,transcriber's ,note3 ,bold text is surrounded by equal signs and italic text is surrounded by underscores4 ,,the ,,children',s ,,book ,,of ,,gardening ,,uniform ,,with ,,this ,,volume ,by ,,miss ,,conway and ,,sir ,,martin ,,conway ,,the ,,children',s ,,book ,,of ,,art ,by ,,elizabeth ,w4 ,,grierson ,,the ,,children',s ,,book ,,of ,,celtic ,,stories ,by ,,elizabeth ,w4 ,,grierson ,,children',s ,,tales ,,from ,,scottish ,,ballads ,by ,,elizabeth ,w4 ,,grierson ,,the ,,children',s ,,book ,,of ,,edinburgh ,by ,,elizabeth ,w4 ,,grierson ,,children',s ,,tales ,,of ,,english ,,minsters ,by ,g4 ,e4 ,,mitton ,,the ,,children',s ,,book ,,of ,,london ,by ,g4 ,e4 ,,mitton ,,the ,,children',s ,,book ,,of ,,stars ,by ,g4 ,e4 ,,mitton ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,railway ,a4 ,,and ,c4 ,,black ,,soho ,,square ,,london1 ,w4 ,,agents ,america ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company #fd #ff ,fifth ,avenue1 ,,new ,,york ,australasia ,,oxford ,,university ,,press #bje ,flinders ,lane1 ,,melbourne ,canada ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company ,,of ,,canada1 ,,ltd4 #bg ,richmond ,street ,west1 ,,toronto ,india ,,macmillan ,,company1 ,,ltd4 ,macmillan ,building1 ,,bombay #cji ,bow ,bazaar ,street1 ,,calcutta ,illustration3 ,a ,,herbaceous ,,border4 ,,the ,,children',s ,,book ,,of ,,gardening ,,by ,,mrs4 ,,alfred ,,sidgwick ,,and ,,mrs4 ,,paynter ,,with ,,twelve ,,full-,,page ,,illustrations ,,in ,,colour ,,from ,,drawings ,,by ,,mrs4 ,,cayley-,,robinson ,,london ,,adam ,,and ,,charles ,,black #aiji #8,it is the ,spirit of ,paradise ,that prompts such work1 a ,spirit strong1 ,that gives to all the self-same bent ,where life is wise and innocent4' ,,wordsworth4 ,,dedicated ,,to ,,betty1 ,,barbara1 ,,and ,,cyril ,,preface ,,this book was suggested by the questions of a boy of twelve who lived in ,germany and sent for an ,english book that would teach him the elements of gardening4 ,one of the authors asked the editor of a well-known gardening journal to recommend her a suitable book1 and found that he knew of none written from a child's point of view1 and supplying the instruction a child could understand and use4 ,yet in these days1 when so many children have a garden1 such a book must be needed4 ,the aim in this one has been to tell the juvenile reader how to make his garden grow1 and the authors have not allowed themselves to wander in the pleasant byways of description1 reflection1 or amusement4 ,they wished to help the budding gardener rather than to entertain the child1 and they have tried to keep within the limits of what a child can do4 ,but as children vary in age and strength as well as in circumstances1 they will not all be able to follow the whole of the advice here given4 ,cyril1 for instance1 could dig his own little plot of ground1 but ,betty could not for many a year to come2 and though ,cyril may not have the patience to sow his sweet peas in the best of all possible ways1 ,betty will read in this book how it should be done1 and then get one of her father's gardeners to do it for her4 ,as for ,barbara1 she is a traveller1 and can have no garden of her own2 but she sets daffodils in her friends' gardens1 and is content to see them1 with her inward eye1 dancing in the breeze for their delight4 ,so all children1 according to their strength and means1 may love a garden1 whether it is contained in a few flower-pots on a city window-sill1 or encouraged to expand and grow in the wide spaces of the country4 ,gardening1 like other bents1 will find a way2 but it will run more smoothly if it has a little help at the beginning4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,,the ,,situation ,,and ,,soil #a ,,ii4 ,,annuals #af ,,iii4 ,,hardy ,,perennials #dc ,,iv4 ,,bulbs1 ,,corms1 ,,and ,,tubers #gj ,v4 ,,biennials #ia ,,vi4 ,,bedding ,,plants #ajg ,,vii4 ,,roses #aaf ,,viii4 ,,carnations ,,and ,,pinks #aca ,,ix4 ,,lilies #adb ,x4 ,,rock ,,and ,,wall ,,gardens #aeb ,,xi4 ,,difficult ,,and ,,shady ,,gardens #aff ,,xii4 ,,some ,,hardy ,,climbers #agb ,,xiii4 ,,fruit ,,and ,,vegetables #aha ,,xiv4 ,,window1 ,,room1 ,,and ,,japanese ,,gardens #aid ,,xv4 ,a ,,calendar ,,of ,,work #bab ,,index #bcc ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,by ,,mrs4 ,,cayley-,,robinson ,a ,,herbaceous ,,border ,frontispiece ,,facing ,,page ,,the ,,tidy ,,gardener #h ,,january #ag ,,poppies #cb ,,larkspurs ,,and ,,pinks #fe ,,daffodils #hj ,,irises #ig ,a ,,cornish ,,cottage #aab ,,lilies ,,and ,,roses #ade #8,,the ,,road ,,to ,,rome' #afj ,a ,,window ,,garden #aic ,a ,,room ,,garden ,,in ,,spring #bjh ,,the ,,children',s ,,book ,,of ,,gardening ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,situation ,,and ,,soil ,,the first thing to decide is that you really want a garden of your own1 and mean to work in it and keep it clean and tidy4 ,the next thing is to learn a little about situation and soil1 because you cannot choose which plants to grow until you know what conditions you can give them4 ,you must not think that you can ram any plants into any patch of ground with success4 ,there are a few that are obliging and will live almost anywhere1 but even these will generally show you by their size and health whether they like their home or not4 ,many will just exist1 but not do well without the food or place that suits them1 while others will die unless they have what they want4 ,if you can possibly avoid it1 do not have your garden under trees or large shrubs1 or close to an evergreen hedge4 ,the drip from trees is bad for nearly all plants1 and the big roots made by trees and shrubs exhaust the soil4 ,besides1 on account of the roots1 you cannot dig the ground properly and feed it with manure4 ,however1 if your choice is between a shady garden and none1 you should certainly take it1 and learn what can be done with it4 ,later on in the book we will tell you which plants will do well in such a spot1 and how you should treat them4 ,the best situation for a garden is one that gets the morning sun1 and is either right out in the open or sheltered on the north4 ,it is best for the plants and best for you1 because in a warm1 sunny corner you can often work on days when it would not be safe in the chilly parts of the garden4 ,do not have a large plot if you mean to look after it without help3 twelve feet long by seven feet wide would be enough1 and even a smaller piece could be made into a pretty garden4 ,if you have more than you can keep tidy1 the grown-ups will be sorry they let you have a garden at all1 and some day they will say that the gardener wants your bit of sunny border for his winter lettuces1 and that you had better take yourself and your weeds and your mess away to that no-man's-land in the shrubbery1 where nothing much will grow1 and where it is always sad and chilly4 ,so we will imagine that your garden is twelve feet long and seven feet wide1 and that the sun shines on it whenever it is fine4 ,whether your plot is a bed by itself or part of a wide border1 it will not be easy and pleasant to manage unless you make a path through the centre--a dry1 hard1 narrow path1 on which you can stand or kneel when you are at work amongst your plants4 ,across the breadth would be the most convenient position4 ,to do this you should get a penny piece of tape1 because it is easier to see and keep straight than string4 ,measure the length of your garden with it1 having tied one end of the tape to a stick and put the stick firmly into one corner of the ground4 ,tie a knot in the tape when you reach the other corner4 ,then carry the knot back to the stick1 and the doubled tape will mark the centre of the whole length4 ,put a stick into the ground there4 ,then you get two other sticks1 and put them nine inches on either side of the centre one1 so as to get your eighteen-inch path exactly measured at the top of your garden4 ,the other side of the garden may be measured in the same way1 and the centre sticks removed at either end4 ,then you bring your tape right along both sides of your path1 tying it to your sticks at each end1 so that you have two straight lines to guide you4 ,if you are going to make your path yourself1 you must now take your spade and dig out all the earth to the depth of ten inches4 ,this will be hard work1 and take you several days1 but if you want your path to be dry and firm it must be done4 ,the earth you throw out should be divided as evenly as possible between your two beds1 and be neatly spread on them when you have finished4 ,the deep trench you make by digging must be filled with broken stones or pieces of brick well stamped down1 and afterwards covered with gravel or fine stones4 ,now you will have two borders1 each seven feet long and five feet three inches wide4 ,if you choose you can make one side a flower garden and the other side a kitchen garden1 and in your kitchen garden you can grow some flowers as well as vegetables4 ,in any case1 you will be glad of your path1 and if your plot is smaller than the one we recommend1 you should make it on one side instead of in the middle4 ,as far as possible1 you should do all your gardening from it1 so that the soil around the plants does not get trodden down too hard4 ,most plants like to have a firm hold with their roots1 but not to have a caked surface that keeps out the air and rain4 ,before you put in any plants you must pay some attention to the state of your soil4 ,even grown-ups often seem to think that earth is earth1 and that any flowers will nourish in any ground4 ,but1 as a matter of fact1 plants are even more various and dainty about their food than human beings2 they answer as well to clever treatment1 and they look as starved as slum children when they are not properly fed4 ,gardeners usually tell you that nearly everything will nourish in a good loam1 and that it may be either natural or the result of cultivation4 ,soil of this kind is a mixture of clay1 sand1 and humus1 and is easily worked4 ,in or near ,london you generally get abominable soil in your garden1 because the builders have dug out the good stuff and replaced it with any kind of rubbish4 ,everyone knows the ,london mixture of black1 sticky clay1 broken bricks and bottles1 and the roots of grimy trees and shrubs4 ,many things will no more thrive in such a medium than a baby would on lobster salad4 ,if you have to begin your gardening career with a builder's rubbish-heap1 you must be content to grow some of the strongest things1 such as ,starworts1 ,foxgloves1 ,nasturtiums1 and some bulbs1 and to renew them every year4 ,roughly speaking1 soils may be divided into heavy and light--those that hold wet and those that do not4 ,the heavy kinds are mostly clay1 though pure peat retains a great deal of moisture4 ,the light soils are gravel1 limestone1 and sand4 ,if you are used to a heavy clay soil1 you will envy the people who have a light sandy one2 and then some day when you come to work a hungry1 sandy garden1 you will wish for some of the sticky soil that is not easy to handle1 but which many plants love4 ,in either case you must try to improve matters1 and to do this you must first find out what your soil is4 ,in a limestone country you need not add lime1 but it would be good for clay4 ,in ,holland pure sand has been made fertile by the addition of cow manure4 ,it is often said that the gardener's year begins in ,november1 because that is when you would make a new bed1 or feed and alter an old one4 ,if you make a bed well one autumn and grow things that like to be left alone1 you would obviously not make it all over again the next4 ,you would #8mulch' any part of it that required food or protection--i4e41 you would supply a top dressing1 a winter blanket of manure that would both keep things warm1 and1 with the help of the air and rain1 send them food4 ,when the spring comes1 these top dressings look untidy1 and they are either lightly and carefully forked in or taken away4 ,by that time they are chiefly straw4 ,when you are making a new bed1 or reorganizing an old one completely1 you cover the soil three inches thick with manure1 make trenches1 and take care that it is all buried at least ten inches deep1 because very few plants like to come into contact with it when it is first put into the ground4 ,it is an operation that you cannot manage at all for yourself if you are a girl4 ,you must get a gardener or an elder brother to do it for you4 ,if you tried digging in manure1 your nurse would say to you what the nurse in ,leech's old picture said to the child who stirred her tea with the snuffers3 #8,miss ,mary1 you are not to stir your tea with the snuffers4 ,it is not at all ladylike1 and ,i am sure your papa would not approve of it4' ,illustration3 ,,the ,,tidy ,,gardener4 ,the manure used should not be quite fresh1 or it will make the earth #8sick1' as gardeners say1 and kill your delicate plants and seedlings4 ,after it has been dug in1 the winter frosts and rains do a great deal to ripen it1 and in the spring1 when you plant1 your flowers will be vigorous and plentiful1 because they will find the food they need ready for them4 ,but if you live in a town you may not be able to get farm manure easily1 and then you would find a chemical one useful4 ,clay's ,fertilizer is a well-known manure1 and so is ,shefa1 but many people have killed their plants by using too much of them4 ,a tablespoonful to the square yard is enough1 and it should be scattered evenly over the surface before it is dug in4 ,there are many other chemical manures1 but it is not necessary for you to know much about them yet4 ,if your grown-ups understand them1 they will provide you with what your soil needs2 and if they do not1 you can get on very well with the manures described here4 ,do not use chemical manures if you have a damp1 heavy soil4 ,in any garden it is a good plan to collect all the rubbish you can--old rags and toys1 for instance1 dry dead leaves1 and small dry sticks--for a bonfire4 ,the ashes left provide a food that all plants like1 and they should never be wasted1 but dug into the soil4 ,in the country soot is good for your soil1 and most useful in keeping off slugs4 ,in a town you would not use it at all except as a defence against slugs4 ,leaf-mould is good for all soils1 but it is not a rich food4 ,sand should be mixed with clay land that is heavy and sticky4 ,lime is valuable where soil is #8sour1' dark1 and mossy1 and some plants need it1 as a child needs milk2 but you had better not try to apply it by yourself4 ,it has to be #8slaked' by the air or with water before it is used1 and makes a white powdery dust that would not be liked on your clothes4 ,mortar from buildings contains lime1 and is easier to manage4 ,if you cannot enlist a gardener1 and are going to make your own garden1 you must learn to dig it over properly1 and for this you will want a strong spade suited to your height4 ,you begin by digging a trench ten inches deep from one end of your garden to the other4 ,the earth you take out should be put in a wheelbarrow or on the farther side of the border4 ,when the first trench is finished you put some manure all along it2 then you start a second one1 close to the first1 and this time you put the earth you take out into the manured trench ready for it4 ,in this way the manure and the soil that was on the top get buried beneath soil that has been hidden till now from the light and air4 ,you go on making these trenches side by side until you reach the edge of the border1 and you fill the last one with the soil you first removed1 which is waiting for you in the wheelbarrow4 ,in digging you should put your spade straight down into the ground1 and help it with your foot to go in deep2 then lean back on it1 lift it out full of soil1 and tilt it sharply into the empty trench4 ,but you should not try to dig with a full-sized spade1 as even with a small one you will find it hard work4 ,the operation is a most important one1 because when the buried soil is brought to the top the weather comes and gardens for you there1 as well as deeper down1 where the manure now lies covered4 ,the winter frosts1 the summer rains1 the air and the sunlight1 all affect it strongly1 sweeten it1 break it1 and make it ready for your flowers4 ,in the winter the surface of your beds should be left as rough as possible1 because then the frost can get in easily and do its work4 ,we will tell you later several ways of protecting some of your plants from frost1 for the degree of cold that improves your soil will kill your favourite plants if you do not take care of them4 ,but if you become a really keen gardener1 you will find that you often look at the weather from the gardener's point of view4 ,the rainy day that is disappointing other people will be settling in the newly-planted things1 or helping your seeds to germinate1 or persuading your bulbs to put out roots4 ,when warm weather comes1 you know that everything will take a start1 and get on quickly2 but the frosty days that skaters love will make you anxious1 especially while you are a beginner4 ,when you have had a garden for a year or two1 you will have seen many a plant hang its head for a time and after all recover4 ,the tools used by your elders will be too large and heavy for you1 but on no account have a #8,child's ,garden ,set1' as they are never strong4 ,buy each implement separately1 of good quality1 and the size to suit you4 ,you will want a spade1 a hoe1 a rake1 a broad flat trowel1 and a small hand-fork4 ,if possible1 you should also have a two-quart watering-can1 a sieve1 and a little galvanized iron or wooden wheelbarrow for rubbish4 ,always knock the earth off your tools when you have done gardening1 scrape them clean1 and put them away in a dry shed4 ,they should never be left out in the wet4 ,the watering-can should be emptied and turned upside down to dry4 ,if you cannot have a wheelbarrow of your own1 you must use an old pail or basket for weeds and rubbish4 ,these should be carefully collected as you work1 and then either thrown away or saved in a neat heap for your bonfire4 ,weeds are sometimes burnt1 sometimes buried deep under the soil to make #8humus1' and sometimes left on a rubbish-heap until they have decayed and are ready to make soil again4 #8,humus' is the dark earthy substance that you get from decayed vegetation1 and it is useful to plants2 but in your little plot you will not have a large quantity of weeds1 and when you have planted it you will not want to dig holes to bury them4 ,you will see many operations going on in the large garden that you cannot imitate and need not understand until you have learned to cultivate your own4 ,when that time comes1 and you know all that we can teach you1 there are many larger1 fuller books that will tell you a great deal we must leave untold4 ,we shall only discuss things that you can grow without much skill1 or strength1 or expense4 ,a little sense and patience1 and a little of your pocket-money1 will enable you to carry out our instructions4 ,but we do not mean that you can grow all the plants we talk about in one summer4 ,we have chosen a few from thousands1 and from those few you must choose again1 according to your taste and your conditions4 ,all the beautiful annuals and perennials we speak of will grow in any country garden that has sun part of the day1 and we will tell you which do best in towns4 ,but it is most important not to grow more things than you have room for or time to tend4 ,there is no pleasure in a crowded1 badly-grown annual1 for instance1 that is mean and stunted1 because twenty plants are struggling for life where one would just flourish comfortably4 ,you must consider well what you want to grow and what you can grow1 both in your flower and your vegetable garden4 ,you must find out what size the plants will be1 what colour1 and when they will flower4 ,it is no use to say to yourself that a scarlet autumn ,gladiolus would look well next to a white ,foxglove2 you must remember that the ,foxglove flowers in ,june and the ,gladiolus in ,august4 ,you must be careful not to put orange and magenta next to each other2 but1 on the whole1 we should advise you not to trouble much about colour yet4 ,out-of-doors flowers harmonize in unexpected ways4 ,you should consider the height of your plants1 and put the tall ones at the back of your border4 ,there are some exceptions to this rule1 but we will leave you to study those in any well-kept gardens you are lucky enough to see4 ,as long as your garden is a child's garden you had better put your dwarf plants in front and your tall ones behind4 ,but you must find out which plants will like your climate and your soil1 and which you have room for comfortably4 ,if you have a tiny plot1 do not choose anything that will make a big bush4 ,some lovely plants are quite small1 so that you could grow a good many in a garden two feet square4 ,we have not said anything yet about the edging of your garden1 because you are quite likely to find that ready-made4 ,tiles have the merit of keeping clean and tidy2 a ,box edging is pretty1 but it has to be clipped neatly1 and it affords shelter to snails and slugs4 ,turf requires much attention1 and wears bare easily4 ,the best edging is one of rough stones laid well into the soil1 and with soil worked into the spaces between them4 ,in case you have not seen these edgings1 and yet can get some stones1 we had better explain that each stone should be wedged as firmly as possible into the ground1 but not covered2 then in the pockets of earth between the stones you plant all kinds of tiny creeping plants1 and these soon make a charming border4 ,we will give you the names and habits of some in the chapter on rockeries4 ,do not1 at any rate1 have an absurd border of little pebbles1 as they get out of place at once1 and look untidy4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,annuals ,,by annuals we here mean flowers that bloom in summer from seed sown in early spring4 ,out of a long list we shall choose twelve that are all easy to grow and last in flower a long time4 ,from these twelve you must choose again1 for there would not be room for many in a small plot1 and if you crowd them none will do well4 ,it is a great mistake to think that people who can grow nothing else successfully can manage annuals4 ,all the good seedsmen know how often they are blamed for failures when the amateur1 or even the professional gardener1 should blame himself4 ,he has sown on ill-prepared soil1 or too deeply2 he has let birds eat the seed1 or slugs and snails the seedlings2 or he has sown too much seed1 and been too lazy to thin out properly4 ,small birds are dreadful thieves in some gardens1 and if you find them in yours you should put little twigs where you have sown your seed1 and stretch a maze of black cotton from one twig to the other4 ,they soon get to know that the cotton is there and keep away4 ,illustration3 ,,january4 ,the twelve annuals we have chosen for you are3 #a4 ,sweet-peas4 #b4 ,mignonette4 #c4 ,clarkia4 #d4 ,malope4 #e4 ,godetia4 #f4 ,larkspur 7,delphinium74 #g4 ,love-in-a-mist 7,nigella74 #h4 ,nasturtiums4 #i4 ,sunflowers4 #aj4 ,shirley ,poppies4 #aa4 ,alonsoas4 #ab4 ,eschscholtzia4 ,for most seeds that are sown in the open ground you must wait till the end of ,march in the ,south of ,england1 and till the first or second week of ,april in the ,north4 ,the old saying that #8a peck of ,march dust is worth a ,king's ransom' will