 
may' be covered with 3 inches of soil. 
Hoeing. 
When the soil is dry' on the surface use 
the Dutch hoe freely among all growing 
crops and even on vacant ground. 
Foxglove. 
