The Editor will gladly answer queries pertaining to individual problems connected with the garden and grounds. When an immediate reply is desired, 
please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope 
Now is the Time to Mulch 
VERY tree, shrub and vine about 
the garden will be vastly bene¬ 
fited by a liberal mulching at this time. 
With what to mulch should not be a 
troublesome question. Foliage of all 
kinds has been falling, is now almost 
through falling, and should be raked 
together and applied about the trees 
and shrubs to prevent damage from 
alternate freezing and thawing of the 
ground. The new leaves can be held in 
place about the roots of plants by throw¬ 
ing over them a few spadefuls of coarse 
manure or rich earth. Besides the 
practical utility of the fallen and decay¬ 
ing foliage as a mulch, the garden will 
be left in a much more presentable con¬ 
dition when it has been gathered up. 
The Swan Flower or Winter 
Sweet Pea 
The Swan Flower ( Swainsonia gale- 
quifolia), as easy to grow as the geran¬ 
ium, cannot be excelled for the house 
and conservatory for winter blooming. 
It will bloom every day in the year and 
has fern-like foliage. Borne on long 
stems and in clusters, the blossoms are 
shaped like those of the sweet pea and 
are nearly as large. They are very 
easily cared for, and will thrive and 
bloom with only ordinary attention. 
Lilies for Indoor Bloom 
The best winter flowering lily is the 
Lilium Harrisii, Bermuda Lily. Vast 
numbers of these lilies are grown for 
house decorations and they are so popu¬ 
lar because of their splendid qualities 
and great beauty. They are large, fra¬ 
grant, and are borne in clusters of from 
six to eight at a time. They should 
bloom in ninety days from the time of 
planting the bulb. There is plenty of 
time to get them in bloom for Easter. 
A six-inch pot, drained, is about right for 
each bulb. Use a loamy or a turfv soil, 
adding well rotted manure, and cover 
the bulb about one inch. After firm¬ 
ing the earth about it. water freely and 
set in a cool place for about two weeks. 
That will permit the roots to start and 
it can then be brought to the light. 
The window of the living-room is a 
desirable location. Moderate heat, with 
plenty of sunshine and water will insure 
good results. 
Tie Up Your Vines 
This is the time of the year when 
all vines should be given assistance in the 
way of protection from the snows and 
ice formations. They should be gone 
over and carefully tied to some support 
so that they will not be broken or other¬ 
wise injured by the weight of snow and 
ice If it is necessary to put up a post 
*<«Tie up your vines to prevent their being broken 
» by the weight of winter snow and ice 
or stake for support do not hesitate 
to do so. There are more sightly things 
than stakes driven up through the yard, 
but the unsightliness is more than com¬ 
pensated for by the good results. 
Porch Shrubs 
HAVE, in front of my porch on both sides 
of the steps, a space of 6x2^ feet. I 
would like to plant in this space some nice 
hardy shrubbery that would look well the 
greater part of the year. The porch is five 
feet high, therefore shrubs should not grow 
too high. What would you suggest for this 
purpose? The exposure is south, large elms 
in front of the house twenty-five feet distant. 
In queries of this sort it would be well 
for the readers of House and Garden 
to give some hint as to the style of the 
architecture, in this instance whether 
or not the porch foundation is of frame, 
brick, stone, or open construction. 
Points of this sort very often determine 
the selection of certain species in place 
of others that might have been selected 
from the mere ground plan. However, 
it is safe to say that for both beds a 
selection of spireas would be thoroughly 
effective throughout the season—the 
lovely Spiraea Thunbergii, for instance, 
one of tl:e loveliest of them all, feathery 
in effect, and earliest to bloom, with a 
fleecy mass of snow-white blossoms. 
Summer finds it a good background to 
S. callosa alba (white-flowered), and 
the 5 . Bumalda, var. Anthony Waterer 
(which bears carmine blossoms from 
July onward). Thus you will obtain 
both flower and foliage throughout the 
season, and autumn will find the willow¬ 
like leaves of the 5 . Thunbergii chang¬ 
ing in color from green to golden bronze, 
orange and red. There are over fifty 
spireas known to the garden lover, but 
you can hardly do better than to choose 
the ones suggested. Then if your porch 
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