teach you something about sowing seeds4 ,it means that you want your soil to be in a workable state1 not hard with frost or sloppy with heavy rains1 but friable and just moist with a light spring shower4 ,when these pleasant spring days come1 your work in the garden begins in earnest1 and so does your pleasure4 ,some of the bulbs you have planted in autumn will be flowering2 others will be pushing their way up towards the light2 and your herbaceous plants--those that died down in the autumn--will be coming up again1 and making delicious young green leaves4 ,the part of your garden that you have saved for annuals must be carefully hoed and raked now1 so that all the weeds are destroyed1 and the soil made fine and powdery for your seedlings4 ,their little roots could not strike down and get any hold in hard1 big lumps of earth1 and it would be a waste of money and time to sow seed there4 ,you should remove all stones and weeds1 and break up the lumps of earth with your rake4 ,the surface of your seed-bed1 when ready1 should be quite smooth and fine4 ,if the seed to be sown is small1 mix it with double its own quantity of sand1 or dry sifted earth1 as that helps you not to sow too thickly4 ,do not choose a windy day if you can help it1 or your seeds would blow away4 ,for a big patch of seeds it is best to take your hoe and draw shallow trenches1 one inch deep and twelve or fifteen inches apart4 ,when these are ready1 take the seed in your hands and carefully dribble it in as evenly as you can4 ,when you have finished1 rake the earth smoothly over the trenches again1 and pat it gently in place4 ,you should always put a stick or a label where you sow seed or set bulbs1 as it is easy to forget what one has done1 and put things on the top of each other4 ,in favourable weather some of your seedlings will show their seed-leaves in ten days or a fortnight1 but others will take longer4 ,the first pair of leaves are what botanists call cotyledons1 and those that come after are unlike them4 ,you will soon get to know both the cotyledons and the other leaves of the plants you grow4 ,you can often tell your seedlings from weeds by observing a whole colony of new-comers exactly alike1 where you have placed a stick or a label4 ,as soon as you can handle them they will want carefully thinning1 and when you find out how troublesome it is to thin a patch of ,poppies properly1 for instance1 you will understand why we advise you to mix all your small seed with sand1 and only to put a pinch into the ground4 ,firms that sell penny packets of seed tell you that there are two thousand seeds in some of their packets4 ,poppy seeds nearly all come up1 and a well-grown plant should have a foot of soil to itself4 ,so if you made a hedge of poppies all along one side of your border1 you would use seven seeds out of two thousand4 ,all gardeners sow more seeds than they mean to use1 because they must allow for accidents and insects1 and they expect to do some thinning4 ,but the ignorant gardener invariably sows his seed too thick1 and leaves his seedlings too close together2 so he gets a crowd of starved1 stunted plants that do not flower well1 and are soon over for the year4 ,you should begin by leaving three inches between your seedlings1 and end by giving most of them a foot apiece4 ,some will require more room1 some rather less1 and the best way to please them is to watch them constantly1 and make sure that each little plant has room to expand4 ,in thinning seedlings you must be most careful not to disturb the roots of those you wish to leave1 and when you have sown too thickly this is difficult4 ,some seedlings will bear pricking out in another part of the garden2 some1 such as ,wallflowers1 actually like it2 while others will not stand it at all4 ,you should do your pricking out in showery weather4 ,pricking out means taking up all your seedlings and planting them in rows to grow bigger4 ,we will tell you as we go on which flowers should be raised in this way4 ,seed that is to be pricked out is usually sown in a box or a shallow earthenware pan with holes in it1 or in the ground under a bell-glass4 ,any grocer will give or sell you an empty soap or sweetmeat box that will do for seeds4 ,it should have one or two holes bored in the bottom1 and a few potsherds or bits of broken brick for drainage4 ,the soil should be sifted and moist4 ,a bell-glass is a dome of glass with a knob at the top1 and should be about twelve inches across and ten inches high4 ,you can get one for eighteenpence at a china-shop1 and you will find it useful if you have neither a frame nor a greenhouse4 ,you may put it on half-hardy plants at night to keep the frost from them1 or on newly-sown seeds to hurry them on4 ,in very cold weather you would leave it on plants all day1 but slip a bit of wood under one side to let air in for an hour or two at noon4 ,when you use it for seed1 you do not move it until the seedlings appear4 ,you should not prick out your seedlings until they have made four leaves besides the cotyledons4 ,when you grow seed in pans or boxes1 you do not thin out the seedlings1 so they will probably be close together4 ,if they are dry you should begin by watering them with a fine rose2 then take your hand-fork1 put it in close to the plants you wish to remove1 dig it well down1 lift gently1 and a whole group of plants will come up with a lump of earth4 ,break the seedlings gently apart1 each singly4 ,great care must be taken not to bruise the plants or tear the tender roots4 ,when you have separated about a dozen1 plant them out1 and as you do this consider how much space will be required for each4 ,snapdragons and ,marigolds should be a foot apart1 but ,lettuces can do with nine inches1 and ,violas with rather less4 ,sometimes seedlings are pricked out into neat beds in a reserve part of the garden1 and transplanted later to the borders where they are to flower4 ,sometimes they are put out at once into their permanent situation4 ,this is partly a question of habit and partly of room4 ,when a plant is not going to flower till next year1 you would rather keep it out of your show border this year1 so if you have a nursery border you let it grow up there4 ,if it is going to flower in a few weeks1 you may as well give it a good place at once and leave it alone4 ,then1 again1 some things are the better for the check of transplantation1 while others recover with difficulty or not at all4 ,in gardening it is easier to make general rules for the gardener than for his plants4 ,he must be as wise as a good doctor1 and find out what treatment different plants require1 what food1 what surgery or medicine1 and what stimulants2 and he must even learn1 just as a doctor must1 to apply his general knowledge to his special case4 ,for instance1 the very ,geranium that he has taken into his greenhouse every winter in ,yorkshire may be planted against the south wall of his house if he lives in ,cornwall1 and trusted in a few years' time to reach the roof1 and give him flowers for his ,christmas dinner-table4 ,all that he knows about gardening must be influenced1 and sometimes considerably altered1 by his own local conditions of soil1 aspect1 and climate4 ,you must remember this when you buy your seeds in the spring and your bulbs in the autumn1 and choose those that do well in your neighbourhood4 ,you should always observe what plants other people near you are growing in their gardens1 and what conditions they give them4 ,in that way you can learn a great deal about the management of your own4 ,,sweet-,,peas4 #8,here are sweet-peas on tiptoe for a flight1 ,with wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white1 ,and taper fingers catching at all things1 ,to bind them all about with tiny rings4' ,we like to remind you of these charming lines by ,keats1 because then you will always think of them when you look at your own ,sweet-peas on a summer day4 ,but our business is to tell you how to grow them1 so that they are ready for the poet when he comes by1 and we do not begin with a summer day1 but with one at the end of winter1 when the seed lists come and set you thinking of spring4 ,sweet-peas have become such a popular flower of late years that we have heard people talk of the #8,sweet-pea world1' by which we suppose they meant the growers who cultivate the many new varieties and the rare shades4 ,when you are grown up you will have to decide for yourself whether you belong to any of these #8worlds' in the florist's sense of the word4 ,we have never had the least desire to grow a black ,tulip or a blue ,rose1 but there is no doubt that when #8fanciers' take up a flower they improve it for a time4 ,if you gave up gardening for ten or twelve years1 and then began again1 you would find that there were new varieties of some of your old favourites1 and that the sorts you used to grow were not admired now4 ,the most popular and well-known flowers all have such a history4 ,your grandmother would remember when every ,dahlia in the garden was as stiff as the modern little ,pom-poms1 but much bigger4 ,then1 about twenty-five years ago1 the single ,dahlias ousted the stiff ones1 and now we all grow ,cactus ,dahlias1 with long pointed1 twisted petals4 ,so with ,sweet-peas4 ,fifty years ago no one wanted anything but a mixed clump1 some of which would be mauve or purple1 some marbled1 and some pink4 ,now it is usual to grow each colour by itself1 and every year we seem to get better colours and bigger flowers4 ,the fanciers of the #8,sweet-pea world' have taken ,sweet-peas in hand1 and by careful cultivation and selection have given us many new and beautiful varieties4 ,at first novelties are dear1 because the stock of seed is small1 but for a few pence you can have a hedge that would have rejoiced ,keats2 and if you are a wise child1 you will certainly grow those that have become plentiful4 ,we will give you the names of some varieties that we like best1 but you will easily understand from the little we have told you that some years hence our list will probably look old-fashioned4 ,even to-day anyone you happen to know in the #8,sweet-pea world' might make a different choice4 ,the names we give you are the names of the ,sweet-peas we like and have grown with success4 #a4 ,king ,edward ,,vii4 7vivid red74 #b4 ,gorgeous 7orange-salmon74 #c4 ,blanch ,burpee 7white74 #d4 ,navy ,blue 7violet-blue74 #e4 ,lady ,grizel ,hamilton 7mauve74 #f4 ,mrs4 ,collier 7yellow74 #g4 ,lovely 7pale pink74 #h4 ,miss ,willmott 7salmon-pink74 #i4 ,black ,knight 7maroon74 #aj4 ,countess ,spencer 7wavy pink74 #aa4 ,nora ,unwin 7frilled white74 #ab4 ,gladys ,unwin 7pale pink74 ,sweet-peas grow very tall if they are healthy and properly staked1 so they should be sown all along the back of your border to make a hedge4 ,if you buy a packet of some expensive variety that gives you only a few seeds1 you might sow those separately in a circle4 ,the best month for sowing is ,march1 and you must dig your trench six inches deep and three inches wide4 ,if there are many mice about who would eat your seeds1 it is a good plan to soak them in paraffin a few minutes before sowing4 ,gardeners often damp them and shake them in powdered red lead1 but as this is poison it must be used with care4 ,it is not always effectual1 either4 ,we once saw a mouse caught #8red-handed1' his little paws coated with the lead we had put on our seed to protect it from him4 ,when your trench is ready1 sow your seed singly all along the row1 leaving two inches between each seed4 ,if your two borders are each seven feet long1 you would sow forty-two seeds on either side1 so you see that you can only grow a few kinds in one summer4 ,when you have sown them1 do not cover them with all the soil you have dug out4 ,they should only have three inches on them at first1 because the seedling wants to find its way up to the spring sun4 ,later on1 when it is a strong plant1 and supported by a twig1 you can put back the rest of the soil4 ,sweet-peas are very thirsty plants1 and when the long dry days come they like to have their roots deep down in the moist earth4 ,their two great enemies are slugs and sparrows4 ,in or near a town where sparrows swarm1 you cannot grow ,sweet-peas at all unless you protect the young shoots when they first show above the ground--about three weeks1 that is1 after the seed is sown4 ,later1 when the leaves expand1 the birds leave the plants alone4 ,you can buy either ready-made pea-guards or a length of wire-netting1 which should be doubled in the middle and put over your row like a long tent1 with sticks at either end to keep it firm4 ,if you cannot have wire put a double line of sticks at intervals along your row1 and wind black cotton across and across from one stick to the other4 ,this terrifies the sparrows1 and they will not go near it4 ,if you have many slugs1 you should keep the ground near the seeds sprinkled with soot or lime4 ,as soon as the plants are three inches high1 they should be thinned to six inches apart1 and should have a row of small twigs stuck all along the line for their tendrils to seize4 ,when they are a foot high1 you can earth them up with the soil left on one side of the trench1 but you must put it evenly on either side of your ,peas4 ,when they reach the top of the little twigs1 the tall ones must be put in firmly on either side of the row1 and by the middle or end of ,june your ,peas should be in flower4 ,if you want your plants to last in flower all the summer and well into the autumn1 you must not let them form a single seed-pod4 ,every day you should cut both your fresh flowers and any withered ones you see4 ,in dry1 hot weather they should be well watered at the roots from a can without a rose4 ,give each plant a soak of water at the roots1 and do not trouble about the leaves4 ,we emphasize this advice because ,sweet-peas after they are six inches high suffer easily from drought1 and we know that many children think they have given a plant a drink if they spray its upper leaves with a fine rose4 ,you might as well give a thirsty baby a drink by splashing its face4 ,to grow ,sweet-peas in a clump1 take out the earth from a circular patch that you can mark with a garden sieve or a big flower-pot4 ,sow from eight to a dozen seeds1 and thin to four plants when you feel safe from slugs and sparrows4 ,treat them just as you do those grown in a hedge1 but when you put in your tall stakes make them all slant a little towards the centre1 so that they meet at the top4 ,the ,hazel branches that you get easily in many neighbourhoods are best for ,sweet-peas4 ,where these are scarce1 you must use what you can find4 ,the wire hurdles recommended for garden ,peas where stakes are scarce would answer1 but they are expensive and ugly4 ,if your garden is not airy and sunny1 it is a waste of time and money to try ,sweet-peas4 ,they are impatient of shade1 of starved soil1 or of a crowded garden4 ,if they come up at all in such conditions1 they will never do well1 and will most probably be devoured by green fly4 ,,mignonette4 ,you are sure to want some ,mignonette in your garden1 because it is so fragrant2 but in choosing a place for it you must remember that it will not make a splash of gay colour in the border4 ,it grows from ten to twelve inches high2 but1 as you do not tie it up1 it should be sown in front of plants whose stalks are not really longer1 but which require a stake4 ,it likes a good loam1 but it will grow in almost any soil if it gets enough sun4 ,do not give it fresh manure1 or it will run to leaf4 ,it is one of the few annuals that should be sown in firm1 hard ground4 ,we do not mean ground that is hard because it is poor and neglected1 but well dug soil that you tread or press down to make it ready for your seed4 ,when you have done this1 you sprinkle the seed thinly1 cover it with half an inch of fine earth1 and pat that down firmly with your hands or your trowel4 ,you should choose a fine ,april day for your first sowing1 and you should reserve a little seed for a second sowing in case the first is a failure4 ,this sometimes happens even when your seed comes from a good firm and you sow it properly4 ,it is a great mistake to buy poor ,mignonette seed1 as often none of it comes up4 ,in ten days or a fortnight a soft spring rain will bring up the little plants1 and then1 if you have sown too thickly1 you will find out how troublesome it is to thin them2 but you will not have fine ,mignonette unless you do this ruthlessly4 ,crowded plants will give you stunted flowers4 ,the best way is to fix your eye on a seedling that is outgrowing its brothers1 and remove all that are near it1 taking great care not to disturb or loosen the one you wish to keep4 ,you should watch your ,mignonette and thin it out several times1 so that each plant has room to breathe and grow4 ,six inches at least should in the end be left between the plants1 and then you will only have left half the distance recommended by many good gardeners4 ,so you see what a tiny pinch of seed would give you all the plants you need4 ,mignonette must be sown where it is to bloom1 as it has a tap-root1 and will not stand transplanting4 ,illustration3 ,,poppies4 ,,clarkia4 ,this annual comes to us from ,california1 and is very pretty and easy to grow4 ,but it likes a good soil4 ,on a dry1 starved one we have seen it so poor that we hardly knew it was ,clarkia1 and yet these miserable dwarfed specimens came from the same packet of seed that had grown into a bed of lovely pink and salmon-pink sprays two feet high in another part of the garden4 ,if your border has been well prepared and is sunny1 your ,clarkia seed is sure to do well in it4 ,you can sow it either in a large patch or in little drills or trenches ten inches apart1 and it should be covered with one inch of fine soil4 ,the centre of the bed would be a good place for it4 ,sow in ,april1 and thin out the small plants to six inches between each4 ,there are a good many varieties4 ,we recommend ,salmon ,queen and ,carnation ,flaked ,pink4 ,,malope4 ,this annual1 if well grown1 is about two feet high1 and should be in the centre of your border4 ,it has large red1 white1 or pink trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom at intervals amongst the leaves of the tall stems4 ,it is most useful for cutting1 as it lasts in water a long time1 and is decorative4 ,it likes good soil1 should be sown in ,april half an inch deep1 and patted down firmly when sown4 ,as soon as the seedlings can be handled they must be thinned out2 but there will be none to thin if you cannot keep away slugs4 ,many gardeners recommend you to dust the young plants with soot or lime4 ,,godetias4 ,these1 too1 are useful for cutting1 and can be grown in a variety of delicate colours4 ,we think that ,sutton's ,double ,rose and ,crimson ,king are two of the best4 ,the sprays of the ,double ,rose are like ,oleander flowers4 ,they are not quite as tall as ,malope or ,clarkia1 but should be treated in the same way1 and if well grown will be tall enough for the centre of your garden4 ,,larkspurs4 ,in #8,the ,english ,flower ,garden' ,mr4 ,robinson says that #8the annual ,larkspurs are so little used in gardens that it is only in seed-farms that we have the pleasure of seeing them now and then in all their beauty4' ,you can have them in various heights and colours1 and for early or late flowering4 ,the earliest flowering ones are the ,dwarf ,rocket ,larkspurs1 and the pink ones are beautiful flowers4 ,they are twelve inches high4 ,if you buy seeds of the taller kinds1 you must put them towards the back of your border1 for they grow three feet high4 ,of these the ,rosy ,scarlet is the best4 ,,nigella4 ,this is one of the most beautiful annuals there is1 and its charming ,english name is ,love-in-a-mist4 ,be sure to get the variety called ,miss ,jekyll1 after the celebrated gardener4 ,the flowers are a delicate yet vivid blue1 surrounded by fennel-like leaves4 ,they are easy to arrange for the room1 and last well in water4 ,the seed may be sown in ,march to bloom in ,june1 and again in ,april or ,may for a later display4 ,the seed-pods that succeed the flowers are ornamental1 and those that ripen early in the summer sow themselves and flower in the following year4 ,some people say they can transplant ,nigella1 but many gardeners prefer to sow it where it is to stand4 ,thin out when the plants can be handled1 as each one left1 if well grown1 will cover a square foot4 ,,nasturtium4 ,everyone knows ,nasturtiums1 and the most ignorant gardeners can grow them4 ,but they are so beautiful that good gardeners make room for them1 too4 ,they succeed best on poor soil4 ,if you give them rich soil1 they #8run to leaf1' as gardeners say1 and do not produce many flowers4 ,even in a ,london square they will make a gay corner1 provided they get sun4 ,you probably know that there are two kinds--the dwarf ones1 growing about nine inches high1 and the ,giant ,nasturtiums1 that will climb to the top of a tall fence1 and cover it in the course of the summer4 ,the seed should be sown at the end of ,april where it is to flower4 ,we have transplanted ,nasturtiums with great success1 but it is not usually recommended4 ,sow each seed separately in a little hole two inches deep that you make with a stick4 ,if you want a whole row of them1 sow two quite near each other1 then a foot farther on another pair1 and proceed in this way all along your row4 ,when the seedlings are up you can remove one of each pair1 and you will not have an ugly gap in your row where a single seed has failed4 ,,sunflowers 7,,helianthus74 ,if you have a small garden full of delicate flowers1 we should advise you not to grow ,sunflowers at all4 ,a group of them looks well in a shrubbery or at the back of a mixed border1 and we have seen them used with admirable effect in a straight row1 standing like sentinels on guard behind all the other plants in the bed2 but they take up room1 and require a great deal of food4 ,if you want them1 and your garden was not dressed in the autumn1 some well-rotted compost should be dug in for the ,sunflowers in spring4 ,the young plants will not stand frost1 and are usually raised in heat2 but you can grow them quite successfully under a bell-glass1 or1 in warm parts of ,england1 in the open ground4 ,if you mean to raise them in this way1 you must wait till quite the end of ,april or the beginning of ,may4 ,the big seeds should be covered with an inch and a half of soil1 and if you sow where they are to stand1 put two close together to provide against failure4 ,if both come up and live1 the smaller of the two can be removed4 ,slugs devour the young plants if they can get at them1 so you should put a little soot round each one4 ,they need strong stakes1 as most of them grow to a great height1 and are easily blown down4 ,there are some1 however1 that are not more than four feet high1 and have a great many small flowers useful for cutting4 ,stella and ,primrose ,stella are good dwarf varieties4 ,,shirley ,,poppies4 ,if you happen to have a rough bank or a piece of waste ground where nothing much will grow1 you can make it bright with annual ,poppies1 and if you let them seed themselves1 they will come up in quantities year after year4 ,they prefer a light soil to a heavy one1 and they must have sun4 ,it is of no use to sow ,poppy-seed in a shady garden4 ,in the border the amateur gardener invariably sows too much seed1 and