April, j 9 i 6 
LET THEM HAVE A GARDEN! 
OLIVE HYDE FOSTER 
4 7 
Why should the children not have a garden of their own, one which they themselves have planted, cared for and brought to its per¬ 
fection of leaf and blossom? In it they will find occupation, health, a desirable feeling of responsibility, and an introduction to the 
wholesome charm of Nature. The article which folloivs is intended for children, and it deals with children's gardens. Read this 
article to your boys and girls. If you dsire further information, address the Editor, House & Garden, 440 Fourth Avenue, New York. 
Ready to fight the iveeds which are 
alioays trying to kill the flowers 
A PRIL has come around again, its warm 
winds and singing birds reminding you 
that now you must get busy with your beds 
if you are going to have any flowers. And, 
of course, everybody wants flowers, only 
some people won’t take the trouble to find 
out how they should be grown. But oh! 
what a perfect delight is the growing! 
Four steps must be taken before you start 
actual work: 
1st—Find out what space you can have 
for your garden. 
2nd—Learn something about its soil, sit¬ 
uation and surroundings. 
3rd—Make a list of the seeds, bulbs, 
vines, etc., you would like. 
4th—Decide on planting so as to get the 
right heights and colors. 
As to the first step, find out just how 
much ground you can have for your gar¬ 
den. It makes a good deal of difference 
whether you can have the whole back yard, 
a plot along the walk, a round bed in the 
center of the lawn (better only than none 
at all!) or a window box. You really can¬ 
not decide on a single plant until this is 
settled. 
As to the second step, learn all you can 
about your new possession. Is the ground 
rich or poor? If it is light and sandy, you 
can grow such flowers as nasturtiums and 
mignonette and California poppies. By 
adding fertilizer you can have roses and 
dahlias. If the ground is heavy and stiff 
with clay, you can still have your roses 
and dahlias if you will add both sand and 
manure. So find out what kind of earth 
you are going to have to work with. Quite 
poor soil will grow sweet alyssum, coreopsis 
and geraniums, while rich soil is needed 
for asters, larkspur, zinnias and marigolds. 
Next think about your location, as a dry 
spot is necessary for such a plant as portu- 
laca, while a cool, moist place is necessary 
for lily-of-the-valley. And last, but not 
least, think whether your garden is sheltered 
Several of you can own a garden together. Then each 
one can do part of the work and have some of the flowers 
and warm, or exposed to the chilly winds. 
Even a desert can be made to blossom if 
you only know how. 
As to the third step, make a list of the 
seeds, bulbs, roots, vines, shrubs, etc., that 
you particularly want, with the idea of hav¬ 
ing some flowers in bloom the whole sum¬ 
mer long. If you are lucky enough to have 
Flowers must be looked after just as regularly as 
if they were pigeons or tame rabbits or canary birds 
a kind friend or relative who will give you 
some they will probably be good and come 
up as they should. If you have to buy, 
though, be sure to go to a first-class, reliable 
dealer, for you don’t want to waste your 
time and money on old things that won’t 
grow. 
Last of all, decide on your planting from 
your chosen list with a view to height and 
color, so that you will plant to the best ad¬ 
vantage—the nasturtiums, which climb, for 
example, are best for the back of the bed 
against a wall or trellis, while the dwarf 
variety should go at the front of a border. 
BrG Words for Common Things 
To select your flowers intelligently, 
though, you must know something about 
their nature, habits, and tendencies, and 
certain words always found in seed cata¬ 
logues and garden books may be puzzling 
to a beginner. 
Annual, for example, refers to plants that 
live only a year or a single season. 
Biennials, however, continue for two 
years before they die, making roots and 
leaves the first year and flowering the sec¬ 
ond. 
Perennials are the kind that continue for 
more than two years. 
Deciduous refers to the shrubs and trees 
that lose their leaves in the fall. 
Evergreens are those that keep their 
leaves the whole year round. 
Plerbaceous plants may be annual, bien¬ 
nial, or perennial, but they have a stem that 
does not become woody, and they die down 
after flowering. 
Hybrids are plants produced by “cross¬ 
ing” or mixing two different varieties. 
All plant life, you must understand, re- 
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