Garden Work in July 
pruning and thinning out of the weak growths is 
timely work. It is not wise to prune too heavily 
while plants are in full leaf, but if not more than 
one third of the branches are taken off it will be 
to the advantage of the remaining ones. 
Work on the lawn and among the flower beds 
consists principally of keeping things tidy. During 
the very dry weather the lawn should not be mown 
too closely, although it will require to be mown 
just as often to keep it looking nice. If the knives 
of the mowing machine are raised a little the turf 
will be all the better for it. The flower beds should 
be gone over occasionally to keep the dead flowers 
picked off and the rampant shoots pinched back. 
This is perhaps the dullest month of the summer 
among the hardy perennials. The latest paeonies 
have fallen and the plants are now forming buds at 
the base of the stalks under ground that will pro¬ 
duce the next year’s crop of flowers, so do not let 
them suffer for want of water, or cut the foliage ofl'. 
The perennial phloxes are at their best this 
month, these and the Japanese Irises are the feature 
of the month. The choicer kinds of the former 
deteriorate very rapidly if left to themselves without 
transplanting, especially the vivid crimson and 
reds. A good collection left to itself will soon be 
nothing but pinks, whites, and that objectionable 
magenta or purple shade. The Japanese Irises 
like abundance of water while they are growing 
and blooming. In Japan where they are grown 
to such perfection they are flooded with water at 
this period but drained during the winter. With 
this treatment the blooms will measure six to eight 
inches across. 
As a rule the majority of evergreens grow so 
symmetrical as not to need pruning, but it is well 
to look them over carefully to see that they do not 
develop double leaders. This is very necessary 
in the case of the spruces, firs, and pines. If any 
of the young trees of this class have their growing 
tip or leader injured two or three shoots will start 
out to take its place and unless all are shortened in 
but the one selected to form the new leader the 
result will be a deformed tree. 
There is always plenty to do in the vegetable 
garden, regardless of the season, such as weeding, 
thinning, hoeing etc., and when everything is kept 
as it should be the vegetable garden becomes a 
veritable pleasure ground. This is the month of 
the last sowings of sugar corn, French beans, and 
peas, because if sown later they will hardly mature 
successfully. 
By this time some of the early crops will have 
been harvested and the ground released for the 
planting of celery. There are several methods of 
growing this popular vegetable. The most satis¬ 
factory way for family use is in trenches. Dig 
them out about eighteen inches deep and put in the 
bottom a good layer of well rotted manure and top 
soil, well mixed together, then set the plants in a 
double row about six inches apart. Keep them 
well watered, as it is a plant very partial to moist, 
rich soil. Do not begin to earth the plants up too 
soon as there will be a danger of burying the heart 
or growing point, which would check their growth. 
If a new strawberry bed is wanted now is the time 
to plan tor it. Have the ground deeply dug, well 
manured and ready for planting as soon as the 
runners are ready. If you already have a bed 
reserve some of the best runners for the new 
plantation. By sinking small pots filled with soil 
in the ground around the old plant the runners 
can be rooted in them so that they can be trans¬ 
ferred to the new bed without disturbing the roots. 
o 
Treating in this manner will insure a good crop 
the following spring. In estimating the area of 
ground required it is well to figure on giving 
them plenty of room, two and a half feet 
between the rows and eighteen inches between 
the plants is not too far apart. 
Cultivating, weeding and watering forms the 
principal work of this month, and on them depends 
in a great measure the success of the garden both 
for this season and next. Time is never lost in 
cultivating even when the ground does not appar¬ 
ently need it or when there are no weeds in sight. 
By keeping the soil stirred and loose on the surface 
crops will come through the dry spells when other¬ 
wise they would he a failure. 
Cultivate rather than water in dry weather, but 
when the latter is done, see that a thorough soaking 
is given, a light sprinkling is useless as the water 
evaporates into the atmosphere before the plants 
have time to absorb any of it. 
49 