when it comes up his troubles begin4 ,poppy-seeds are small and cheap1 and as a rule every seed germinates4 ,you sow it in fine soil1 and either cover it lightly or just rub it in with your hand4 ,if you have not been careful to sow only the tiniest pinch mixed with sand1 you will soon see the seedlings as thick as cress above the soil1 and if you leave them you will not have any good plants1 as ,poppies want room to grow4 ,they have tap-roots1 and will not transplant1 so you must thin them hard1 leaving them at least six inches apart4 ,shirley ,poppies have delicate stalks1 and when you grow a clump in your garden1 you should put a few stakes amongst them1 and tie them with raffia or string1 as otherwise they get beaten down and spoiled by a summer storm4 ,the seed should be sown at the end of ,april4 ,the ,shirley ,poppies have most beautiful colours1 and they will last some time in water if you cut them when the buds are just beginning to show colour4 ,wilks's re-selected ,shirley is one of the best varieties4 ,the ,peony and ,carnation-flowered ,poppies make larger and stronger plants than the ,shirleys4 ,they should be sown in the centre of a small garden1 and will make a great show in ,july4 ,,alonsoas4 ,the ,alonsoa1 or ,mask-flower1 comes to us from ,peru1 and is a most satisfactory annual because it is easily grown and goes on flowering until the winter frosts come4 ,there are several varieties1 and one of the best--the ,alonsoa ,warscewiczii--has a name you remember because it is so queer1 but will never know how to pronounce1 unless you have ,polish or ,russian friends to tell you4 ,its flower is bright scarlet1 and if you look at it closely you will see that it is like a small snapdragon4 ,you must be careful to put a label where you sow it1 and watch for a colony of seedlings all alike1 because the seed-leaves of the ,alonsoa are very much like one of our commonest weeds4 ,,eschscholtzia4 ,these are often called ,californian ,poppies4 ,they are white1 pink1 and various shades of yellow1 and they have feathery green foliage4 ,they succeed in almost any soil1 and may be sown either in spring or autumn4 ,slugs and snails do not like them1 so if you are much troubled with these pests you should certainly have some ,californian ,poppies4 ,they will seed themselves in most situations1 and the same plant will often flower a second year4 ,they are described in seed catalogues as nine inches high1 but though they really grow rather taller than that1 it is not usual to stake them4 ,at the same time1 these and many other flowers inclined to straggle a little may be supported with great advantage1 just as ,sweet-peas are1 by a few branched stakes of ,hazel or some similar wood4 ,when you treat a non-climbing plant in this way1 your stakes should be rather shorter than the plant1 and artfully hidden by its leaves4 ,no tying is necessary where these branched stakes are used4 ,messrs4 ,sutton and ,sons1 of ,reading1 have consented1 at our request1 to sell three collections of flower-seeds suitable for children's gardens4 ,the first collection will cost #bs4 #f;d41 and will contain twelve varieties of annuals and biennials4 #a4 ,nigella1 ,miss ,jekyll4 #b4 ,sweet-pea1 mixed4 #c4 ,mignonette1 large-flowered4 #d4 ,malope1 ,pink and ,white4 #e4 ,antirrhinum1 intermixed 7biennial1 unless brought on early in heat74 #f4 ,nasturtium1 ,dwarf1 ,king of ,tom ,thumbs4 #g4 ,clarkia 7,salmon ,queen74 #h4 ,shirley ,poppy4 #i4 ,annual ,larkspur4 #aj4 ,french ,marigold 7half-hardy74 #aa4 ,sweet ,william 7biennial74 #ab4 ,wallflower1 ,dark 7biennial74 ,the second collection will contain six varieties1 and cost #as4 #f;d4 #a4 ,nigella4 #b4 ,sweet-pea1 mixed4 #c4 ,mignonette1 large-flowered4 #d4 ,malope1 ,pink4 #e4 ,antirrhinum1 intermixed4 #f4 ,nasturtium1 ,dwarf1 ,king of ,tom ,thumbs4 ,the third collection will contain four varieties1 and cost #as4 #a4 ,nigella1 ,miss ,jekyll4 #b4 ,sweet-pea1 mixed4 #c4 ,mignonette1 large-flowered4 #d4 ,malope1 ,pink4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,hardy ,,perennials ,a ,,perennial is a plant that comes up year after year1 and increases as it grows older4 ,we will tell you how to grow fourteen of the best1 and when you have succeeded with those you can find hundreds more described in #8,the ,english ,flower ,garden' and other well-known books4 ,your parents and grandparents can remember when all the beautiful herbaceous or perennial plants were hardly to be found in gardens1 and everyone was content with the straight rows of red1 blue1 and yellow1 the ignorant gardener will still inflict on you if you let him4 ,in those days bulbs were planted in autumn and dug up in spring1 to make way for ,geraniums1 ,calceolarias1 and ,lobelias4 ,everyone grew the same things1 had an ugly clash of colour at the same moment1 and bare brown borders for the greater part of the year4 ,then came some of the great gardeners of thirty years ago1 who set the gardening world ablaze with their reforms and their audacities4 ,they told people how dull and stupid their gardens were1 and how to make them beautiful and interesting4 ,it was not their fault if some of their disciples ran away with the idea that a herbaceous border was the easiest thing in the world to manage1 and were grievously disappointed to find that it was not4 ,as a matter of fact1 the incompetent gardener and the local nurseryman had known very well what they were about all the time4 ,it is expensive1 but not difficult1 to stuff your borders full of ,dutch bulbs in ,november1 and full of little plants out of pots in ,may4 ,you could do it yourself with money and a length of string tied to two sticks1 for you must get your lines straight4 ,but1 then1 think of all the beautiful plants you would never see in your garden--plants that1 to come to their full beauty1 must be left undisturbed until they show you who understand them that they are ready for your attention1 and require fresh soil or possibly division4 ,in most gardens there are some beds that are planted twice a year1 because a show of spring and autumn colour is wanted in them2 but in all gardens managed with any skill or knowledge there are now also herbaceous borders1 where you will find all the plants we are going to tell you about1 many other perennials for which we have no room1 and some annuals1 hardy and half hardy4 ,the finest bit of gardening known to one of the authors is the herbaceous border at ,hampton ,court1 and she must admit that she knows neither the ,palace nor its pictures nearly as well as the noble groups of plants that all through the summer and autumn make a blaze of colour there4 ,if you have any good garden of hardy perennials within reach1 you should visit it at different times of the year1 and try to learn some lesson about the habit and arrangement of the plants4 ,you will come back to your own garden in despair1 but that is better for you than staying at home and being too easily satisfied4 ,it is well to know the best that is done in any art or industry one tries to practise4 ,the hardy perennials we are going to describe will flourish in any ,english garden that has good1 well-dressed soil1 and is open to the sun part of the day4 ,in choosing which you will grow you must consider their colours1 their height1 their flowering season1 and the rate at which they increase4 ,you should not give a delicate-looking plant like a ,columbine a coarse spreading neighbour that will choke it4 ,nearly all herbaceous plants are greedy feeders1 and require a deep1 well-dug soil4 ,if you cannot have manure worked in1 perhaps you can buy a little bone-meal and soot4 ,in any case1 you should dig the ground well over before planting1 break up hard lumps1 and remove large stones4 ,,hardy ,,perennials4 #a4 ,polyanthus and ,coloured ,primrose4 #b4 ,delphinium1 or ,larkspur4 #c4 ,oriental ,poppy4 #d4 ,iris ,germanica4 #e4 ,perennial ,lupin4 #f4 ,japanese ,anemone4 #g4 ,aquilegia1 or ,columbine4 #h4 ,peony4 #i4 nothera ,fruticosa1 or ,evening ,primrose4 #aj4 ,gypsophila ,paniculata4 #aa4 ,sweet ,lavender4 #ab4 ,early-flowering ,chrysanthemums4 #ac4 ,violet4 #ad4 ,michaelmas ,daisy4 ,,primrose ,,and ,,polyanthus4 ,there are more than a hundred kinds of ,primrose1 or ,primula2 nearly all are hardy1 and many grow in clusters on a single stalk4 ,we are only going to tell you about the common ,polyanthus1 which grows in big clusters1 and about the coloured garden ,primrose1 which is mostly found with single flowers1 like the yellow ,primrose of our fields and hedges4 ,perhaps you have heard of ,peter ,bell1 and how #8,a ,primrose by the river's brim ,a yellow ,primrose was to him1 ,and it was nothing more4' ,we have met many a ,peter ,bell1 who stared at us in amazement when he saw us planting corners in a wild garden with what he considered hedgerow weeds4 ,but nowadays people who have gardens try to see with the poet's eye1 rather than with the eyes of a ,peter ,bell4 ,in the moist1 shady places of your garden you may plant ,primroses and ,polyanthuses in colonies1 and leave them to grow into great clumps and to seed themselves4 ,but the best of them1 those that you want to increase1 you must pull to pieces when they have done flowering1 and plant out in a shady corner4 ,when you take up a clump you will usually see that it divides easily into several plants4 ,you need not be afraid to use a knife in some places4 ,our experience is that every bit will grow1 provided it has a few roots and plenty of shade and moisture during the hot summer months4 ,when autumn comes you will have increased your stock without expense1 and can plant out your young ones wherever you want them4 ,if you want blue ,primroses1 division is more certain than seed4 ,but it is a most fascinating business to grow ,primroses from a good strain of seed1 and not too difficult for a child to manage4 ,you must get one of the empty sweetmeat or fancy soap boxes so invaluable to gardeners1 and ask someone to make half a dozen holes in the bottom with a gimlet1 or even a nail4 ,put in broken crocks and fine moist earth1 just as we told you to do for annuals2 then sow and lightly cover your ,primrose or ,polyanthus seed1 put your box in the shade1 keep off slugs1 and possess your soul in patience1 for the seed takes a long while to germinate1 and you may not see any tiny crinkled leaves for weeks4 ,when you do see them you must wait till they are large enough to prick out1 and even then we advise you to take them up carefully and keep the box of soil for a time1 as backward seeds often come up later4 ,fresh seed will germinate more quickly than last year's1 so you can either buy a packet in ,june and wait some time for results1 or you can sow your own ripe seed in ,august1 in which case your little plants should be big enough by the end of ,november to survive an ordinary ,english winter4 ,if you sow in ,june1 you should be able to prick out a good many little plants in ,august 7on a damp day71 and these will be ready for a front border by the following spring4 ,when you prick out put the little plants in rows three inches apart each way2 choose a shady place1 and look out for slugs4 ,it may be necessary to dust with soot or lime4 ,primroses and ,polyanthuses make a charming border1 either by themselves or mixed with other hardy plants that flower in spring1 such as ,aubrietias1 the yellow ,alyssum1 and ,iberis2 or they look well in clumps on a rockery4 ,if you have a whole row of them in front of your border1 you should1 if possible1 take them up when they have done flowering1 and1 if they are worth keeping1 put them in some shady unseen corner through the summer months4 ,the hot sun makes their leaves yellow and shabby-looking1 and if you can shift them you can have a summer edging of some dwarf annual or bedding plant4 ,for instance1 when you take up your ,primroses you can sow your ,tom ,thumb ,nasturtiums1 or1 if you are near nurserymen1 you can buy some dwarf ,snapdragons or some blue ,lobelias4 ,we would never have a straight row of anything but ,sweet-peas if we could help it1 and in a mixed border such as yours even they would look better grown in the round clumps4 ,but we warn you that this question of rows or clumps is a burning one1 about which even the two authors of one book are not always agreed4 ,you will have to fight it out with your garden and your gardening friends4 ,,delphinium1 ,,or ,,larkspur4 ,everyone who grows any herbaceous plants grows some ,delphiniums1 because they make a fine background1 and are such lovely shades of blue4 ,mr4 ,robinson says they range from one to nine feet high1 but we think yours will probably be from three to four feet high1 and that you should put them at the back of your border1 with white ,lupins1 ,starworts1 and ,evening ,primroses4 ,they flower in ,june and ,july1 and make large clumps if left undisturbed for several years4 ,there are two ways of prolonging their flowering season4 ,you can cut off each flower before it begins to form seed-pods1 or you can cut down the whole plant when its leaves begin to look shabby1 and let it start afresh1 as it did in the spring4 ,but this would exhaust your plant if you did not give it extra food2 so if you cut it down1 it should have a little liquid manure4 ,a teaspoonful of ,clay's ,fertilizer to a gallon of water would do very well4 ,delphiniums like manure1 but they will grow in almost any soil1 and are easy to raise from seed--at least1 the seed germinates easily4 ,they can be sown in ,may if you buy the seed1 or in ,august if you wait for your own to ripen4 ,you sow them in a box1 and prick them out when large enough to handle4 ,when they are a year old they begin to flower1 but a plant does not make a good clump till it is two or three years old4 ,the culture of ,delphiniums would present no difficulties if slugs were not so fond of them4 ,in some gardens it is almost impossible to grow these beautiful flowers1 because the slugs devour both the seedlings and the young shoots of the older plants the moment they appear4 ,you must not put them in places where slugs can hide easily and come out at night to feed4 ,if you want to increase your stock by division1 you should do it either in spring or in damp summer weather1 about a fortnight after you have cut your plant down4 ,the autumn is not a good time4 ,if you live in a cold climate you should give your ,delphiniums a little protection in winter1 but this is not necessary in most parts of ,england4 ,anyhow1 when spring comes and open weather1 take care that your covering of dead bracken or manure is not protecting slugs4 ,,papaver ,,orientale1 ,,or ,,oriental ,,poppy4 ,papaver ,orientale and its variety ,papaver ,bracteatum are the biggest of all ,poppies4 ,the flowers are brilliant scarlet1 with a deep purple-black spot at the base of each petal4 ,if you gather the buds just as they are about to burst1 they will live in water for several days4 ,after the plants have flowered they should be cut down1 and they will reappear in the autumn4 ,they have long tap-roots that are easily injured1 but where they flourish they spread laterally--that is1 they send up young plants at the side4 ,these you can take up4 ,whenever a plant has a root like a carrot1 it is called a #8tap-root1' and you must be careful not to break it4 ,poppies are easily raised from seed1 but the plants will not flower till they are two years old4 ,when you take up your seedlings1 remove each one with as much earth as possible1 and plant it where it is to remain4 ,,irises4 ,roughly speaking1 ,irises may be divided into two classes--those you grow from bulbs1 and those that have rhizomes1 or creeping stems4 ,the bulbous ,irises are often called ,xiphions1 and will not be considered in this chapter4 ,there is a great variety amongst those that have rhizomes1 or stems4 ,they vary a good deal as to the soil and conditions they require4 ,some like damp1 some hate it2 some want stiff soil1 some a light one2 manure that feeds one ,iris will poison another2 and as for their blooming season1 it extends throughout the year if you have a large collection4 ,the ,iris is sometimes called the #8poor man's ,orchid1' because it can be grown without trouble or expense1 and has such beautiful and curious flowers4 ,we will tell you the names of a few that you can get at any good nursery garden2 but before you plant them you must consider that each kind is only in flower for a short time1 and that for the greater part of the year a clump of ,irises is a clump of sword-like leaves4 ,they are sometimes placed amongst roses or in front of shrubs4 ,the best known of all is the ,iris ,germanica1 or ,german ,flag4 ,there are many varieties1 and there is hardly a garden in or near ,london without some clumps of it1 for even in soot and smoke it will increase and flower4 ,the beautiful white1 pale mauve ,florentine ,iris is the ,french ,fleur-de-lis1 and was freely planted in ,english gardens when the ,bourbons were restored in #ahcj4 ,it increases rapidly1 and is easy of cultivation4 ,iris ,stylosa is one of the most valuable1 because it flowers in winter1 and is very fragrant4 ,then1 some of the dwarf ,irises are most beautiful1 and should have a corner in front of your border or on your rockery4 ,iris ,pumila or its varieties grow some inches high1 and flower in spring4 ,iris ,olbiensis and ,iris ,chamris belong to this group1 and in warm localities flower at the end of ,april or early in ,may4 ,these kinds all thrive best in an open1 warm situation4 ,irises are easily divided in the autumn1 but each piece should have an eye to grow from1 a little knot or knob that is on the rhizomatous root4 ,if you want your ,irises indoors1 you should gather them in bud1 and arrange them and some of their leaves in a bowl1 with the help of some soft lead and a few stones4 ,you can get the ,japanese lead at most big shops now for a few pence1 but any ironmonger could supply you with strips of thin sheet-lead4 ,a pennyworth of copper wire twisted into a tangle is even better1 but this is not so generally known4 ,,lupinus ,,polyphyllus ,,albus4 ,there are blue and white ,lupins1 and both kinds flower at the same time and require the same treatment4 ,we advise you to choose the white one if you have blue ,delphiniums1 as they will come out together1 and make your garden gay all through ,june4 ,slugs are very fond of ,lupins1 and you often find a fine spike just about to flower half eaten away4 ,unless you want to increase your stock from seed1 you should cut off the flowers as they fade1 in order to prolong the flowering season4 ,the plants may be left undisturbed year after year1 and will make large clumps that grow from three to six feet high4 ,if you take up a ,lupin you will find it has huge tap-roots1 and on this account it is not an easy plant to transplant or divide4 ,when you want to move them1 you must do it in the autumn1 after the leaves have died down4 ,the seeds come up easily if you sow them in a box1 and the seedlings flower the second year2 but if you have blue and white ,lupins1 the seed from your white ,lupin will produce many washed-out blue flowers4 ,,white ,,japanese ,,anemone4 ,this is a large white ,anemone with golden anthers4 ,it begins to bloom in ,august1 and goes on right through the autumn1 long after our summer flowers have gone4 ,any bit of root you can buy or get given will grow1 but when once you have planted it you should leave it alone year after year4 ,it hates being disturbed1 and will only make the huge flowering clump you want when it is well established4 ,it likes a rich soil1 and grows very well in half-shady places4 ,,aquilegia1 ,,or ,,columbine4 ,if you gather the flower of a ,columbine and look at it upside down1 you will see why people say it is like little doves drinking1 and how it gets its name of ,columbine from the ,latin word for dove4 ,in some parts of ,england they grow wild1 but the beautiful orange1 yellow1 and scarlet ones come from ,america1 and the blue and white ,alpine ones from ,switzerland and the ,pyrenees4 ,in our climate they are uncertain as perennials4 ,you may have a garden where they live for years1 or you may find that your good ones die off every year4 ,they like well-drained1 well-nourished1 rather light1 moist soil1 and a half-shady position4 ,if you have heavy clay land1 you will probably not succeed well with them4 ,where they are happy they seed themselves easily1 and you see a whole colony of tiny plants coming up round their parent2 so be careful how you weed near a good ,columbine after it has flowered4 ,these seedlings may be left till the spring1 and then planted where they are to stand4 ,the best way to acquire a stock is to buy a packet of seed of the long-spurred varieties1 and to manage them as we have told you to manage other seeds of perennial flowers4 ,if you sow in ,june you should be able to plant out in autumn1 and one of the great growers tells you to put three plants in a triangle three inches apart1 but we think this is too near4 ,as the leaves die down in winter1 you should put labels where you set your plants4 ,when you have a great many seedlings from a mixed packet1 do not keep only the biggest and strongest specimens1 or you may find next summer that you have all one colour4 ,some of the choicest varieties look rather small and weak when they are young4 ,,peony4 ,when ,keats talked of the wealth of #8globd ,peony1' he was thinking of the old-fashioned red ones that make such a splendid splash of colour in a garden1 but were out of favour at one time because they were considered too flamboyant for people with refined tastes4 ,your grandmother would have looked disapprovingly at a hoyden whose face was as red as a ,peony1 and she probably thought the flowers very well in a cottage garden1 but not in her own4 ,but in these days of hockey and lawn-tennis ,atalanta's face may be as red as she pleases--no one will call her a hoyden2 and the ,peonies are no longer globed1 but wide-open and wide-eyed1 like an ,anemone1 and lovely shades of palish pink and white4 ,you can still grow the old red one if you wish4 ,it is called #8officinalis1' and1 like all ,peonies1 should have four feet of space allowed for the bush it will make in two or three years' time4 ,some of the most beautiful new ones are half single1 with a mass of golden stamens in the centre1 and many are sweet-scented4 ,they should not be planted on an east border1 because then the sun catches the dewdrops still on the blooms1 and converts them into burning glasses4 ,they will grow in any rich soil and in any position1 but if you give them moderate shade their flowers last longer and are more intense in colour4 ,it is a good plan to pinch off the buds of your first-year plants1 so that all the strength goes into the roots and leaves4 ,you may leave them undisturbed for years1 but if you can top-dress them in autumn so much the better4 ,peonies form large woody roots1 with little knobs or crowns on them4 ,they may be divided in autumn by carefully cutting apart the roots1 leaving several crowns on each piece4 ,these should be planted only two inches below the soil4 ,,evening ,,primrose 7,,nothera ,,fruticosa74 ,there are a good many varieties of the ,evening ,primrose1 and one of the most common will be described in the chapter on ,biennials4 ,the nothera ,fruticosa is a true perennial1 and as it flowers all through the summer1 it is a useful plant to have in your border4 ,it grows about two feet high1 so it should be placed about the middle1 with taller plants behind it4 ,all ,evening ,primroses like a warm1 sunny position1 and a good sandy soil4 #8,fruticosa' is easily raised from seed sown in the open ground in ,june1 and pricked off when large enough to flower next year4 ,it may also be divided in spring or autumn4 ,,gypsophila ,,paniculata4 ,this forms a little bush of tiny white flowers1 and sprays of it are charming when mixed with other flowers4 ,it thrives in any soil when once it is established1 but it dies quite down in winter1 and shows itself rather late in spring2 so you must be sure to mark it with a label in the autumn1 and look out for slugs when the new leaves push up4 ,we have found it a most difficult plant to transplant or divide1 and we strongly advise the inexperienced gardener to leave any specimens he has alone4 ,gypsophila ,paniculata can be grown from seed sown in the open ground in ,may1 and moved into the flowering border in ,september2 but you are not likely to want many plants of it1 and we think you would find it more satisfactory to buy two or three from one of the many nurserymen who raise it in large quantities4 ,,sweet ,,lavender4 ,this plant is a small perennial shrub1 and not a true herbaceous perennial2 but we think that every child will wish to have at least one ,lavender bush1 if not more1 in the garden4 ,if you choose you can make a charming hedge of ,lavender mixed with little pink monthly ,roses4 ,you can easily increase your supply by taking cuttings in ,august and planting them in light sandy soil4 ,you must make a slanting slice across your cutting just beneath the joint1 take off every scrap of green leaf from the lower part of the stem1 and plant firmly three inches deep in sandy soil4 ,they should strike and make good roots by the following spring4 ,lavender may also be grown from seed sown in boxes in ,april1 and kept covered with a glass till the little plants appear4 ,this may take some time1 and you must be careful to keep the soil moist by watering with a fine rose4 ,when your plants are an inch high1 prick out in rows and leave them for a year4 ,by the second year they should begin to bloom4 ,gather your flowers for keeping on a dry day1 and just before they are fully expanded4 ,,early-,,flowering ,,chrysanthemums4 ,many of these are quite hardy1 come up year after year1 and require little attention4 ,all chrysanthemums are greedy feeders1 and like a rich soil1 improved by farm manure4 ,in summer you can1 if you choose1 give them a watering with liquid manure made by a teaspoonful of ,clay's ,fertilizer to one gallon of water4 ,about the end of ,october1 when the flowers all look shabby1 or have been gathered for indoor use1 your plants should be cut down to within an inch of the ground4 ,this helps the new growth from which you may want to take cuttings4 ,you must wait till the young shoots are six inches high1 and then cut them off close to the ground with a sharp knife4 ,the leaves must be removed from the lower half of the stalk1 and you must make a clean cut across the stalk just below a joint from which leaves have been taken4 ,you can put six of these cuttings in a five-inch pot1 or a large number in a wooden box2 and remember that cuttings root better close to the edge of a pot than in the middle4 ,they should be set two inches deep1 and firmly pressed in1 and the soil should be fine and mixed with sand4 ,the pots or boxes must then be placed in a cool frame or greenhouse4 ,the less you water cuttings the better1 but a sprinkle may be necessary sometimes to keep the soil moist4 ,in six weeks the cuttings should have rooted1 and begin to make little new leaves at the top4 ,these may then be pricked out singly into small pots4 ,do not put young plants into the open garden until the spring frosts are over4 ,if you have no frame or greenhouse1 and yet want to increase your ,chrysanthemums1 you can take them up at the end of ,march1 divide them with a sharp knife1 and replant the pieces4 ,a gardener who tried this way wrote to ,gardening ,illustrated to say that the chrysanthemums he divided came into flower earlier and made stronger plants than the orthodox cuttings4 ,he took his up in ,february and ,march1 and put his pieces in a frame for a few weeks4 ,but if you have no frame1 you had better wait till the winter frosts are over4 ,illustration3 ,,larkspurs ,,and ,,pinks4 ,,violets4 ,violets will make no show in your garden1 but if you have room you will wish to have some of your own to gather4 ,you must put out of your head some of the things the poets say about them1 and remember that they like a rich soil1 the sun in early spring1 some shelter1 and plenty of light and fresh air4 ,we have seen them belying all the pretty traditions about their modest and retiring ways4 ,they were scrambling in sheets over the granite walls of a ,cornish garden1 and1 so far from hiding1 they were showing their pretty faces to the sun1 and saying as plain as plain1 #8,this is what we like4 ,don't stuff us into shady dells and enclosed1 sunless places4' ,so now we put them where they will have rich soil1 sun and air1 and the moisture they require4 ,a south border would be too dry for them in summer1 but they will stand a good deal of sunshine if their roots are in rich soil4 ,you must watch for their runners1 and cut them off all through the summer1 but later in the year you should leave some for stock4 ,in ,may or ,june you can increase your ,violets--either by taking up your plants and pulling them carefully to pieces1 when every bit with roots will grow2 or you can put some runners under a hand-light in a shady border4 ,if you cut off their tips1 you will be able to see when they have struck and begin to grow1 and then you must tilt your hand-light a little1 so as to give ventilation4 ,after a short time you can take it away altogether1 and by ,september your cuttings should be ready to plant out4 ,the rows should be one foot apart4 ,the plants will soon spread1 and should be kept well weeded4 ,all gardeners advise you to make a fresh bed every two years4 ,there are many beautiful varieties4 ,in a ,cornish garden we have known the fine double kind1 ,marie ,louise1 bloom incessantly from ,august1 through the winter and spring1 till the hot weather came again2 but this variety would need a frame in a cold climate4 ,,michaelmas ,,daisies1 ,,or ,,starworts4 ,you must be sure to have some of these in your garden1 because they are easy to grow and come into flower in ,september1 when many things are over4 ,they are delightful1 too1 for cutting1 as they last well in water and look well in any size or shape of bowl or glass4 ,the only complaint people ever make of them is that they increase too fast1 and take up too much room in the borders4 ,we have had the best flowering clumps sometimes from patches we have dug up in autumn or spring1 pulled to pieces and divided4 ,but a clump may be left year after year1 if convenient4 ,there is all the difference in the world between ,michaelmas ,daisies grown in rich soil and good air and those grown in starved conditions4 ,we have seen an inexperienced gardener buy a collection from good nurserymen1 plant them in a bed of starved1 poor soil on the east side of a suburban house1 and then be surprised that her ,starworts made no growth1 and were not worth looking at4 ,and1 as it happened1 we saw a handful of ,aster ,amethystinus taken from those miserable conditions to a sunny1 sheltered garden in ,west ,cornwall1 where it was pulled to pieces and planted in good soil all along a low granite wall running north and south4 ,in ,october a whole row of healthy plants was looking over the wall1 and sending up masses of clear mauve starry flowers2 their very colour and size improved out of knowledge by the change4 ,michaelmas ,daisies lose much of their beauty if they are tied up in untidy bundles2 but it is impossible to avoid tying them if they stand in an open border where they may be caught by autumn gales4 ,they look very well amongst shrubs1 or if you have a fence or a wall you can put them all along it4 ,drive a stout stake in at either end1 and tie a strong string or length of coir rope so as to catch your ,starworts at the height that will best support them4 ,if you must have unprotected clumps1 be sure to stake and tie them as soon as they are tall enough1 and before they flower4 ,there are many beautiful varieties4 ,four of the best are ,amellus1 ,acris1 ,cordifolius1 and ,vimineus4 ,,staking4 ,this is such an important operation that we must give it a paragraph to itself4 ,you must try from the beginning to tie up your plants when they require it1 and to do it in a workmanlike way1 but you will often find it a difficult and troublesome thing to do well4 ,we once saw an amusing picture in a gardening book of how not to tie up a plant1 and many a time have we remembered it after a hot and weary struggle with our own4 ,some plants are more easily and successfully supported by the branched stakes that need no ties2 but heavy plants1 such as ,dahlias1 ,sunflowers1 and ,michaelmas ,daisies1 require strong pointed sticks1 either those cut from trees or the square green ones to be bought in towns4 ,you should hammer your stake firmly in just behind the plant4 ,never drive one straight through its heart4 ,consider to what height your plant will grow1 and do not mind if the stake is too tall just at first4 ,tie it carefully with raffia1 or1 if you want something stronger1 with thin cord4 ,roughly speaking1 we should say that raffia is strong enough for plants that can be supported by the little round stakes sold in bundles1 but that plants needing the square ,dahlia stakes also need strong ties4 ,if you support your plants while they are young1 you must look at them from time to time1 because as they spread and grow they will want fresh ties and sometimes fresh stakes4 ,a spreading1 top-heavy plant often needs three or four stakes to support it properly4 ,you will not think your trouble has been thrown away1 however1 when you find that a three-days storm has not done much damage to your garden1 because your plants were so carefully prepared for it4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,bulbs1 ,,corms1 ,,and ,,tubers ,a ,,true bulb has a series of layers1 or scales4 ,an onion is a bulb1 and so is a ,hyacinth2 so are ,lilies1 though of a different kind4 ,a ,crocus1 a ,gladiolus1 and a bulbous ,iris1 are all corms4 ,they are solid1 and could not be pulled to pieces in scales4 ,a tuber is a thick fleshy root that increases as the plant grows1 and ripens when it has done growing4 ,dahlias and ,begonias have roots of this kind2 so have many ,anemones and many wild flowers4 ,certain tubers are good to eat4 ,you have one kind for dinner whenever you have ,potatoes1 and another kind when you have ,jerusalem ,artichokes4 ,some people buy fresh bulbs every year1 and pull up the old ones directly they have done flowering4 ,we think that if you are a really-truly gardener1 you will not wish to do this4 ,you will want to see some of your bulbs come up year after year1 with increasing strength and beauty2 and you will want to take up others at the right time1 divide them or store them1 as the case may be1 and replant4 ,but if you do mean to grow your bulbs year after year and increase your own stock1 you must remember that for many weeks after the flowering season you have masses of untidy-looking dying leaves4 ,therefore you must plant as artfully as you can in places where other things will be growing up close by and attracting attention4 ,the leaves of bulbs must not be removed until they are quite dead and come away with a touch1 and this does not happen until the summer sun has baked them for a long time4 ,while they are green the bulb is getting strength from them4 ,we shall only tell you about a few varieties that are inexpensive to buy and easy to grow4 ,when you have learned to manage these successfully1 you can try some of the many others you will find in catalogues and in gardening books4 ,our advice to you is to spend your money on one or two kinds every autumn1 and not to buy a collection4 ,this applies especially to children who have a corner of a ,london garden1 because the collections always include some bulbs 7such as ,anemones or the ,persian ,ranunculus1 for instance7 that are not quite easy to grow1 and would do nothing in the town border4 ,,snowdrops 7,,galanthus74 ,if you have any shrubs or trees in your garden1 you can plant your ,snowdrops near their roots2 and if they like the soil and the situation1 they will increase quickly4 ,they are very fond of peat1 but they will grow well in any healthy soil1 and they may be left undisturbed year after year4 ,there are many varieties4 ,one of the largest is ,galanthus ,elwesi1 but it wants a sheltered spot and a light soil4 ,if you plant your ,snowdrops in clumps near ,crocuses and ,winter ,aconites1 put at least fourteen or fifteen in a clump1 and set them rather close together4 ,the bulbs should not touch1 but there should not be more than the breadth of your thumb-nail between each4 ,beginners nearly always set their bulbs too far apart1 and then the clumps or rows look stinted4 ,,crocuses4 ,another mistake that even older people often make is to think about buying their bulbs about a month after they should have been in the ground4 ,there is a #8best time' to plant and a time that will #8do4' ,the best time to plant spring flowering bulbs is the end of ,september4 ,the difficulty is to find places for them then1 when your border is still gay and crowded4 ,but some of the summer flowers will be over1 and can be thrown away1 and others will be cut down later1 and can have some bulbs tucked under the soil not far from their roots4 ,crocuses like to be planted about three inches deep1 and they may be left undisturbed year after year4 ,you could put clumps of them on your rockery or in front of your border1 and plant ,siberian ,squills1 winter ,aconites1 and ,snowdrops near them4 ,then when ,april comes1 you could sow ,mignonette or ,nasturtiums just behind the dying foliage1 and in time the summer flowers would spread and fill up the bare places for you4 ,there are seventy species of ,crocus1 and many bloom in autumn4 ,some of these are wild now in various parts of ,england1 though they probably came long ago from the ,pyrenees4 ,you will find the spring-flowering ones most useful for your border2 but though they are easy to grow1 you have to watch for their two enemies--mice and sparrows4 ,mice eat the corms1 and sparrows pull the flowers to pieces in order to get at the stamens1 that affect them as a sedative4 ,it is generally found that they do not attack the striped ones4 ,if you are troubled by sparrows you must put little twigs near your crocuses and wind black cotton from one to the other4 ,crocuses seed themselves freely1 and take from two to three years to flower4 ,you can also lift them in ,june1 and separate the young corms from the parent one2 but you must not expect these very small corms to flower the following year4 ,,siberian ,,squills 7,,scilla ,,siberica74 ,the flowers of this little bulb are a most vivid sapphire blue1 and you should certainly have some either on your rockery or in front of your border4 ,they like a sandy loam1 so if you have a clay soil you should get some sand and plant your bulbs in it4 ,set them two inches below the surface any time from ,july to ,september4 ,they will increase if left undisturbed1 or you may lift the bulbs in ,june and carefully separate the little offsets4 ,,narcissus1 ,,or ,,daffodil4 ,if you buy bunches of these flowers you find that the man who sells them to you calls some ,daffodils1 some ,narcissi some ,polyanthus-,narcissi1 and some ,jonquils4 ,but when you look at a gardening book or a bulb list1 you will find them all under the head of ,narcissi4 ,there are hundreds of varieties1 and some are difficult and delicate1 while others increase quickly in good soil4 ,we fear that the little ,london gardener will find that his ,daffodils flower the first year1 and never send anything up again except green leaves2 but in the country the strong kinds1 such as ,emperor or ,horsfieldi1 have been known to increase twentyfold in two years4 ,the best time to plant these bulbs is in ,august or ,september1 but when they are to replace summer-flowering plants they have to go in later4 ,any good garden soil will suit the ,daffodil1 but a stiffish loam is what it likes best4 ,the bulbs should never come into direct contact with manure1 but if your soil is very poor you could have some dug in nine to twelve inches deep4 ,there is some diversity of opinion about the depth at which to plant1 but we have good authority for saying that from two to five inches is enough4 ,at ,st4 ,loy1 the well-known ,cornish flower-farm1 the manager believes1 after many careful experiments1 that deep planting is a strain on the bulb1 and weakens the growth4 ,if you are afraid of hard and prolonged frost1 it is better to give your ,daffodils a winter blanket of manure1 dead leaves1 heather1 furze1 or ashes1 whichever you can conveniently procure4 ,this must be removed when the bulbs want to push through the ground4 ,in ,june and ,july1 ,daffodils lose both roots and leaves1 and may be taken up for division4 ,the rule about division is quite simple4 ,when you see a baby bulb wrapped up to the neck in the sheath of the parent bulb1 you must not take it away1 but plant them again together4 ,it is only when the young bulb has its own sheath that you may detach it carefully at its basal root where it still touches the old one4 ,when you want to separate bulbs1 do not tear them asunder4 ,press them gently together1 and if they are ripe for separation they will come apart easily4 ,when you have dug up those you want to divide1 knock off as much soil as you can1 and leave the bulbs to dry for a short time in the sun1 or on a shelf in a shed or in a cool room4 ,but it is advisable to plant the young bulbs directly they are detached from the old ones4 ,if possible1 when you replant your bulbs1 give them a fresh place--or1 at any rate1 fresh soil4 ,when you cut your ,daffodils1 never cut many leaves from one plant1 because the bulb receives nourishment through its leaves4 ,the flowers may be gathered when in bud1 and will come out well and increase in size in water4 ,many people always send ,daffodils by post in bud1 as they travel better1 take less room1 and last longer4 ,besides1 a mixture of fully-open and half-open ,daffodils is like spring itself1 and gives you pleasure as they change and expand4 ,but the growers tell us that the shops and markets will not buy them in this state1 and insist on having the flowers in full bloom4 ,the ,polyanthus-,narcissus has several flowers on one stalk1 and it is very fragrant4 ,there are several varieties1 and in the ,south and ,west of ,england they are all hardy4 ,in the sheltered parts of ,cornwall and the ,scilly ,isles they come into flower before ,christmas1 and all through ,january you see fields of them opening their buds in the winter sun4 ,if you live in a cold part of ,england1 you must give them a sheltered corner and plenty of sand in the soil4 ,three good kinds are ,soleil d',or1 a bright yellow2 ,grand ,monarque1 white and pale yellow2 and ,gloriosa1 white and orange4 ,the ,polyanthus-,narcissus does better than other kinds in a stiff soil1 and it likes a little manure4 ,the variety of ,daffodils in a bulb list is bewildering1 but you must learn enough about the leading kinds to choose1 for instance1 whether you want a huge yellow trumpet1 a hoop petticoat1 a star1 a double1 or one of those enchanting tiny ones that would get lost in a mixed border1 and must be given a choice corner in your rockery4 ,in this chapter we will give you the names of a few well-known and inexpensive kinds that are effective in a mixed border4 ,when you plant them in this way amongst other flowers1 you can put six in a clump1 three inches apart and three to five inches deep4 ,they should be placed eighteen inches from the path1 well behind your ,snowdrops1 ,crocuses1 and dwarf ,alpines4 ,you may like to choose those that flower late1 and put them near pale blue ,hyacinths or deep orange ,tulips4 ,in that case1 buy ,emperor1 ,empress1 or ,bicolor4 ,the earliest trumpet ,daffodil is ,sir ,henry ,irving2 ,golden ,spur comes a little later4 ,bicolor ,grandis is what the catalogues call #8the best all-round ,daffodil'2 ,sir ,watkin is #8a giant of noble appearance'2 and ,horsfieldi is pure white and yellow1 the finest of the early ,bicolors4 ,all these are single ,daffodils4 ,the ,poet's ,narcissus1 or the ,pheasant-eyed ,narcissus1 blooms later than the ,daffodils4 ,these are what the flower-shops give you when you ask for the single ,narcissus1 and they have strongly scented1 pure white petals1 with a short yellow cup that is edged with red4 ,if they like your soil they will increase at a great rate1 and if they don't they will flower the first year1 but never again4 ,we have known them spread like a weed in a ,yorkshire garden in a good rich loam1 and we have seen them doing well in pure sand4 ,at ,les ,avants1 in ,switzerland1 there are vast fields of them1 and when they are in flower the scent is overpowering4 ,they should be gathered just as the buds break1 because the sun soon bleaches the lovely orange and yellow of the #8pheasant eye4' ,illustration3 ,,daffodils4 ,,hyacinths4 ,hyacinths should be planted nine inches deep and six inches apart4 ,five or six bulbs of the same colour make a pretty clump1 and they should be from twelve to eighteen inches from the edge4 ,you may leave them undisturbed year after year1 and in good soil they will increase and flower4 ,if you wish to take them up1 you must wait till the leaves are dead1 and then dry the bulbs carefully in the sun before you store them in sand till the autumn4 ,the offsets1 if cultivated in light1 rich soil1 will flower in three years2 but ,hyacinths raised in ,holland are stronger than any you are likely to raise yourself4 ,until you are an experienced gardener1 we advise you to leave your clumps undisturbed as long as they flower1 and to buy new bulbs when you find that your old ones seem exhausted4 ,,grape ,,hyacinth 7,,muscari74 ,these are charming little blue or white flowers1 growing about six inches high1 and flowering in ,april4 ,they are hardy and easy to grow1 but you must be sure to put a good many in a group1 so as to get the best effect with them4 ,plant them two inches deep and about two inches apart4 ,the bulbs are easily increased by lifting them every two or three years when the leaves are dead1 and removing the offsets4 ,they like any soil except a very damp one1 and they look well in front of your border or in your rockery1 near some of the miniature ,daffodils4 ,,tulips4 ,tulips are easily grown in any good garden soil4 ,where the land is stiff and not well worked they die out4 ,the proper time to plant is from ,october till the middle of ,november1 and1 if possible1 you should give your ,tulips shelter from wind1 as their heavy heads1 brittle stems1 and broad leaves are easily damaged4 ,they should be planted three inches deep4 ,the ordinary garden ,tulips may be roughly divided into two kinds--early and late flowering--and of these there are many varieties4 ,the well-known scarlet and yellow ,duc