C o n d u c t e cl by The Editor will be glad to answer subscriber's queries pertaining to individual problems connected with the 
F. F. Rockwell garden and grounds. When a direct personal reply is desired please enclose a sclf-adddressed stamped envelope 
August 
UGUST, with its heat and dust and 
lazy days, invariably brings us to 
the annual temptation to let things slide. 
The first and most appreciated of the 
flowers have all gone by; fresh garden 
vegetables have become an old, old story; 
here and there weeds are getting the upper 
hand in the fight, but then the crops are 
about all grown; so ‘‘what's the use?” 
Well, there's quite a lot of use. In the 
first place, fully half of the garden’s good 
things, and more than half of the flower 
garden’s beauty, for this year are still 
ahead of us. In the second place, it's time 
for us to be planning carefully our cam¬ 
paign for winter and for next spring. 
About the Grounds 
O begin with, then, there were one or 
two places we chanced to visit this 
summer that taught us some valuable les¬ 
sons as to the use of trees and shrubbery. 
These were two or three comfortable little 
homes where the owners had neither 
greater natural advantages nor longer bank 
accounts than ours, but where the judi¬ 
cious use of a few evergreens and a clump 
or two of shrubbery had us outclassed as 
far as the general appearance of garden 
things went. 
Plant evergreens now. Especially if the 
ground is fairly moist, plant them now. If 
it is very dry it may, of course, be advisa¬ 
ble to wait until next spring: but in nine 
cases out of ten, this means that they will 
not be set out until next fall, if ever. There 
is not space here to describe the various 
spruces, hemlocks, pines, etc., available, at 
a price within reach of anyone, for beauti¬ 
fying the home grounds, but further infor¬ 
mation can be had on page 105 of this 
issue. I do wish to call attention to the 
fact that there are hundreds of small places 
upon which not a tree of these kinds is to 
be found, and where the expenditure of a 
few dollars would in the course of a few 
years, not only transform the appearance 
of the home, but add much to its market 
v^alue. In planting such trees it is all im¬ 
portant to give them a good start, and any 
extra care taken to make the ground fine 
and rich for two or three feet wide and 
deep where they are set, will be repaid 
richly. If very dry, let several pails of 
water soak into the soil in the hole the day 
before planting. In any case, be sure to 
pack the earth in firmly about the roots, 
using a wooden rammer and the feet to do 
a thorough job. 
Get a few catalogues—they are full of 
illustrations and good suggestions—and 
look into the tree business. You will never 
regret the time and money spent, for noth- 
Pansies started in a coldframe will pro¬ 
duce blossoms early in the spring that 
far surpass those grown later 
ing else will give your property as perma¬ 
nent or as cumulative an improvement. 
Then too, there is the matter of bulbs 
for next spring’s blooming—it's time to be 
thinking of them. Isn't there a space in 
front of the veranda, or along the front 
walk, where you could use a few dozen to 
good effect? Twenty-five of a sort can 
usually be bought at the 100 rate, and the 
prices are very low. 
There are two other beautiful and easily 
grown flowers which should be better 
known — the Madonna lily and the Span¬ 
ish iris — which should not be confused 
with either the popular German and Jap¬ 
anese iris, as it is very distinct. Both of 
these should be planted just as soon as you 
can get the bulbs, for it is important that 
they start growth this fall, in which they 
differ from most fall planted bulbs. 
In the Flower Garden 
OW is the time to plan next year’s 
flower gardens. Do it while this 
year's objectionable features are still fresh 
in mind, and while new suggestions which 
you may have picked up here and there are 
still to be remembered. Get them down on 
paper. Make a complete and harmonious 
plan, instead of just sticking things in 
where there seems to be most room. Prob¬ 
ably, to do this, you will have to move 
around some of the hardy things. Well, 
the shift will do them good, and inciden¬ 
tally a good many clumps can be separated 
into three or four, giving you next spring 
not only more flowers but better, for over¬ 
crowding always results in poor bloom. 
And then there are next year's perennials 
to be thought of; you can easily grow your 
own — and the advantage of doing this is 
that you can have several hundred just as 
well as a few dozen, which isn't the case 
when you buy them of a florist in the 
spring. Under “Coldframes” you will find 
a word more about this. 
Fruit 
T's time to get the new strawberry bed 
made. And while doing it, why not 
get a few dozen potted plants and try 
growing a few by the method described in 
House & Garden in “Grow Your Own 
Fruit.” Set them in good rich soil, plant 
firmly so they will start at once, and keep 
all runners pinched off. Then with proper 
mulching and care, next spring you will 
have some of the finest berries you ever 
tasted. Grapes, too, should be looked after 
at this time. If they are not developing 
evenly it is probably because too many 
bunches have been left on the vines, and 
they should be thinned out. If only a few 
are grown, and if proper spraying has been 
neglected, results may be made certain by 
“bagging” the bunches with manila bags. 
( it6) 
