GARDENING FOR THE BEGINNER 
THE -MONTH'S REMINDER—JULY 
As to Time and Place: In gardening practice a date can only be approximated as seasons 
vary and local conditions will have some influence. Generally the latitude of forty degrees at sea 
level and a normal season is taken as standard. Roughly, the season advances or recedes fifteen 
miles a day, thus Albany would be about ten days later than New York (which is latitude 40). 
The latitude of Philadelphia is a week earlier. Also allow four days for each degree of latitude, 
for each five degrees of longitude, and for each four hundred feet of altitude. Latitude forty passes 
through Philadelphia, Pa.; Columbus, Ohio; Richmond, Indiana, Quincy, Ill.; Denver, Col. 
How to Use This Guide: Suggestions as to the most important things of the month are 
given in this department so as to “remind" the gardener of the current duties. For routine de¬ 
tails of such things reference should be made to standard handbooks and guides. It is impossible 
to make a complete manual of practice in each number of a periodical magazine. Yet timely 
articles will be found elsewhere in each issue, and references to back numbers will often solve the 
immediate question. Moreover, the editorial staff stands ready to help any reader with personal 
advice by mail. A self-addressed stamped envelope should be enclosed with the question. 
Who Writes This: The advice and instruction in this department are the gleanings of many years experience in practical gardening matters by 
competent amateurs and others who have “been through the mill." The contributions are made from various sections of the country: for example. 
Mr. W. A. Currey contributes from Oregon; Mr. Theiss from Pennsylvania; Mr. Flenry Gibson from Pennsylvania (formerly from New York); Mr. Sher¬ 
man Duffy from Illinois; from Mr. A. Kruhm from an extensive Eastern acquaintance; and, in addition, occasional notes from elsewhere and by the 
editorial staff and associated contributors of experience. 
’§£ ULY ushers in a period of 
trial in gardens and in 
the Middle West at least 
there is a strong proba¬ 
bility of several weeks of 
hot dry weather between now and 
September first which tries the 
skill of a gardener. Added to the 
trying weather conditions, the 
water supply in a large number of 
communities is rationed or barred 
for use on the lawn or garden 
when most needed. Preparation 
is the main hope now. Cultivate 
the soil to a fine dust mulch in 
the vegetable garden bv frequent 
hoeing. 
In the flower garden, stir the soil fine and mulch with lawn clippings. 
If water supply is adequate, soak well, taking off the nozzle of the hose, 
allowing the water to soak in. Do not sprinkle,— soak! Watch the 
window boxes. Hundreds are ruined by neglecting to water daily. 
Watch Dahlias carefully to see that they never want for water. A 
week of drought and they will start growing woody. The only hope 
in that case is to cut them down and start fresh growth from the roots. 
Dig bonemeal gently around Delphiniums for a second crop of bloom. 
Give Phlox the same. Stake perennial Asters and Boltonias. 
Put on Your Thinking Cap Now 
A S A rule people are apt to plan their next year’s garden in the 
autumn when the time arrives for transplanting, for the division 
of roots, or the setting out of bulbs, but the real time to do such plan¬ 
ning is during July and August when the mistakes made in the last fall 
or spring planting are plainly seen. We may find some perennials 
which are not getting enough sunshine, or we may discover that a tree 
damaged in last winter’s storm has opened the way to give sunshine to a 
part of the garden where only shade-loving plants could grow before. 
Errors in color arrangement are now clearly visible too and in the 
herbaceous border there may be plants which are either too tall or too 
short to give a proper grouping. Study and plan your garden in the 
summer while things are actually growing, and be ready to correct 
when autumn comes. 
If You Are Replanting Tulips and Narcissus 
'“THIS is the month to dig late Tulip bulbs. Twist the stem and if 
* it twines around the finger without cracking the bulb is ripe. Dig 
Poet’s Narcissus clumps and replant at once after separating the bulbs. 