van ,thol and all its family are early1 and will flower in ,april4 ,the late ones flower in ,may and ,june1 and come from ,tulipa ,gesneriana4 ,there are so many kinds and colours in ,tulips that we will not give you names1 but leave you to choose your own from any good catalogue4 ,perhaps you would like to try some of the ,parrot ,tulips1 which have large flowers1 most curiously coloured and flaked4 ,tulips1 unlike most bulbs1 may be lifted directly their leaves turn yellow1 dried in the sun1 and stored in a dry1 airy place1 where mice and rats cannot reach them4 ,most kinds are increased by offsets4 ,you can1 if you choose1 leave your ,tulips in the ground two or three years1 but after that it is well to take them up and divide them4 ,if you do not1 the bulbs get crowded1 and do not flower well4 ,,early ,,and ,,late ,,flowering ,,gladioli4 ,there are two kinds of ,gladioli that we think you can grow in your garden4 ,one is the well-known ,scarlet ,brenchleyensis1 that flowers in autumn1 and the other is an early-flowering dwarf variety called ,nanus4 ,the early-flowering ones are white1 pink1 salmon1 and crimson1 and in good garden soil they increase freely4 ,they should be planted in ,november1 and you must remember that they will need protection from frost during their first winter4 ,except in very hard weather1 the established bulbs need no covering4 ,they like a light loamy soil and a sunny situation4 ,when you have chosen a place for them1 set the bulbs1 three inches deep and seven inches apart1 in clumps of about twelve1 and have ready some dead leaves and ashes to keep each clump warm4 ,these dwarf varieties may be left undisturbed two or three years1 but as they increase quickly they will not flower well longer than that unless you take them up1 when the foliage is dead1 and divide them4 ,the well-known white one1 ,the ,bride1 belongs to this section4 ,the finest autumn-flowering variety is the splendid scarlet one--,brenchleyensis4 ,it is taller than the summer kinds1 and should be placed about the centre of your border4 ,each stem should be carefully tied to a stick when it is about to flower1 or a high wind may snap it in two4 ,this ,gladiolus should be planted in the spring1 about four inches deep and twelve inches apart4 ,when the leaves have died away in the autumn1 the bulbs should be lifted1 dried1 and stored in sand for the winter4 ,in the ,south and ,west of ,england the bulbs are often left in the ground1 but even there they should be protected the first winter4 ,every two years they should be lifted and divided4 ,,montbretias4 ,a beautiful little ,south ,african flower1 like a small ,gladiolus4 ,if you live in a mild climate it will increase like a weed1 and your trouble will be to keep it down4 ,in a heavy soil or where there is much frost you must give protection4 ,but the chief thing to remember about ,montbretias is that they will not flower unless the clumps are frequently divided in autumn4 ,some growers recommend that it should be done every year4 ,,irises4 ,the ,spanish and ,english ,irises want conditions that not everyone can give them4 ,they like shelter without shade1 drought in autumn and winter1 moisture in spring1 sun in summer1 and a light1 friable soil4 ,if you have a light soil and a south wall1 you should certainly put some of these beautiful flowers in1 and do not meddle with the bulbs as long as the plants are doing well4 ,plant at least three inches deep and five inches apart4 ,,winter ,,aconite 7,,eranthis ,,hyemalis74 ,the ,winter ,aconite is welcome because it comes so early in the spring1 and even pushes up its bright yellow flowers1 surrounded by a whorl or ruffle of glossy leaves1 through the snow4 ,it will grow in almost any garden soil1 and is a good plant to put under shrubs or amongst ferns1 as it does not mind shade4 ,it can be increased by dividing the tubers in ,september2 but if your ,aconites do well1 you can leave them year after year and let them manage themselves4 ,,alstr,,merias4 ,these are beautiful orange-coloured ,peruvian ,lilies1 and if you have a light1 well-drained soil you will find them easy to grow4 ,if your soil is heavy you must dig in leaf-mould1 sand1 and well-rotted cow-manure4 ,a warm1 sheltered1 sunny position suits them best4 ,while growing and blooming they should be watered sometimes1 or the plants get too dry4 ,as they go out of flower you should remove the seed-heads1 as when they all set they exhaust the plant2 but do not cut the stems or leaves1 because they are wanted to strengthen the tubers for the following year4 ,their stems are so strong that they do not require stakes4 ,they should be planted from six to nine inches deep and twelve inches apart1 and once established1 they should never be disturbed4 ,when the young shoots of the ,alstrmeria appear in spring1 slugs must be kept away4 ,,begonias4 ,begonias used to be little grown in the outdoor garden1 but of late years you see them everywhere4 ,we advise you to buy the inexpensive unnamed tubers in ,april from any good nurseryman4 ,when your ,begonias arrive you will find that they look rather like flattened1 badly-grown potatoes1 and if you see no little pink shoots on them1 you must put them in a shallow box of sand or sandy soil or cocoanut-fibre1 and set the box on a dry light shelf till growth begins4 ,if you can put your box in a cool greenhouse1 so much the better4 ,the soil must be kept just moist1 but not wet1 and the tubers must not be put out till the spring frosts are over4 ,in cold climates this will not be till the end of ,may4 ,when the time comes1 choose positions in front of your border1 and as far as possible sheltered from high winds1 which would play havoc with their succulent stalks and broad1 fleshy leaves4 ,the soil should be well dug1 and if it is heavy you must add sand1 and1 when you can get it1 leaf-mould4 ,take up your tubers very carefully with a trowel1 so as not to injure their fine fibrous roots1 and plant them1 with the pink shoots upwards1 about four inches below the surface4 ,then you must watch your ,begonias carefully1 and when they appear above ground protect them from slugs by putting a circle of soot round each plant4 ,you will find ,begonias useful as successors to the spring bulbs that are over1 and can be taken up for division or thrown away4 ,in the autumn they must come out of the ground before the frosts1 and if the leaves and stalks are not quite dead1 cut them off with a sharp knife2 never pull at them1 or you may injure the tuber4 ,some growers keep their tubers exposed in a light1 airy greenhouse until the stalks and stems are so shrivelled that they will drop off with a touch4 ,as long as they are not shrivelled1 they constitute a danger to the tuber during its time of rest4 ,begonias must be stored in sand or cocoanut-fibre in shallow boxes1 and kept in a frost-free place through the winter4 ,they can be grown from seed or from cuttings under glass1 but we think both operations are a little beyond the juvenile gardener4 ,,dahlias4 ,it is difficult to find room for ,dahlias in a very small garden1 but even one will give you a great deal of pleasure if you manage it well1 as the flowers go on for a long time1 and are most useful for cutting4 ,whether you have one or more1 you must remember that the ,cactus ,dahlias grow from four to six feet high1 and that each plant makes a big bush4 ,the pretty little ,pom-poms are rather shorter1 and can be placed in front of their big brothers4 ,we advise you to grow these kinds1 and not what are called show varieties1 which are stiff and1 we think1 ugly4 ,dahlias are greedy feeders1 and wherever you mean to plant one you should get someone to dig in manure eighteen inches down4 ,about the end of ,april or early in ,may1 according to the season and your climate1 you put out your ,dahlias4 ,if they are spring-rooted cuttings in a pot1 all you have to do at first is to take them out of the pot1 plant them1 and look out for slugs4 ,they will devour every one if they can4 ,if you are given a tuberous root1 you must put it five or six inches deep in the ground4 ,it is of no use to grow ,dahlias unless you can stake and tie them properly1 as they become very heavy1 and are ruined by a high wind if unsupported4 ,stout1 square green stakes are made on purpose for ,dahlias1 and if you are far away from a town where they are to be had1 you must get someone to cut and point you natural ones equally strong4 ,for ,cactus ,dahlias they should be five or six feet long1 and for ,pom-poms four feet2 and at least one foot of this length must be driven firmly into the ground4 ,do not tie with raffia1 but with stout cord or coir1 as nothing else is strong enough4 ,when the frosts come you can take up your ,dahlias and store them in a dry cellar2 but unless you have a gardener to help you1 we do not think you could strike cuttings from them in heat1 in spring4 ,you will find in autumn that the little plant you put out of a pot in ,may has made a big tuber1 with a number of fingers4 ,these should be left as they are till spring comes again1 and then they may be carefully separated with a sharp knife and put as they are into the ground4 ,each piece will make a fresh plant4 ,in sheltered parts of ,devonshire and ,cornwall1 ,dahlias1 after being cut down1 are often given a little covering of straw and manure and left in the ground4 ,,chapter ,v ,,biennials ,,biennials are plants that do not flower till the second year after sowing4 ,they are sown in spring and summer1 pricked out when large enough1 and transplanted1 either in the autumn or the following spring1 to their flowering places4 ,if you can only have a small patch in a small garden1 we advise you to buy1 ready-grown1 every spring1 the few biennials you need4 ,you can get all the well-known ones cheaply by the dozen1 or just as they have been sown in a box4 ,but if you are one of those lucky children who grow up in a big garden1 we advise you to beg for a little extra bit for a #8nursery1' and then to try your hand at growing some of the easier biennials and perennials from seed4 ,some people will tell you that this operation is beyond the skill and patience of any child1 but we think that if you will follow our instructions carefully you might succeed4 ,do not dream of trying all we tell you about in one season4 ,in every chapter we speak of more plants than any one child could crowd into one small garden4 ,you must choose some of your great favourites to begin with1 and each year add a few new ones to the plants you have learnt to manage well4 ,skilled gardeners grow some biennials1 as annuals1 by raising the seed in frames and greenhouses early in the year2 but this1 we think1 would be too difficult for children to do without help4 ,so you must1 as we have said1 buy your biennials ready-made1 or you must get someone to raise them in heat for you1 or you can sow your own seed one year1 understanding that the seedlings will not flower till the next4 ,of these three plans we think the purchase of ready-made seedlings the easiest1 but in some ways the least satisfactory4 ,at any rate1 if you must adopt it1 try to get them from good nurserymen4 ,those you buy in the ,london streets or from advertisement columns are often grievously disappointing1 so that when your biennials flower you discover you have thrown your money and your labour away4 ,your ,snapdragons are either hideously splotchy or crudely magenta2 your pink ,canterbury ,bells are blue and white2 your ,wallflowers are spindly and colourless4 ,a few experiences of this kind will soon drive you to buy your own seed from one of the best firms1 and for a few pence and some happy hours of gardening to get more plants of the best colour and quality than you can possibly use4 ,then you will have the pleasure the true gardener always finds in giving some of his plants away1 or you can exchange your surplus stock for plants you do not possess yet4 ,,wallflowers 7,,cheiranthus74 ,this is a good biennial to start with1 because every seed comes up and comes quickly4 ,sow thinly on a partly shaded patch of ground1 and prick out when the seedlings have four good leaves4 ,do this on a showery day1 if possible1 and plant in rows ten inches apart each way4 ,it is important to sow your seed early in the spring1 because where the winter is severe the plants should be in their permanent quarters by ,may or ,june4 ,if you transplant them late in the autumn1 they suffer greatly from frost4 ,in ,london market-gardens the seed is sown early in ,february2 the plants are put out in ,may1 and by ,christmas are in flower4 ,a seedling ,wallflower has a tap-root as well as fibrous roots1 and this is why the seedling should be pricked out once before it is transplanted to its permanent quarters4 ,if you left it where it was sown it would send down a great root like a carrot1 and then when you tried to move the plant you would kill it4 ,many gardeners pinch off the tap-root when they prick out1 and then the ,wallflower makes fibrous roots that can be safely transplanted4 ,mr4 ,robinson says that a well-grown ,wallflower in a ,london market-garden could not be covered by a bushel basket1 so now you know what size your plants ought to be1 and how many you will have room for in your border4 ,if you buy them ready-made late in the autumn1 you will probably find that each plant has two bare1 lanky stalks1 with a miserable little bunch of leaves at the top2 and when a frost comes they will look so dejected that you will pull them up and throw them away4 ,,pansies ,,and ,,tufted ,,pansies 7,,viola ,,tricolor74 ,the ,pansies1 or ,heart's-ease1 and ,tufted ,pansies 7known to nurserymen as ,violas7 can be treated as annuals1 biennials1 or perennials1 according to position1 climate1 and soil4 ,in a ,cornish garden from ,october to ,christmas we had ,pansies in flower from seed sown at the end of ,may1 so they were annuals4 ,but we had put them in their permanent places that autumn1 because we wanted them to live through the winter and make the border gay the summer following1 when they became biennials4 ,at the end of the summer we kept the best of them to flower another year1 and1 if they liked1 a year after that4 ,the seed should be sown in early summer in light1 moist1 leafy soil4 ,it soon comes up1 and when the seedlings have three pairs of leaves they should be pricked out4 ,the ,pansy1 like the ,carnation1 has a tiresome trick of producing its best flowers on its poorest plants1 so you must be patient and careful with the weak1 backward ones1 because they may give you the finest blooms4 ,pansies would rather be moved in autumn than in spring1 and remember that they like a rather shady place in your border1 and a good loamy soil4 ,they either die or make poor little flowers in hard1 dry ground4 ,if you want your ,pansies and ,violas to go on flowering all the summer1 you must be careful to pinch off the dead flowers4 ,the roots you see in ,london shops and markets1 wrapped in hard clay and showing two or three big flowers1 will not do much good as a rule4 ,if1 however1 you have some1 and want to keep them alive1 you should soak the cake of clay off the fibrous roots1 plant in a puddle of water1 and protect from the sun and wind for several days with a flower-pot4 ,we have been told by a well-known gardener that she can make anything live by planting it in a pool of water1 and out of our own experience we would say that we can make most things live by shading them for some days1 except from showers1 with a flower-pot4 ,it is most interesting to see how a flagging plant will revive after a few hours of shade and shelter4 ,illustration3 ,,irises ,if you have a light1 warm soil1 you can easily strike cuttings from your best ,violas and ,pansies4 ,one way is to cut them down in ,june4 ,a month later a number of young shoots will appear1 and these should have soil put amongst them into which they will root themselves4 ,in two or three weeks you can take away these young plants and put them in a nursery bed4 ,a cutting should be set one-third of its length into a little bed of sandy soil that you have previously made smooth and moist4 ,you must always slice them across the stalk just below a joint1 and cut off the lower leaves4 ,they should be taken in moist1 warm weather1 and placed in partial shade4 ,as they grow pinch off the tops1 and then they make more roots1 and are stronger4 ,we have no great gardening authority for saying so1 but from our own experience we should advise you never to cut down a favourite plant for increase1 except in showery weather4 ,we have lost many by meddling with them during a drought4 ,if you only have a few ,pansies you will not want to cut them down at all in ,june1 but you can look out for young shoots1 and try to take a few cuttings4 ,,campanula ,,medium 7,,canterbury ,,bell74 ,canterbury ,bells are most useful and beautiful flowers1 and easily grown4 ,if you want the lovely pink ones be sure to get your seed from a first-rate firm1 as the cheap seed and the cheap plants are likely to be blue or white4 ,canterbury ,bells are beautiful in blue and white1 as well as in pink1 and we only mean that for some reason the pink ones seem a little more difficult to get hold of4 ,sow your seed in shallow boxes in ,march or ,april2 prick out in showery weather when the seedlings have four leaves1 and transplant to their permanent places in ,september4 ,you will find that the strongest seedlings will flower the following year1 but the small ones take two years to mature4 ,canterbury ,bells sow themselves easily if you leave the seed to ripen1 but they flower longer if you pick off each bell as it withers4 ,they require stakes4 ,,sweet ,,william 7,,dianthus ,,barbatus74 ,one celebrated lady who writes about gardens says that she does not like ,sweet ,williams1 because they remind her of the plush chairs in ,german furniture shops4 ,we think ourselves that the ordinary red ones are rather stiff and flaunting2 but the new salmon-pink and deep rose-coloured ones are not a bit like red plush1 and they make lovely patches of colour in our gardens2 also1 they are easy to raise and manage4 ,if you grow them from seed1 sow out of doors in ,april1 prick out when the plants are large enough1 and transfer to permanent quarters in ,september4 ,next year you can take cuttings from the best plants when they have done flowering4 ,you are always told by skilful gardeners that a cutting should be sliced straight through the stalk just beneath a joint1 and planted in sandy soil and slight shade to make roots2 but now we will tell you how an unskilful gardener1 who found cuttings difficult1 increased her ,sweet ,williams with perfect ease4 ,it may be the wrong way1 but the ,sweet ,williams did not seem to think so4 ,when they had quite done flowering1 each plant had sent up a quantity of young green shoots that evidently did not mean to make flowers that summer2 so the unskilful gardener took up her best clumps1 tore each one into from twelve to twenty pieces1 planted them in fine1 rather moist soil in partial shade1 and by late autumn saw that every one was doing well and making a good plant for next year4 ,,evening ,,primrose 7,,nothera74 ,a handsome1 clear yellow flower1 growing six feet high1 and blooming for many weeks1 but one of those that never know when and where they are not wanted4 ,you know the true gardening rhyme1 don't you8--that #8,one year's seeding makes seven years' weeding4' ,we believe that when once the ,evening ,primrose has had a chance in a garden1 its seeds will come up there till the crack of doom4 ,however1 they have tap-roots1 and are easily pulled up4 ,if you have none and want them1 you should sow in ,june where the plants are to stand1 and thin out severely1 leaving two feet between the plants4 ,remember that in this chapter we are talking of biennials1 that will not flower until the following year4 ,if you have one of those heart-breaking gardens made of rough1 starved soil or builder's rubbish1 you might sow ,evening ,primroses as carefully as you can all along the back of the border4 ,then1 in the following spring1 when your ,evening ,primroses are spreading plants1 you could sow ,giant ,poppies in front of them1 and ,dwarf ,nasturtiums in front of the ,poppies4 ,one of the great secrets of gardening is to find out how to make the best of your conditions1 even when they are unfavourable4 ,,snapdragons 7,,antirrhinum ,,majus74 ,these are most beautiful and useful flowers4 ,they will do well in poor soil1 and even on the tops of walls1 where there is not much soil for them--in fact1 some of the finest specimens1 grown from self-sown seed1 are to be found in such situations4 ,there are three kinds3 tall1 medium1 and dwarf1 and there are a great variety of colours4 ,some are self-coloured1 and some are mottled1 striped1 or flaked4 ,if you buy cheap seedlings you get ugly magentas or poor1 washed-out mixtures2 while if you raise your own from good seed1 you get most lovely shades4 ,snapdragons may be treated as annuals or biennials1 and each has its own difficulty4 ,if you treat them as annuals1 you must raise the seed under glass in ,february1 so as to have flowers in ,july4 ,we think you probably have no greenhouse or frame of your own1 so we will tell you how to grow ,snapdragons out of doors as biennials4 ,the difficulty in this case is not to get your stock of plants1 but to keep them through the winter1 as ,snapdragons are not quite hardy1 especially in a close1 damp soil4 ,we have heard of nursery gardeners losing their whole stock in a frost4 ,on a light soil and near a south wall you can1 with a hammer and nails and a few laths1 knock up a wooden framework that will hold a piece of sacking or an ,archangel mat over your plants1 and keep the worst of the frost from them4 ,if you can't use a hammer and nails1 and live in a cold climate1 we think you will have to buy your ,snapdragons every spring4 ,the seed of ,snapdragons is very small1 so it is a good plan to mix it with sand or fine soil before you sow it4 ,the sowing can be done any time between ,april and ,august1 and either in boxes or pans1 or in the open ground4 ,if you have a struggle with weeds in your garden1 we advise you to sow all seeds that will bear transplantation in boxes or pans1 as you can dodge the weeds better in this way4 ,we have heard of people who poured a kettleful of boiling water over the soil they meant to use for seeds1 so as to destroy the weeds in it first4 ,if you do this1 you must wait till the soil has passed through the soppy stage in which a flood of hot water leaves it before you put it in your seed-box4 ,an old iron tray1 no longer tidy enough for indoor use1 is convenient for this and for many other garden operations4 ,when your ,snapdragons have four good leaves1 prick them out in rows nine inches apart in the most sheltered corner you have1 and protect them from frost till the spring1 when they will make a show all through the summer in your border4 ,you will find that some people get quite angry with you for growing tall ones or dwarf ones1 according to the kind they themselves prefer1 while other people will forbid you to look at a flaked or bizarre ,snapdragon4 ,you will have to bear this if you agree with us1 and like both dwarf and tall ones1 all the clear selfs1 and even some of the bizarre4 ,a #8self' in gardening jargon means one colour1 as opposed to striped1 flaked1 or speckled4 ,,forget-,,me-,,not 7,,myosotis ,,dissitiflora74 ,there are several varieties of the ,forget-me-not1 but you will find this a good kind to grow1 either for your border or your rockery4 ,it makes a charming edging for bulbs1 or a carpet through which ,tulips and ,daffodils send up their leaves in spring4 ,the seed should be sown from ,april to ,june1 and pricked out into a shady place4 ,in the autumn your plants can be moved to their flowering quarters4 ,they look very well near ,white ,arabis1 a plant you can buy anywhere1 or near the ,yellow ,alyssum4 ,,foxgloves 7,,digitalis74 ,foxgloves are so beautiful that you will want to grow them even if you have a sunny1 sheltered1 well-dug1 and well-dressed garden where anything will succeed4 ,but they are one of the few flowers that will never fail you who garden under difficulties4 ,they do not mind shade1 and can be grown amongst shrubs1 and even under trees4 ,they do not mind poor soil1 though they make a finer growth when they are fed1 and they will endure the air of cities4 ,when once they are established in your garden1 you have them for ever if you choose1 as they seed themselves freely2 but you cannot keep the pure white strain unless you either grow new ones from good seed or pull up every pink one before the buds open and let the bees into their flowers4 ,the bees1 as you no doubt know1 are great gardeners1 and fertilize your plants for you4 ,the seed of ,foxgloves should be sown in ,june1 either in boxes or in the open ground4 ,you can prick them out to where they are to stand1 or you can sow in their permanent quarters and thin to nine inches or a foot apart4 ,remember that they are tall plants1 and must be at the back of your border4 ,as you get three thousand seeds for a penny1 you will have some over to sow in wild places4 ,,stocks 7,,matthiola74 ,these sweet-scented flowers make a display in your border all through the spring4 ,they like a rich1 well-dressed soil1 and are generally poor and spindly on a starved one4 ,the ,brompton and ,intermediate are good kinds to grow4 ,sow the seeds in summer in partial shade1 and in moist weather plant out1 nine inches apart1 where they are to bloom4 ,make the soil firm round the young plants4 ,mr4 ,e4 ,t4 ,cook1 in his #8,gardening for ,beginners1' says that amateurs often make a mistake in rejecting the dwarf seedlings and keeping only the tall ones4 ,the dwarf ones have more fibrous roots1 and make more double flowers4 ,the colours of ,stocks have been greatly improved of late years1 and if you get your seed from a good firm you need not grow the magenta ones you often see in small gardens4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,bedding ,,plants ,,by bedding plants we mean those plants that are raised in great quantities under glass1 and are put out into our gardens in ,may4 ,to be sure1 you hear of #8spring' and #8summer' bedding1 because in the autumn1 when you take up your summer plants1 you can fill your bed with bulbs and spring flowers1 such as ,stocks1 ,wallflowers1 ,primroses1 and ,forget-me-nots4 ,the principal of #8bedding' is1 you see1 to plant your piece of ground1 so as to have a good display twice a year4 ,every autumn you throw away your summer plants1 and every summer you throw away your spring ones4 ,this1 at any rate1 is what thousands of people with small town gardens do1 and it is the form of gardening beloved of the jobbing gardener and the local florist4 ,we recommend it to people who have money1 but take no interest in their gardens1 and to small children who will find it the easiest form of gardening1 and even to children who live in or near great cities where some plants will lead a merry life1 but where none will lead a long one4 ,but it is not a high form of gardening1 and cannot teach you much as long as you buy every six months and throw away4 ,of course1 when you raise and increase your bedders1 either spring or summer ones1 you are gardening in the true sense of the word4 ,but most of the flowers you see in town gardens from ,may till ,october are raised in heat from seeds and cuttings1 and we think the appliances and the skill required would be beyond you4 ,however1 even from the throw-away-twice-a-year plan you can learn the gardening virtues of order and method1 and you can get great pleasure from the flowers4 ,besides1 you may be able to adopt it partly1 and have some plants that go on from year to year1 some annuals1 and some you cherish for a season and then cast out4 ,we will assume that in ,october someone gave you enough bulbs to make a fine show all through ,march and ,april1 but that now in ,may their flowers are gone and their leaves looking shabby4 ,if you are going to have bedders you must harden your heart1 dig up all the bulbs1 and throw them away4 ,then you must prepare the soil by turning it well over and raking it fine4 ,if someone will fork in a little well-rotted stable manure1 so much the better2 if that is not possible1 you can add a small quantity of ,clay's ,fertilizer4 ,before you buy your bedders you must consider the aspect of your garden and the state and nature of your soil4 ,geraniums and ,marguerite ,daisies will stand rather poor soil1 but ,calceolarias1 ,begonias1 and ,heliotrope want good treatment if they are to flourish4 ,if you have a wall at the back of your garden that is only partly covered1 you should put nails a foot apart on either side and stretch string or wire across4 ,wire is more lasting than string1 but more difficult to manage4 ,the next thing to decide will be what colour effects you want1 and for how many plants you have room4 ,geraniums need about a foot square each1 ,marguerites eighteen inches1 ,dwarf ,marigolds nine inches4 ,if you possibly can1 buy your ,geraniums1 ,calceolarias1 ,heliotropes1 and ,marguerites in little pots1 and not in boxes1 or1 worse still1 in dried-up1 rootless cuttings sent by post4 ,it is an elementary piece of gardening knowledge that1 provided you keep off slugs and give a little shade and water at first1 you can put anything out of a pot at any time4 ,but if you are going to have many bedders1 you will save yourself a great deal of trouble by putting them out in showery weather towards the end of ,may4 ,some of the best bedders for a small garden are3 ,dark red and salmon-pink ,geraniums2 ,scented oak-leaved ,geraniums2 ,white and yellow ,marguerite ,daisies2 ,heliotropes2 ,calceolarias4 ,all these can be bought in pots for #cs4 a dozen4 ,dark red ,french ,marigolds1 ,pansies1 ,violas1 ,petunias1 ,musk1 and ,lobelias can be bought in boxes holding from eighteen to twenty-four for #as4 or #as4 #f;d4 ,begonias1 which may be had in all colours and look charming in front of a border1 can be had for #bs4 #f;d4 to #cs4 a dozen4 ,in buying your plants always choose short1 sturdy ones1 with plenty of leaves1 and not the tall1 weak ones that have been drawn up under glass4 ,if you have a wall1 buy three or four ivy-leaved pink ,geraniums and a penny packet of blue ,convolvulus ,major seed4 ,the ,geranium will climb four feet in a season and the ,convolvulus from four to six feet1 and they will look well together4 ,do not be tempted to put in your ,convolvulus seed till the ,may frosts are over1 as you only lose by being in a hurry with this delicate annual4 ,never take a plant out of a pot by pulling at it right side up4 ,always turn the pot upside down1 with your hand covering the earth1 but not the plant2 then tap the bottom of the pot sharply with your trowel1 and usually the plant will come out4 ,sometimes it is necessary to give the edge of the pot 7still holding it upside down7 a sharp knock on the top of a wall1 or some other hard surface4 ,you must1 of course1 be most careful not to knock the plant as you do this4 ,if even then it will not come out1 you must break the pot4 ,when you have to do this you usually find that the plant has been pot-bound1 and is a mass of fibrous roots4 ,before you put the plant in your border remove the little pieces of broken pot at its roots1 sink it slightly deeper than its own earth1 and make the soil gently firm about it4 ,if the weather is not showery1 you must give your bedding plants a good soak when you have put them in4 ,soft water 7rain-water is always soft7 is much better for plants than hard water from a tap2 but if you cannot get this try to keep some hard water in a tub1 so that it is exposed to the sun and air before you use it4 ,the general rule is never to water plants when the sun is on them1 but if we saw a plant flagging badly in the sun we should not wait till evening1 but give it water at its roots1 and1 if possible1 shade it4 ,we should be careful not to let any water touch its leaves4 ,when once your plants are well established do not water at all1 except in a long drought4 ,then1 if you begin1 you must go on every evening till the rain comes4 ,geraniums and ,marguerites do not like much water4 ,musk is very thirsty1 and so are ,petunias and ,tobacco plants4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,cornish ,,cottage4 ,be careful not to mix your colours in the ugly way often seen in ,london and suburban gardens4 ,you might have a row of white ,tobacco plants at the back of your border1 then one of yellow ,marguerites1 then ,heliotrope1 then ,calceolarias and dark ,french ,marigolds1 then mauve ,violas1 and in front yellow ,musk4 ,or if you want red and white1 or red1 white1 and blue1 you could try dark red ,geraniums1 then oak-leaved ,geraniums1 then white ,marguerites1 then dark red ,begonias1 and in front either blue ,lobelias or the scarlet ,alonsoa ,warscewiczii1 grown from seeds4 ,alonsoas are half-hardy1 and should be sown in ,may4 ,we think they might not do well in town gardens4 ,we must warn you that some people will be very angry with us for advising you to grow anything in lines4 ,lines are out of fashion1 and they certainly have been made to give hideous effects by the ignorant gardener4 ,but we make bold to think that a child who wants a blaze of colour all the summer in its small patch will get what he wants if he grows his garden as contrary ,mary did1 #8all in a row4' ,we will tell you now about a charming little garden belonging to two children in a ,london suburb4 ,it is twelve feet square1 and has a gravel path up the centre1 with a tiled edge4 ,at the back there is a seven-wall1 with a yellow ,jasmine on one side and a white one on the other4 ,both kinds do well in town air1 and the ,yellow ,jasmine comes early in the spring1 when flowers are scarce and most welcome4 ,the garden is shared by a brother and sister1 and the boy1 who is eleven1 has made a seat against the wall of a four-foot plank1 supported by two logs1 each eighteen inches high4 ,all through the summer the winter ,jasmine is covered by a perennial pink ,bellbine1 that dies in autumn and comes up each spring4 ,a pink ivy-leaved ,geranium and the blue ,giant ,convolvulus climb up the wall too1 and mix with the summer 7white7 ,jasmine1 which flowers in masses4 ,at the side of each plot farthest from the path the children grow white and pink ,foxgloves from seed1 and the dwarf ,sunflower ,stella4 ,in front of these they have a pink monthly ,rose1 with a ,lavender bush on either side1 and a bush of ,lad's ,love 7,southernwood7 on either side of the ,lavender4 ,in ,may they put in a row of white ,marguerite ,daisies2 in front of these1 clumps of dark red ,carnations 7flowers that thrive in town air71 pink ,geraniums1 and pink ,begonias1 planted in clumps of three4 ,in the foreground they have an edging of blue ,lobelia4 ,all through the spring this little garden is gay with ,narcissi and ,daffodils1 on which the children spend about ten shillings4 ,the bedding plants cost about eight shillings1 and make the garden bright throughout the summer4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,roses ,,even in a small garden there should be one or two ,roses1 and as you may have to choose yours from a long bewildering catalogue1 we will begin by telling you a little about the various kinds suitable for a child's garden4 ,,hybrid ,,perpetuals4 ,there are some splendid and celebrated ,roses in this class1 but they have a shorter blooming season than ,roses that do not call themselves perpetual4 ,if1 however1 you live in the ,north1 you may find that you can grow the ,h4,p4's1 as ,rose-growers call them1 better than the more delicate ,tea ,roses4 ,ulrich ,brunner and ,charles ,lefebvre are good old crimson ones1 both fragrant4 ,duke of ,connaught and ,duke of ,edinburgh are two of the best reds4 ,frau ,karl ,druschki is a splendid white ,rose1 but it has no scent4 ,general ,jacqueminot is another large crimson1 so are ,charles ,darwin and ,alfred ,colomb4 ,mrs4 ,john ,laing is a soft pink4 ,you must understand that we are only giving you a few names in each class1 in case you are left to struggle unassisted with a catalogue containing hundreds of names4 ,if you grow those we tell you of1 you will have some beautiful ,roses2 but so you will if anyone who understands ,roses chooses a different list for you4 ,,tea ,,roses ,,and ,,hybrid ,,teas4 ,if you live in a mild climate and have a sheltered corner for your garden1 you should certainly grow the ,tea ,roses and their ,hybrids1 as they last in flower longer than the ,h4,p4's4 ,their season is said to be from ,may till ,october1 but in a ,west of ,england garden we have gathered perfect specimens on a south wall at ,christmas4 ,perhaps the best-known ,tea ,rose is the ,gloire de ,dijon1 an apricot yellow that can be grown either as a bush rose or as a climber4 ,corallina is a lovely bright pink2 ,madame ,lambard is bright rose2 ,marchal ,niel is the well-known golden-yellow ,rose grown so often under glass4 ,we should say that he and ,niphetos1 a beautiful white ,rose1 are what some gardeners call #8miffy doers4' ,if you don't give them just exactly what they like1 they either die or look so ill and reproachful that you cast them away4 ,but if you can please them1 they are very beautiful4 ,so are ,georges ,nabonnand1 a rosy white1 shaded with yellow1 and ,catherine ,mermet1 a light flesh-coloured ,rose of a globular shape4 ,hybrid ,teas are a cross between ,teas and ,hybrid ,perpetuals1 and are considered stronger than pure ,teas4 ,the best known of all is ,la ,france1 and we cannot think why any catalogue should describe it as lilac4 ,it is a rich pink1 a lovely globular shape1 fragrant1 and one of those friendly ,roses that flower from early summer till the frosts come4 ,madame ,abel ,chatenay is another ,rose we recommend strongly4 ,it is carmine1 with shades of salmon4 ,la ,tosca is pink4 ,viscountess ,folkestone is pale salmon1 globular1 and fragrant4 ,boule de ,neige is pure white4 ,caroline ,testout must not be omitted even from such a small list as this4 ,it is pinky-salmon1 large1 globular1 and fragrant4 ,,climbing ,,roses4 ,there are many varieties that will climb1 and we can only give you a few names of the most vigorous and beautiful4 ,the old-fashioned ,aime ,vibert is a white cluster ,rose1 very hardy and free-flowering4 ,it is a ,noisette1 a scented cluster ,rose2 so is the ,william ,allen ,richardson1 a popular apricot-yellow ,rose that we should not choose1 because its buds lose colour as they open4 ,dorothy ,perkins is a pink cluster ,rose1 a ,wichuriana2 ,lady ,gay is a cherry-pink rambler2 and the ,crimson ,rambler itself is one of the best climbers there is4 ,the ,waltham ,rambler is a delicate pink1 a most lovely cluster ,rose4 ,alberic ,barbier and ,elisa ,robichon are both ,wichurianas--little climbing ,roses1 with dark1 small1 glossy leaves4 ,we think that you will only have room for two or three ,roses in your little garden1 and that you had better have either those we have already told you of or some of the ,china ,roses1 also called ,bengal or ,monthly4 ,even in the ,north of ,england we have seen them in full flower at the end of ,november4 ,one of the best is ,cramoisie ,suprieure1 and you can have it either as a bush ,rose or as a climber4 ,another good one is the common ,blush1 a pink ,rose that may be grown either as a dwarf or a climber4 ,little ,pet is a white cluster ,rose1 and very dwarf4 ,mrs4 ,bosanquet is a pale flesh-coloured cluster ,rose4 ,in #ahdj ,mrs4 ,loudon said that there were nearly #b1jjj species and varieties of ,roses4 ,even the well-known garden ,roses are divided into so many groups that we cannot give you a complete list of them4 ,where people have plenty of room they grow the ,penzance ,briars1 beautiful hybrids raised by ,lord ,penzance4 ,their foliage is as fragrant as ,sweetbriar1 and they have single or semi-double flowers4 ,a wild ,japanese ,rose1 ,rosa ,rugosa1 makes a great bush that has glowing orange and red berries1 but it is not suitable for a small garden4 ,then there are ,moss ,roses 7very sweet-scented71 ,cabbage or ,provence ,roses 7you find them in old-fashioned gardens71 ,scotch ,briars 7small flowers and such thorns6 but very pretty71 ,austrian ,briars1 ,banksia ,roses1 ,damask ,roses1 ,gallica or ,provins ,roses 7from ,provins1 a small ,french town1 and not to be confounded with ,provence71 ,multiflora or ,polyantha ,roses 7very small fairy ,roses1 that are having a vogue just now74 ,these are a few you will often hear named1 but you will find many more in any good ,rose-grower's catalogue4 ,if you live in or near ,london1 you will see a great many ,roses grown on standards4 ,you must decide for yourself whether you like them4 ,we prefer a ,rose climbing1 or as part of a hedge or as a bush2 but standard ,roses are very popular with some gardeners1 and when they are healthy they certainly carry a great many flowers4 ,roses like a good firm1 rich soil1 what gardeners call #8unctuous loam4' ,it feels almost greasy between the fingers1 and many plants love it4 ,if your soil is light and dry1 you must dig in some farm manure and1 if you can get it1 some clay before you plant ,roses4 ,if it is a heavy1 cold clay1 you should add lime1 sand1 and leaf-mould4 ,in ,october the places for your ,roses should be well dug and dressed1 as ,november is the best month to plant4 ,if you live where there is danger of autumn frosts1 you should plant in the middle of ,october1 or as early in ,november as possible4 ,we are giving you the general rule about ,roses1 but some gardeners like to plant in ,march1 when the frosts are over4 ,if you buy ,roses in pots1 you can put them out at any time except during a frost4 ,in hot summer weather you would naturally watch them at first1 and give them shade if they seemed to flag4 ,when you put a plant out of a pot1 you must be careful not to disturb its roots and to give it plenty of water4 ,if necessary1 break the pot1 as that would disturb the ,rose less than shaking and shoving it4 ,go to a good firm for your ,roses1 and1 if possible1 one that will sell you ,roses on their own roots4 ,we are not going to tell you about various grafted ,roses1 because we think that while you are a child you will find them troublesome1 as they often send up shoots from the wild briars on which the ,rose you want has been grafted2 but we warn you that you will not get ,roses on their own roots unless you go to one of the great ,rose-growers4 ,when your ,roses arrive1 do not leave their roots exposed to the air a moment4 ,cover them with a sack or matting1 and take a pail of water with you in which to dip each ,rose as you plant it4 ,then make a hole about a foot wide each way1 and just deep enough to allow you to spread the fibrous roots out to left and right of the stem4 ,hold the ,rose in its place1 and work a quantity of fine earth amongst its roots2 and put the collar1 the point at which the garden rose is budded on to the briar1 from one to three inches below the surface4 ,when you have put enough earth1 tread it firmly down1 and tie the ,rose to a strong stake1 so that the wind cannot shake it and worry its roots while they are trying to take hold of the soil4 ,the best modern growers do not approve of manure as a mulch in winter4 ,they say it does little or no good1 and they prefer a loose soil surface4 ,soot dusted over the beds is beneficial1 and so is a dressing of basic slag in the autumn4 ,it is no use to try to grow ,roses in complete shade or where they will be choked by other plants4 ,the ,queen of ,flowers will have light and air and some sun4 ,she will let you set a few dwarf ,alpines1 ,violas1 or ,forget-me-nots at her feet2 but she will not be shouldered by high1 coarse-growing herbaceous plants1 or by greedy shrubs4 ,if your garden is not backed by a wall where you could have a climbing ,rose1 you might have an arch over your path4 ,the ready-made wire ones sold by ironmongers will make all your fastidious friends shiver1 and call you a ,philistine2 but you will forget that when summer comes1 and it is hidden by flowers4 ,of course1 if you are a country child1 and can get the village carpenter to make you a wooden arch of small straight ,larches or other young tree-trunks1 you will prefer it to any wire construction4 ,the uprights must be set at least two feet deep in the earth1 and firmly bedded in with stones4 ,the horizontal piece must be secured firmly to the uprights4 ,you would have a lovely arch if on one side you put ,dorothy ,perkins1 the pink cluster ,rose1 with the white ,clematis1 ,montana2 while on the other side you might set a vigorous white cluster ,rose called ,flicit ,perptu1 or ,maids of the ,village1 with the well-known purple ,clematis1 ,jackmanni4 ,the four would twine and mix with each other on the arch1 and you would have flowers there from ,may till ,september4 ,when you wish to gather your ,roses--or1 indeed1 any of your flowers--do it with scissors or a sharp knife4 ,it is most distressing to see people violently tear off their flowers1 and in doing so probably disturb the plant's roots4 ,a ,rose should be cut so as to leave the flowering shoot you will find just below it2 otherwise you cannot expect a succession of blooms4 ,always pick off dead and faded flowers1 and be on the look-out for curled-up leaves that have a little web of fluff in the centre4 ,underneath the fluff there is or will be a caterpillar1 who will live on the foliage of your ,roses if you do not destroy him4 ,you must also wage war on aphides1 which suck all the life out of the young shoots1 mildew1 and red-rust4 ,you often find that there is some confusion between spraying and syringeing plants1 but you ought to understand that the two processes are different4 ,a syringe can be bought for two or three shillings1 and if you cannot afford a proper spray1 you must use a syringe with your insecticides4 ,it distributes the water either through a rose in tiny streams or in a single jet1 and is meant for washing plants4 ,a good spraying machine1 such as the ,abol1 costs from eight shillings upwards1 and sends the liquid over the plants in a vapour that does not run off4 ,aphides1 or green fly1 can be kept down if you spray them with tepid water in which you have mixed a little soft-soap2 but when you have killed your aphides1 you must syringe well with clear water1 as the soap would not be good for your ,roses4 ,another way is to boil an ounce of quassia chips in a pint of water1 and when cold to add two gallons of rain-water2 then spray4 ,many people clean their ,roses with a double brush sold for the purpose1 and called an #8aphis brush1' but they have to be most careful in using it not