The Fall Clean-up in the Flower and Vegetable Garden 
THE IMPORTANT PROVISIONS TO BE TAKEN IN THE FALL THAT WORK FOR 
GREATER SUCCESS IN THE SPRING—SOME VALUABLE GARDEN SECRETS 
Photographs by Chas. Jones, H. H. Saylor, N. R. Graves and Others 
A S far as the appearance of things goes, springtime is the all- 
important and only important time for work about the 
place. It seems in accordance with the gardening operations of 
Nature to simply let Jack Frost step in and take possession with¬ 
out paying any attention to it. As a matter of fact. Jack is some¬ 
thing of a landscape artist himself, and while the pictures com¬ 
posed of green things 
growing, and over¬ 
running brooks re¬ 
main the emblem of 
youth and life, good 
people who no longer 
•‘trail clouds of glory” 
find s o me times a 
stronger appeal in the 
somber tints of Au¬ 
tumn. 
But there are two 
things we are apt 
to overlook: first 
that not all of na¬ 
ture's performances 
are apparent on the 
surface, and what 
may seem to us but 
the blowing about of 
dead useless leaves is 
really very efficient 
mulching; and if you 
look in the woods and 
swamps you will find 
Nature’s crop of 
spring-f lowering 
bulbs all nicely start¬ 
ed. Then, too, the 
majority of the things 
we use to make our 
homes more beautiful 
are grown out of their 
natural environment, 
and having given 
them artificial condi¬ 
tions we must supply 
artificial care. The 
bed of azaleas cannot 
be left to itself, nor 
should gladiolus bulbs 
remain in the ground 
although they may 
seem to have died 
down and prepared for winter in a very natural way of their own. 
One of the common mistakes in regard to such work is the 
idea that all hardy things must be set out in the spring. And as 
the spring is a very busy season, when everything else is demand¬ 
ing attention, and nothing wants to wait — why whatever can be 
put off is put off, and consequently is not done at all. Such work, 
for instance, is the planting of new shrubs. 
No class of ornamental plants is less appreciated, or I should 
say, less utilized, than the hardy shrubs — particularly the hardy 
flowering shrubs. We admire them tremendously in parks or get 
most enthusiastic over their beauty in some large estate, but 
somehow we don't seem to realize that they are not expensive to 
buy, need comparatively no care and deserve a place in our own 
yards, where they will grow as well as upon the finest estate. 
The soil require¬ 
ments of shrubs are 
not exacting; good 
drainage is the most 
important factor. 
They are adapted to a 
very wide range of 
usage: as back¬ 
grounds for the hardy 
flower border, to make 
an informal hedge or 
d i v i ding line — be¬ 
tween lawn and veg¬ 
etable garden, for in¬ 
stance, as a screen 
for some undesirable 
outlook, or to break 
the sharp line be¬ 
tween tall growing 
trees and the flower 
beds and borders. 
Few, indeed, are 
the places whi c h 
would not be im¬ 
proved by a few 
shrubs, and when it is 
considered that even 
the best varieties cost 
only twenty-five cents 
to a dollar each for 
good strong plants 
which will make an 
immediate showing, 
there seems absolute¬ 
ly no reason why they 
should not be used 
much more univer¬ 
sally than they are. 
The time for plant¬ 
ing hardy shrubs in 
the fall is just after 
— about 
But or¬ 
der now. Nurserymen 
will ship on any future date you direct, or hold your order sub¬ 
ject to shipping instructions. 
Also get the ground ready now. The small-growing sorts 
should go about three feet apart; the larger ones five or six. 
Most catalogues give information as to size. Pick out the places 
where you need shrubs and spade up thoroughly, incorporating 
with the soil manure—either from the stables, or one of the pre¬ 
pared sorts now on the market — and bone dust. Of the lat- 
Copyright by Detroit Photographic Co. 
Nature’s performances are not all apparent on the surface, and what seems to us the useless 
blowing about of dead leaves is really a very efficient mulching 
the first frosts 
October first. 
( 233 ) 