Experience is a good teacher, and during the spring I learned a lesson 
about the double white Poet’s Narcissus. This year quite a number in 
my garden came blind and I found that when I replanted last year I 
had moved them into too dry a place thus not only losing the flowers 
but evidently also injuring the bulbs as they have not set their flower 
buds for next spring. The foliage shrivelled early, not only stopping 
development of the bulb but also preventing any increase. If you 
want to have this Narcissus in a dry location,'plant the bulbs twice as 
deep as you would otherwise and give plenty of water while the 
foliage is ripening. 
Perennials and Pansies for Next Season’s Bloom 
OREPARE a seedbed in a shaded, sheltered position for perennials 
* for next year. You can sow Pinks, Sweet-Williams, hardy Candy¬ 
tuft, perennial Alyssum, Hollyhocks, Delphiniums, Pyrethrums, 
Do This Month 
1. Keep on cultivating 
2. Send on your bulb order 
3. Transplant for fall and winter 
4. Plant root crops for winter use 
5. Keep after the bugs and blights 
6. Send on your order for evergreens 
7. Prune Rambler Roses after flowering 
8. Get ready for the new Strawberry bed 
9. Plant for canning, drying, and preserving 
10. Keep the lawn in condition for dry weather 
11. Prune early flowering shrubs after flowering 
12. Make first sowing of perennials and biennials for winter use 
Gaillardias, and a host of other 
perennials this month for next 
year. Cover larger seeds a quarter 
of an inch deep and press the soil 
down firmly over them. 
Early-blooming plants will be 
maturing their seeds this month. 
All seeds with hard coverings ger¬ 
minate best if sown immediately 
after maturing, before the seed 
dries out. Some seeds will never 
sprout if once they become dry; 
others will require two seasons to 
sprout. The quickest and surest 
wav to get good germination from 
such hard seeds is to plant them as 
soon as mature. If they are of 
the sort that will not germinate for weeks or months, take a box with the 
bottom knocked out or a bottomless crock, and sink it in the earth. 
Plant your hard seeds in this. Then you will know where they are, and 
can take proper care of them. Of course, it is too late to sow most 
annuals, but perennials can well be started now and some will bloom 
next summer. 
This is the month in which you should sow Pansy seed if you want 
new plants early next spring. To get the best results use only the seed 
of an established strain, for it will pay you back in improved plants. 
Do not take anything that is offered or because it is contained in a 
fancy highly colored envelope. You will not find professional florists 
using seed without an established reputation, for they get their seed 
from specialists in the profession. There are several of these specialists 
in Pansy seed in this country and it is no exaggeration to say the seed 
they raise is worth its weight in gold—for I know of one expert who 
receives as high as $20 an ounce. 
What to Do With Your Iris 
TAO NOT overlook the fact that July is one month when you should 
LT give attention to your Iris. Just because they have finished 
blooming do not feel they should be neglected until next spring but 
look after them now if you want plenty of flowers next season. See that 
they get plenty of water as it will stimulate new growth, and give them 
some fertilizer. Bonemeal is the safest fertilizer—just a sprinkling 
worked into the soil and then water. Never use stable manure or 
other organic fertilizer around Iris for there is grave danger of causing 
rot. Lime the soil for them, a coating that looks like a light snow and 
hoe or rake it in. 
This is the best month to divide and replant tall Bearded Iris and to 
put in new varieties. The earlier they are planted now the surer of 
bloom you will be next year. 
Getting New Plants from Cuttings 
F IRM WOOD cuttings can be made this month from such plants as 
Weigelas, Hydrangeas, Roses, and like growths. Shoots of new 
wood are taken, selecting those on which the buds are developed and the 
wood should have about attained its full growth. Remove some of the 
leaves. Plant the cuttings one or two inches deep and with the ground 
kept moist, and shade supplied, it will require several weeks for them 
to root, but good plants can be had, which can be wintered in a cold- 
frame and planted out in spring. Shading and watering are the secrets 
of success in raising plants in this way. The beauty about this process 
is that it allows summer vacationists to bring home cuttings from plants 
they have seen and admired. When rare or scarce wood is used, and 
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