to injure the delicate young leaves the green fly always chooses4 ,if mildew appears1 it may mean that your soil is badly drained or too wet for ,rose-trees4 ,it looks like little white spots on the leaves4 ,you had better syringe or water your ,roses1 and while they are wet dust with soot or flowers of sulphur4 ,in dry weather this dressing must be washed off when it has been on the leaves a day or two4 ,red-rust is a common disease that turns ,rose-leaves yellow before their time4 ,then they shrivel and drop off1 and when this goes on to any great extent1 it is both unsightly and weakening to the tree4 ,none of the paraffin mixtures that used to be recommended for this and other pests are now considered good for roses4 ,if you can have an ,abol ,spray you can get a mixture called #8,abol1 ,white's ,superior1' which is recommended by ,miss ,rose ,kingsley in her book #8,roses and ,rose-,growing4' ,it is easy to use1 and efficacious against ,green ,fly and other pests4 ,if you have neither spray nor syringe1 dust a little flowers of sulphur on the leaves4 ,in summer an occasional dose of manure water is a great help to ,roses1 but it must never be given in dry weather unless a good soak of fresh water is given first2 otherwise the thirsty plants would suck up the strong manure water too greedily1 and make themselves ill4 ,we tell you of this way to encourage your ,roses in hot weather1 in case you belong to a garden where you can get some manure water given4 ,otherwise you had better use a little ,clay's ,fertilizer or some other artificial manure4 ,except in very cold districts1 ,roses should be pruned early in ,march4 ,tea ,roses1 however1 should wait till the first week in ,april4 ,the object of pruning is to induce the plant to make new wood1 but the amount to be done varies greatly with the size and age of the ,rose4 ,climbing ,roses need not be pruned at all1 but in the autumn any dead wood you see should be cut out4 ,on strong-growing bush ,roses you may leave six eyes on a stem2 on weaker growths three or four eyes4 ,if you look at a ,rose-tree you will see what we mean by #8eyes' are the little knots or buds on the stalks4 ,with a sharp knife you should slice off the upper part of the stalk at a bud that faces outwards1 because then the new shoot will grow outwards1 and make a better-shaped tree4 ,all brown1 dead wood should be cut away4 ,there will be a great deal more for you to learn about pruning when you are older1 either from books or from gardeners4 ,we have only told you one or two of the simplest rules1 so that in case you have no gardener or gardening friend to help you1 you should not let your bush ,roses grow quite wild4 ,if your ,roses have been given you1 they may be on various stocks1 and not on their own roots1 so we think we must tell you how to know when it is the stock1 and not the ,rose1 that is sending up its tiresome wild shoots4 ,most ,hybrid ,perpetuals1 ,teas1 and ,hybrid ,teas have five leaves1 but most #8stocks' have seven or nine leaves4 ,when you see these wild shoots coming up out of the ground1 you must cut them away1 as they are using food that should go to your ,roses4 ,but never cut the shoots that come out of the base of the ,polyantha or the ,rambler ,roses4 ,these look very like suckers1 but are the flowering shoots of the following year4 ,you may just as well try to take a few cuttings from your own ,roses1 and1 if they will let you1 from other people's1 as if you could succeed you would soon raise a stock #8on their own roots1' and have no trouble with briars4 ,august is the proper month for this operation1 and what you will want is some silver sand1 a sheltered corner1 and a sharp knife4 ,a cutting should be nine inches long1 this year's growth1 hard and woody1 but not succulent4 ,it should either be cut straight across just below a joint1 or torn away with a little tag or heel4 ,try both ways4 ,all the leaves1 as well as the tips1 must be snipped off4 ,then make a little trench1 fill with silver sand1 and press your cuttings firmly in1 letting them lie sideways rather than stand bolt upright4 ,if you have a hand-light for them1 so much the better1 but they should strike without that provided you do not let the soil about them get dry or loose4 ,the following year you will be able to transplant them1 but while they are young it is advisable to pinch off their flowers4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,carnations ,,and ,,pinks ,,you can grow carnations near ,london1 as they do not mind some smoke and soot2 but they are most particular about soil and situation4 ,a damp1 heavy1 wet soil is poison to them1 and they do not like a hot1 dry one4 ,they want good plant food1 and will do best in a rich loam4 ,the natural way for ,carnations to grow is on a steep slope1 with their heads hanging down4 ,in the ,alps1 where the single ones are found in a wild state1 their roots are tucked away amongst the rocks1 while a mass of flowers hangs over the edge4 ,the real use of the little green cup from which the flower springs is to carry off water and keep the centre of the flower dry and wholesome4 ,our garden ones do well planted in pots and boxes1 and hanging from window-sills and balconies4 ,we do not often grow them so in ,england yet1 but you may see splendid displays in the ,south of ,france1 in ,spain1 or in ,south ,germany4 ,carnations will stand more wind than most plants2 in fact1 the most valuable receipt for ,carnation-growing is--#8,give them all the air and sun possible4' ,it is useless to put them in shade1 and if you have a wet clay soil you must dig in a quantity of sand for them1 or1 better still1 mortar rubbish4 ,remember1 too1 that though ,clay's ,fertilizer and other patent manures are useful on dry soils1 they do more harm than good on damp ones4 ,carnations do not like to come into direct contact with farm or stable manure1 so if you use it you must have it buried at least eighteen inches4 ,when ,carnations are growing in your border they will need staking1 and you can1 if you choose1 use the spiral stakes that need no tying4 ,another good way is to drive two stakes into the ground1 about fifteen inches apart1 one on either side of the plant1 and a little in front of it2 then tie a piece of thick string across them near the top and let the flower sprays rest on it4 ,this will keep them off the ground1 and is not as stiff-looking as a bunch tied to a single stick4 ,there are three ways of increasing your stock of ,carnations3 by layers1 by pipings or cuttings1 and by seed4 ,we will tell you first how to layer them4 ,if possible1 it should be done in ,july1 so that your layers are well rooted and ready to transplant in ,september4 ,you must prepare some finely sifted compost of loam1 leaf-mould1 and silver sand4 ,a town child may not be able to get leaf-mould1 but you can1 at any rate1 buy a little silver sand1 sift some of the best soil in the garden1 and mix the two together4 ,this must be placed round the ,carnation you wish to layer1 and you must choose those plants which have made good non-flowering shoots1 neither too woody nor too tender and sappy4 ,the leaves of each shoot must be stripped off at the end proceeding from the main stalk1 leaving about three or four leafy joints above4 ,then with a sharp knife you make an upward slit1 beginning just below a joint1 and ending halfway through1 so as to form a tongue4 ,the shoot must then be carefully pegged down with a hairpin or a zinc layer pin in such a way that the cut is left open and the tongue is firmly fixed in the soil4 ,a little more soil should then be put over the part that is pegged down1 and water given with a fine rose4 ,in a month or so the layers ought to be rooted1 and by the first or second week in ,september they should be ready to detach from the parent plant and plant out4 ,it is a delicate piece of work to make the layer cut1 as if you do not go far enough no roots result1 while if you go too far the layer dies4 ,nor is it easy to peg down your layer successfully4 ,but it is such an interesting operation that we think you will probably want to try it4 ,cuttings should also be taken in ,july or ,august1 because the ground is warm then4 ,one way is to cut the stem square across a joint1 remove all the leaves for at least two inches from the bottom1 and plant in a situation that is shady but not directly under trees4 ,the cuttings should be inserted at least two inches deep1 and in soil that has had sand well worked into it4 ,they must not be allowed to get quite dry4 ,another kind of cutting we will describe from that delightful old gardening book published by ,john ,murray in #ahdj1 and called1 #8,gardening for ,ladies1' by ,mrs4 ,loudon4 #8,pipings are cuttings of ,pinks and ,carnations1 and1 indeed1 are applicable to all plants having jointed tubular stems4 ,they are prepared by taking a shoot that has nearly done growing1 and holding the root end of it in one hand1 below a pair of leaves1 and with the other pulling the top part above the pair of leaves1 so as to separate it from the root part of the stem at the socket formed by the axils of the leaves1 leaving the part pulled off with a tubular or pipe-like termination--hence the name of pipings2 and when thus separated they are inserted in finely sifted earth or sand1 and a hand-glass is firmly fixed over them4' ,most gardeners snip off the tips of the outer leaves of pipings and cuttings1 because then they can see more easily when new leaves are forming4 ,,carnations ,,from ,,seed4 ,the most attractive way of increasing your stock of ,carnations is to grow them from seed4 ,in this way you get a great variety1 and take a sporting chance of raising a new specimen4 ,but you must buy your seed from a first-rate firm4 ,as it is rather expensive1 you will wish to give it every chance1 so you must prepare the soil carefully for your seed-pan or shallow box4 ,whichever of these you use must have a few holes in it1 then some broken crocks for drainage1 and then the compost made of leaf-mould1 loam1 and silver sand4 ,this mixture should be moist when you use it1 as then you will not have to water much4 ,the seed of ,carnations is big enough for you to plant one by one with the point of a knife if you have a little patience4 ,when this is done1 take a little fine soil between your hands and sift it evenly and lightly over your seeds4 ,then cover with a glass1 and1 if you can1 place in a frame or greenhouse4 ,if you have neither1 you must make shift with a sunny window as long as there is danger of frost2 but we must warn you that it is not easy to raise seeds in a room4 ,even in an unused one they are likely to be too damp1 or too dry1 or to grow spindly in their effort to reach the light4 ,march1 ,april1 and ,may are all months when gardeners sow ,carnation seed1 and by the end of ,may you might set your pan out of doors if you can keep slugs from it4 ,in ten days or a fortnight the seedlings should appear1 and then you must face the fact that the biggest and strongest--those about which you feel most triumphant--will be the single ones1 while the poor little weaklings will give you the best double flowers4 ,all should be pricked off when they have four real leaves1 either into boxes or pans or into the open ground4 ,if you have raised your seed under glass in ,march1 you must keep your pricked-out seedlings in a frame or greenhouse till all danger of frost is over4 ,when you have neither1 you must do the best you can with a room4 ,the important thing is to keep away frost at this early stage4 ,be careful1 when your ,carnations are in the open ground1 to keep away slugs with soot or lime1 and look out for ,leather-jackets and ,wire-worms1 both fatal to ,carnations4 ,the ,leather-jacket is the larva of the ,daddy-long-legs1 and in this state has no legs at all4 ,in spite of this1 they can get along as fast as they wish4 ,they are slaty-brown in colour1 and look like short1 fat1 lifeless grubs4 ,wire-worms have yellow bodies1 brown heads1 and three pairs of legs behind their head4 ,both these pests may be trapped by burying small pieces of raw potato1 carrot1 or turnip1 beneath the soil1 with skewers through to mark where they are4 ,these traps should be examined every morning4 ,another way to catch ,leather-jackets1 or ,chop-worms1 is to put pieces of slate1 wood1 brick1 or turf on the ground1 as they creep under such things for shelter4 ,rust1 ,spot1 ,eel-worm1 and the ,carnation ,maggot are also enemies that do much damage4 ,the two first are fungi1 and the best way to avoid them is to give your plants sun and air4 ,the ,eel-worm produces a disease called gout1 and no remedy is known for it4 ,the ,carnation ,maggot can be dug out of the heart of a plant with a needle4 ,we hope we shall not have discouraged you by telling you a few of the forty-nine ills the ,carnation is heir to4 ,they are not really difficult plants to keep alive if you can give them plenty of air and the right soil4 ,you must either increase your own stock every year or buy new ones4 ,the same plant will go on for several years in favourable conditions1 but you cannot depend on many doing this4 ,some of your ,carnation seedlings are sure to be single1 and they would look very pretty on a rockery or hanging from a wall or a window-sill4 ,we have not said anything about the different classes in which florists divide ,carnations and ,picotees1 because we do not think you need specialize in this way till you are grown up4 ,perhaps even then you will agree with us and admire many a seedling that the hidebound fancier would consign to the dustheap4 ,the old ,clove1 that most attractive of ,carnations1 will do well on a sandy soil1 but dies out in cold1 wet seasons4 ,,pinks4 ,for an edging there is nothing to equal a good fringed white ,pink4 ,we have seen the little old-fashioned one doing well in the ,pensioners' ,gardens at ,chelsea ,hospital1 and one of the authors has grown masses of ,mrs4 ,sinkins six miles from ,charing ,cross4 ,they want an open border and ordinary well-dug garden soil4 ,in times of drought1 and on very hot1 dry soils1 they want water from ,april on until they flower2 but in most districts they look after themselves in this respect4 ,when the clumps are more than a year old1 we have seen a good gardener give each one a liberal dressing of fresh soil in early spring1 so that it should not feel starved4 ,this was done without disturbing the roots by coaxing the soil under and amongst the shoots4 ,pinks can be divided quite early in the spring1 or after flowering1 or they can be increased1 like ,carnations1 by layers1 pipings1 or cuttings4 ,when you divide plants always choose showery weather1 and dig the hole for each portion of your plant so deep that the roots are not bruised and crammed4 ,when gardeners divide ,pinks1 they replant them deep1 and with the leaves rather bunched together4 ,the habit of the ,pink is to spread itself on the surface of the soil1 with its stalks uncomfortably exposed1 and in the course of the summer you will see each clump coming back to its untidy ways4 ,we agree with ,mrs4 ,ewing1 who said that some gardeners had witchcraft in their hands1 and could make anything grow and flourish4 ,we have seen one of this kind transplant a ,crimson ,rambler on a hot ,july day1 and the ,rose liked it4 ,we used to see the same one divide her ,pinks1 and make every bit take root and increase4 ,but as you may not be a born witch or wizard1 and as you may find layers1 pipings1 and cuttings all difficult operations1 we will tell you the easiest way in the world to increase your ,pinks4 ,we came across it in ,gardening ,illustrated1 in one of those little narratives of real personal experience that make a good gardening paper so useful and interesting4 ,the writer said that all he did was to tear off strong young shoots with a good heel or tag attached1 trim off the lower leaves1 and plant firmly in a partially shaded situation and in sandy soil4 ,we have tried this plan ourselves1 and have found that every slip we took grew4 ,we take them when our ,pinks have quite done flowering4 ,the following year we plant them out1 and they flower a little1 and by the second year they are good strong clumps4 ,but you will probably not find this way answers if you have a cold1 heavy soil4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,lilies ,,we will begin with ,lilium ,candidum1 the ,madonna or ,cottage ,lily4 ,you know it1 of course3 the big white lily that the ,madonna1 and sometimes the angels1 carry in old pictures1 and that you see at its best in cottage gardens4 ,all gardeners ask each other #8,why do we see great healthy clumps of this lovely ,lily in poor little neglected cottage gardens1 while in our highly-fed and carefully-tended ones it gets the now well-known ,lily disease8' ,we hope your ,madonna ,lilies will not get it1 because it is rather heart-breaking to watch its ravages4 ,in the spring you see fine1 healthy leaves1 and you look forward to the tall stems that will arise from them and bear great scented1 shining white flowers4 ,but one day you notice that the leaves look rather brown4 ,a stem has shot up1 but the leaves on it look brown1 too4 ,every day it seems to get browner and flabbier1 and at last you cut it down because it is so unsightly4 ,sometimes these sick stems bear sick1 half-decayed ,lilies1 but they give you no pleasure4 ,a healthy ,dandelion is far more beautiful4 ,one of the best amateur gardeners we ever knew used to say that there were some plants that throve on neglect1 and we really believe that the ,madonna ,lily is one of them4 ,the cottager who puts some healthy bulbs in dry soil1 and leaves them there year after year1 gets better flowers than the gardener who fusses and feeds them4 ,there seems to be no doubt that the ,lily disease has its best chance in a low1 badly drained soil that holds moisture4 ,if you can give your ,lilies a dry1 well-drained position1 you will probably succeed with them4 ,buy your bulbs from a good firm1 dust them well with flower of sulphur1 plant them about five inches deep and nine inches apart in sand1 and then never interfere with them again4 ,remember that their flowers will last longer if not exposed to the full midday sun1 but do not plant them near the roots of the trees1 or where rain cannot reach them4 ,they require rain1 but not stagnant moisture4 ,three bulbs together make a nice clump1 and they would look well in the centre of your border4 ,the leaves die down in winter1 and when the new ones come in spring1 you must look out for slugs4 ,if you have many1 surround your ,lilies with lime1 soot1 or wood ashes4 ,mr4 ,j4 ,weathers says that a frequent fine syringeing with warm soapy water will sometimes check the disease4 ,if when your ,lilies flower you do not want their petals dusted over with yellow pollen1 you must remove the anthers1 the part of the stamen that contains the pollen4 ,illustration3 ,,lilies ,,and ,,roses4 ,,orange ,,lily 7,,lilium ,,croceum74 ,this is the splendid orange ,lily with purple spots so much grown in ,irish cottage gardens4 ,it is one of the easiest and hardiest of ,lilies1 and looks well against a background of shrubs or ferns4 ,the bulbs should be planted from six to nine inches deep1 and need not be disturbed for years4 ,if you have to dig yours up in spring or autumn1 you can increase your stock by carefully detaching the little offsets from the parent bulbs4 ,in time they will make flowering plants4 ,this ,lily will grow in sunshine or shade1 and in any healthy garden soil4 ,,martagon1 ,,or ,,turk',s ,,cap1 ,,lilies4 ,some ,lilies make two kinds of roots--one kind from their base1 and one kind from their stem4 ,others only make basal roots1 and should1 on that account1 be planted in autumn4 ,their root action begins in ,october1 and goes on through the winter1 so that if they are lifted in spring they are seriously damaged1 and may not flower4 ,all the ,martagon1 or ,turk's ,cap1 ,lilies1 belong to this class4 ,if you want them you must plant them in autumn4 ,you can have them in crimson1 white1 or yellow1 but the handsomest is ,album1 with stems from four to five feet high1 carrying a large number of waxy white flowers4 ,the petals in this species are turned back1 and give the effect of a ,turk's cap or turban4 ,they are easily grown in a mixture of loam and leaf-mould1 and in a partly shaded position4 ,,lilium ,,speciosum4 ,there are several varieties of this ,lily1 and they are all most beautiful4 ,they flower in the late summer and autumn1 and should have a warm and sheltered situation4 ,they should be planted in loam1 peat1 leaf-mould1 and sharp sand4 ,if you live in a cold district1 you should give these ,lilies and the ,auratums a covering in winter4 ,a mulching of manure is good for them1 and will keep them warm4 ,,tiger ,,lily 7,,lilium ,,tigrinum74 ,the best variety of this ,lily is ,lilium ,tigrinum ,splendens4 ,the flowers are orange-red1 spotted or #8tigered' with blackish purple4 ,a fine specimen sometimes reaches a height of seven feet1 and bears twenty-five flowers4 ,all the ,tiger ,lilies are easily grown in a well-drained soil in a partly shaded situation4 ,they can be increased by offsets1 or by the little blackish bulblets you will see on the stems amongst the leaves4 ,these will drop and root themselves if not gathered1 but they will not make flowering bulbs for some years4 ,,lilium ,,auratum4 ,this is the ,king of ,lilies1 the #8,golden ,lily of ,japan1' and a native of that country4 ,if you live within reach of ,kew ,gardens1 you should go there in summer on purpose to see these splendid ,lilies flowering amongst the ,rhododendrons1 where they have a moist1 peaty soil for their roots4 ,mr4 ,wallace1 of ,colchester1 the great authority on ,lilies1 says that the ,auratum likes a strong soil1 not too heavy1 a good friable loam4 ,it should be planted about three times its own depth1 and1 if you can possibly get it1 in some moist sea-sand4 ,it is one of the stem-rooting ,lilies1 and will sometimes get support through its flowering season from these roots only4 ,but if it is to make good bulb growth1 too1 so as to come up and flower another year1 it must have basal roots1 and be planted directly it arrives from ,japan4 ,it requires a warm and sheltered situation1 and in spring likes a mulching of well-rotted manure4 ,do not put it where it can be shaken by violent winds or scorched by a full midday sun4 ,the best variety is ,auratum ,platyphyllum4 ,there is one thing you must remember about all ,lilies1 and that is that they sometimes lie dormant for a year4 ,we have often found they did this after removal4 ,we once planned a fine display of the ,madonna ,lily in a corner of a new border1 but though we bought dozens of bulbs and put them in1 none came up4 ,we thought they must have resented the move and died2 but when we grubbed down amongst them to see what had happened1 we found every bulb as plump and healthy as we could wish4 ,they were having a year's sleep4 ,,day ,,lily 7,,hemerocallis74 ,this belongs to the ,lily ,order1 but it is not a bulb4 ,it is a herbaceous plant1 with a rhizome and short1 fleshy roots1 rather like a bunch of brownish-white fingers4 ,they succeed in any good garden soil1 but they like one that has been well manured some weeks before planting4 ,they should be left undisturbed three or four years1 and may then be divided in autumn when the leaves have withered4 ,when you replant1 put them from twelve to eighteen inches apart4 ,the flowers are yellow or tawny1 and only last for a day1 or at most two4 ,but they succeed each other quickly for several weeks4 ,the ,greek name means #8,beauty of a day4' ,,lily ,,of ,,the ,,valley 7,,convallaria ,,majalis74 ,there is a popular idea that the ,lily of the ,valley will grow in any kind of deep shade1 and so you see its poor1 starved leaves struggling for life under evergreen shrubs1 or the strong roots of trees that steal all its nourishment4 ,the ,lily of the ,valley does like shade for the greater part of the day1 but it is a plant that requires proper food4 ,it will stand sun if you give it a deep1 rich soil4 ,the best situation for it is under a wall with a north or west aspect1 or in any shady place that has good soil with some sand in it1 and fresh air overhead4 ,the bed should be made in ,october1 and the little tuberous roots set two inches apart each way1 with the point of the crown just under the soil4 ,work the soil well amongst and over the branching roots as you plant4 ,in a cold climate protect the bed with bracken or dead leaves in winter1 or1 better still1 with a covering of manure4 ,after four years your ,lilies of the ,valley should have grown into a thick mat of leaves4 ,then in ,october you must dig them up1 dress your bed with fresh manure1 soil and sand1 pull your plants apart1 and set them in rows again4 ,if you can make two beds1 one in sun and one in shade1 you will have a longer succession of bloom4 ,when you gather the flowers1 do not pick many leaves1 and1 at any rate1 only one from each plant1 as they nourish the crowns4 ,there is a pretty story of the way the ,lily of the ,valley came to run wild1 as it does in ,german woods4 ,once upon a time1 so long ago that no one in ,germany had any ,lilies of the ,valley1 there lived an ,abbot who was a great gardener and a holy man4 ,a pilgrim passing through his district was kindly received by him1 and in gratitude gave him a withered-looking root that he said he had brought from a country where similar roots bore lovely scented flowers4 ,the ,abbot planted it and watched it1 as he watched everything in his garden4 ,in the spring the root sent up a few broad1 shining leaves1 but no flowers4 ,he left it alone1 and next year there were more leaves and two or three ,lilies of the ,valley1 the first that had ever grown in ,germany4 ,by the third year the fame of the plant had travelled here and there1 so that people who loved their gardens came to the ,abbey on purpose to see it4 ,every year there was a bigger bed of the ,lilies and a longer procession of visitors to see them1 and the heart of the ,abbot was filled with pride and vainglory1 because he1 and no other man1 possessed the flowers4 ,but he was a holy ,abbot2 he became afraid of the pride growing within him1 and saw it to be evil4 ,so one day he dug up every ,lily of the ,valley growing in his garden and carried them into the woods1 and planted them here and there1 that they might belong to all men1 and not to him alone2 and ever since the woods of ,germany have been full of ,lilies of the ,valley4 ,,chapter ,x ,,rock ,,and ,,wall ,,gardens ,,the very worst advice we ever saw given about gardening was given in a popular magazine in an article on ,rock ,gardens4 ,it said that all you wanted for a rockery in a town or suburban garden was a cartload of stones or bricks dumped down in a corner4 ,we really wondered when we read it whether the writer thought that plants could feed on bricks4 ,soon after reading this nightmare of an article we came across ,mrs4 ,swanwick's clever book1 #8,the ,small ,town ,garden1' and we will tell you what she says about the proper way to start a rockery4 #8,if people who make a rockery would consider that it is to be made of earth1 supported with stones or rocks1 they would be much nearer the right method than those who think of a rockery as a pile of stones with a little soil dribbled in among them4 ,if we bear these requirements in mind1 it becomes clear that the stones or rocks must be set so as to leave no hollows empty of soil between them1 nor niches kept dry by overhanging rocks1 and the slope of the earth must be such that the rain will not wash it away1 and expose the roots of the plants4' ,it may be that a flat1 sunny border cannot be spared for you1 but that if you choose you may annex a grass-grown bank or slope of a hill going up to a stone wall or to shrubs4 ,we will tell you how we once saw a place of this kind made into a charming rock garden with some blocks of limestone and a few days' labour4 ,the bank in this case led from an upper lawn to a lower one1 and had a south aspect4 ,the turf was all removed1 the soil was thoroughly broken and mixed with sand1 and then slabs of limestone were mixed into it1 each one with a slight upward tilt1 so as to hold the earth and catch the rain4 ,the great point to remember about rock gardening is that every stone or rock should be wedged into the soil a little slantwise1 so that the hidden end slants down and the end you see slants up4 ,you soon find out an elementary truth of this kind for yourself if you try to grow things in a badly-made wall or rockery4 ,we once watched someone struggle with a loosely built granite wall that tilted a little towards him1 and which had no soil in its crevices4 ,he tried stuffing in earth1 but as the slant was wrong it fell out as it dried4 ,no rain reached the roots of his plants because the top stones sheltered the lower ones1 so nothing that needed moisture would live4 ,perhaps in the course of years he might have coaxed some of the house-leeks to find a lodging there2 but as he wanted a wall garden clothed in spring with hanging sheets of flowering plants1 the only way was to pull the wall down and build it properly4 ,then it had earth packed into every crevice1 and the stones so arranged that the rain could reach every plant set amongst them4 ,some plants1 it is true1 will live on next to nothing1 but there are very few that will do without rain and will survive when their roots have reached a hollow place amongst stones4 ,we think that while you are a child you will probably not have much chance either of making rock gardens or of building walls2 but you may have a bit of wall or garden that easily lends itself to rock plants1 and would not do well for anything else4 ,in some parts of ,england you may have a garden that is rock with a sprinkling of soil on it1 and the difficulty will be to find or make places for vegetables and deep-rooted shrubs and flowers4 ,in a garden of this kind the children are quite likely to have a patch where the rocks are showing through the soil1 and where it is difficult to find pockets of earth deep enough even for ,daffodils or ,tulips4 ,but there are many beautiful shallow-rooted plants you can grow in such places as these1 for they will not be like the silly heap of loose stones or bricks described in the magazine article4 ,for instance1 if you put a bit of the ,arenaria ,balearica in such a rocky corner as this1 it will find its way here and there1 clothing every stone with a mossy carpet1 and in spring putting out thousands of tiny white starry flowers4 ,then there is a charming ,dwarf ,veronica 7,veronica repens71 that seems content with very little soil1 increases at a great rate1 and has that pretty way of clothing the stones and taking their shapes4 ,another of our favourite common ,alpines is the ,campanula ,cspitosa1 a small ,campanula that sends up its quivering white or blue bells the whole summer through4 ,it is so hardy and rambling1 and increases so fast1 that the fastidious rock gardener warns you not to let anything precious grow near it4 ,you will have to find out for yourself which rock plants are so greedy and pushing that you get tired of their company2 for this must depend on your soil and climate4 ,in ,cornwall the little ,arenaria ,balearica spreads so quickly that you soon tear it up by the yard1 while in the ,north of ,england it seems to increase slowly4 ,in a cold district you may be glad of things that would overrun you in a warm one4 ,near a town people grow whatever will best endure the soot and close air4 ,when you are older you will have to find out which plants want lime and which granite1 which peat and which sand2 but we will only tell you of plants now that will grow in any ordinary good garden soil mixed with a little leaf-mould and some small stones1 and we will only give you the names of plants that can be got at any good nursery garden4 ,if you can do so1 get your plants in little pots1 and put them into your rockery or your wall on a showery spring day4 ,but take care that every plant has a good deep pocket of fresh soil to feed it4 ,,plants ,,for ,a ,,rock ,,garden4 ,alyssum ,saxatile4--,this grows into a dwarf shrub in time1 and is a mass of small1 brilliant1 yellow flowers in spring4 ,it is very sweet1 and the bees love it4 ,it looks well near ,aubrietias1 or near ,lithospermum ,prostratum4 ,suitable either for a rock garden or for a loose stone wall in which you can have a deep pocket of earth for its roots4 ,antirrhinums 7,snapdragons74--,we think the good dwarf ones are charming on rockeries4 ,we once had some pink ones grown from ,sutton's seed that were as pretty as little ,rose-bushes4 ,on walls some of the taller ones often look well1 and when they are self-sown they seem to flourish in chinks where there cannot be much food for them4 ,if you have a wall you should sow a little seed1 and be careful not to mistake the seedlings for weeds4 ,anthericum ,liliastrum 7,st4 ,bruno's ,lily74--,a charming plant1 growing from one to two feet high1 and flowering in ,may or ,june4 ,it likes a sandy loam4 ,if you want to increase it1 you can divide it in the autumn4 ,arabis4--,if you are a ,london child1 you will have seen this with ,london ,pride in every ,london rock garden4 ,it is the commonest of rock plants1 and its white flowers make a pleasant show near ,aubrietias and ,alyssum in spring4 ,arenaria ,balearica4--,this is the little creeping mossy plant we have told you of already4 ,put a bit on some soil near any stones you want covered4 ,aubrietias4--,you must know these if you have ever looked at a garden in spring4 ,they are in various shades of mauve and purple1 and make great sheets of colour on walls and rockeries4 ,it is sometimes called ,purple ,rock-,cress4 ,you can divide them in autumn1 or you can grow them from seed sown in ,may or ,june4 ,campanulas4--,there are many varieties of blue and white ,harebells that do well on walls and rockeries4 ,pumila1 ,pulla1 and ,cspitosa are three well-known dwarf ones4 ,isophylla is a good hanging one1 but not quite hardy4 ,persicifolia is an easily-grown tall one4 ,they are increased by division4 ,helianthemums1 or ,sun ,roses4--,these must not be confused with the ,cistus1 or ,rock ,roses1 which are charming1 but not so hardy as the ,helianthemums4 ,if you grow them from seed sown in ,may or ,june1 you should in the following year have a number of dwarf shrubs bearing single flowers in a variety of shades1 ranging from white and yellow to bright crimson4 ,iberis ,sempervirens is often called ,perennial ,candytuft4 ,we have known people buy it by its ,latin name1 and be much disappointed to find it was the well-known white flower they had seen in all their friends' gardens4 ,it is not proud1 and will grow almost anywhere4 ,iris ,pumila and ,iris ,stylosa4--,we mention two out of the many beautiful ,irises suitable for a rockery4 ,try to get the variety of ,pumila called ,crulea1 a lovely sky-blue4 ,stylosa is the scented ,iris that flowers in winter4 ,it likes sun and shelter1 and dry1 hard ground4 ,it must be manured4 ,lithospermum ,prostratum4--,if we were only allowed one rock plant out of all there are1 we would choose this one4 ,it flowers nearly all the year round in some parts of ,england1 and its blue is as vivid as the blue of a ,gentian4 ,if you can plant it so that its roots can tuck themselves under a big rock as they grow1 so much the better4 ,we have transplanted a big plant of it successfully1 but we did it in fear and trembling1 as it is said to hate disturbance4 ,you had better not try to divide it4 ,it can only be increased by cuttings1 and they are not at all easy to strike4 ,phlox ,setacea4--,this is one of several varieties of dwarf ,phloxes that are useful for edgings and rockeries4 ,they must have sun and well-drained soil1 or they damp off4 ,speedwell3 ,veronica ,repens4--,there are many varieties and sizes of ,veronica4 ,some make big garden shrubs4 ,the one we recommend here is a tiny trailing plant1 with small pale blue flowers4 ,it increases at a great rate1 and is easily divided4 ,slugs like it1 but do not make headway against it in many gardens4 ,it makes a pretty dwarf edging amongst stones1 as it creeps amongst them1 and partly covers them4 ,illustration3 8,,the ,,road ,,to ,,rome40 ,the ,sedums1 ,saxifrages1 and ,house-leeks1 or ,sempervivums1 are all suitable for rockeries4 ,some kinds of ,sedums1 or ,stonecrops1 grow wild in our hedges4 ,you should get ,sedum ,spectabile1 the ,japanese ,stonecrop1 which bears large heads of pink flowers in ,august4 ,there are many widely differing varieties of ,saxifrage1 or ,rockfoil2 for instance1 ,muscoides1 the ,mossy ,saxifrage1 makes a plump1 low cushion of green moss on your rockery2 ,sarmentosa is the well-known weed1 ,mother of ,thousands2 ,umbrosa is ,london ,pride4 ,some have large leaves and pink flowers2 some send up pyramids of white flowers from tufts of silvery leaves4 ,you must grow one or two at a time1 and get to know them by degrees4 ,sempervivums are those little green rosettes you see spreading in clumps on old roofs and walls4 ,one of the most fascinating is ,sempervivum ,arachnoideum1 the ,cobweb ,house-leek4 ,it covers itself with a curious white down that looks like a spider's web4 ,they like a dry sandy part of the rock garden1 and full exposure to the sun4 ,besides these plants1 you should put a few bulbs in your rockery4 ,some of the very small ,daffodils1 ,narcissus ,minimus or ,bulbocodium look charming coming up through a mossy carpet of ,arenaria ,balearica1 for instance4 ,you could also have some ,snowdrops1 some ,siberian ,squills1 some autumn ,crocuses1 some ,fritillaries1 and some ,dog's ,tooth ,violets 7,erythronium ,dens ,canis74 ,we much prefer the ,english names for flowers1 but it is often necessary to give both1 so that you should recognize it in the catalogues4 ,we heard of someone who sent to the other end of ,england for a plant advertised as ,tussilago ,fragrans1 or the ,winter ,heliotrope1 and she was much disappointed to receive a bit of the common ,coltsfoot1 that was an obnoxious weed in her own garden4 ,someone else sent for ,hieracium ,aurantiacum1 which certainly sounds a first-class name2 but she did not want a bit of the orange ,hawkweed1 as it had established itself more firmly than she wished in her rock garden already1 and had to be kept in bounds with a spade4 ,we have not given you separate lists for a sunny and a shady rock garden1 because we shall tell you a little in another chapter about plants that like shade4 ,you must have some ,primroses1 ,polyanthuses1 and ,auriculas on your rockery1 and though they like the sun in spring1 the more delicate kinds need some shelter from the hot summer sun4 ,try to get ,primula rosea1 the hardy rose-coloured ,himalayan ,primrose1 and ,primula ,cashmeriana1 a ,primrose that sends up heads of mauve flowers on a fat stalk4 ,both need much moisture4 ,then1 the ,japanese ,primroses are very handsome1 and seed themselves when once established2 and ,sieboldi1 with its many varieties1 is easily increased1 either by seed sown in spring or by division of the roots4 ,now we have chosen just a few flowers for your rock garden1 and with every word we write others come and look at us reproachfully1 saying1 #8,why are we left out8' ,we see neat little tufts of ,thrift1 or ,sea-pink1 and hanging sheets of white-flowered ,cerastium1 ,anemones of sorts1 ,alpine ,violas1 ,forget-me-nots1 ,hepaticas1 ,gentians1 the finer ,columbines1 and shrubs of various kinds and sizes4 ,but we have only had one aim in writing this chapter1 and that was to lead you just one step towards the rock garden you must make for yourself when you are older4 ,then you must get yourself #8,wall and ,water ,gardens1' by ,gertrude ,jekyll1 and #8,my ,rock ,garden1' by ,reginald ,farrar1 two books that will teach you all that books can about this most fascinating side of garden craft4 ,but from the first one we should like to quote a short passage that tells you how a wise gardener supplements what he learns from books by his own qualities of patience and observation4 #8,nothing is a better lesson in the knowledge of plants1' says ,miss ,jekyll1 #8than to sit down in front of them1 and handle them1 and look them over just as carefully as possible2 and in no way can such study be more pleasantly or conveniently carried on than by taking a light seat to the rock wall and giving plenty of time to each kind of little plant1 examining it closely1 and asking oneself and it1 ,why this8 and ,why that8 especially if the first glance show two tufts1 one with a better appearance than the other2 not to stir from the place until one has found out why and how it is done1 and all about it4 ,of course a friend who has already gone through it all can help on the lesson more quickly1 but ,i doubt whether it is not best to do it all for oneself4' ,that is excellent gardening advice1 and you can apply it to whatever you are trying to do1 whether it is a rock wall or a patch of ,mustard and ,cress4 ,we must end this chapter with a short list of things we hope you will never allow in your rock garden1 and as they are all to be seen here and there1 you need not say that the advice is unnecessary4 ,coloured glass balls1 for instance6 ,we assure you that1 especially in ,germany1 there are many people who think coloured glass balls beautiful objects in a garden4 ,others like bits of quartz1 and in cottage gardens you may see sea-shells and broken glass4 ,then1 persons who ought to know better will make a grimy erection with clinkers or broken bricks1 and a home for ,slugs and ,woodlice with a rotting tree-stump4 ,you must do none of these things4 ,if you live where you can easily get stone1 have a rock garden in some form1 even if it is only an edging of stones to your herbaceous border1 and grow some of the plants we have told you of amongst them4 ,if you live where your walls are of brick1 you may still get some plants established on them4 ,for instance1 where weeds have established themselves1 you can remove them1 stuff in a little good soil1 and sow a few seeds of ,snapdragon or ,wallflower4 ,old brick walls make beautiful wall-gardens1 and when the builder is not looking you can help on the process in a new one with a chisel1 a little fine moist soil1 and a few roots or seeds4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,difficult ,,and ,,shady ,,gardens ,,as we told you in our first chapter1 the worst piece of ground you can have for a garden is one already occupied by the roots of trees and coarse-growing shrubs or hedges4 ,all around ,london ,privet hedges and grimy ,laurels are to be seen everywhere1 and wherever people try to grow flowers near their thievish roots the flowers languish4 ,you may put a few ,crocuses in front of a group of ,laurels1 but you will not get much else to flourish4 ,even that hardiest of ,saxifrages1 ,london ,pride1 leads a starved life1 and you cannot know how beautiful it is until you have seen it sending up masses of its foamy pink flowers in good air and from good soil4 ,if you not only have an impoverished and shady garden1 but one under the drip of trees1 you will not be able to do much with it4 ,still1 we can tell you about a few things we persuaded to live in a situation of this kind not far from ,london4 ,you must understand that the two authors of this book have had very different gardening experiences4 ,one is the mistress of a large and very beautiful garden running down to the sea in the ,west of ,england1 while the other has been a wanderer on the face of the earth1 and has worked in many gardens of varying sizes4 ,it is usually her fate to find a wilderness1 delve like ,adam in it till it is a garden1 and then go her ways to the next wilderness4 ,the one you are to hear of now was not a pleasant country wilderness1 where even the ,briars and ,nettles are growing in good clean soil and in fresh air4 ,it was one of those disheartening builders' gardens1 where the earth looks a sort of unwholesome lumpy drab1 and is full of old bricks and ginger-beer bottles4 ,one side of it was bounded by a ,privet hedge1 and the soil was starved1 but as it was sunny1 we got the strong herbaceous things and pinks to do well in it4 ,the other side1 which was under great ,horse-,chestnuts and ,laburnums1 got no sun at all1 looked very bare1 and was evidently wretched soil4 ,we had it well dug and dressed1 and planted clumps of ,michaelmas ,daisy1 of ,iris ,germanica1 and of the common ,evening ,primrose a little way back4 ,the ,michaelmas ,daisies soon made big bushes1 and did very well4 ,the ,evening ,primroses flowered1 but ran up rather tall and spindly4 ,the ,iris did not flower well1 but it increased1 and made a clump of handsome leaves4 ,in front we found that the ,perennial ,candytuft 7,iberis ,sempervirens7 did well1 and increased quickly4 ,you can hardly have a more satisfactory plant for the front of a border of this kind4 ,crocuses came up year after year1 too1 but we never persuaded our ,daffodils to flower more than once in this garden4 ,annuals we advise you strongly not to try4 ,they are a source of disappointment in such circumstances4 ,the pretty little yellow-flowered shrub ,st4 ,john's ,wort should do well under trees1 and so will some hardy ,ferns4 ,if your garden is in the country1 and is only partly shaded by trees1 you can grow many beautiful things in it4 ,perhaps you will be able to have a background of large stones1 and plant ,ferns amongst them4 ,the hardiest ,ferns are ,male ,fern1 ,osmunda1 ,hart's ,tongue1 ,spleen ,wort1 ,lady ,fern1 and ,shield ,fern1 and these all like shade4 ,amongst the ,ferns you should have ,solomon's ,seal1 ,columbines1 and ,foxgloves4 ,as far as you can1 in a garden of this kind plant big patches of one flower1 and not a muddle of single specimens4 ,have a bed of ,lilies of the ,valley in some part of it1 and under the trees a bed of ,wild ,hyacinths4 ,snowdrops do well amongst the roots of shrubs and trees1 so well that in some gardens they spread and increase like a wild flower4 ,they are fond of peat4 ,primroses do well in shady places1 and so does the ,wood ,anemone 7,anemone ,nemorosa74 ,periwinkle will flower in shade1 though it likes sun part of the day4 ,many ,saxifrages and ,sempervivums 7,rockfoils and ,stonecrops7 will do well in shady places4 ,for instance1 if you have a stone edging to your border1 you will be able to have clumps of the mossy ,saxifrages and of various ,stonecrops4 ,between them the little dwarf ,campanulas would do well1 and give you colour all through the summer months4 ,the splendid tall ,campanula ,pyramidalis might do farther back near your ,ferns1 if you can give it good soil2 so would ,campanula ,persicifolia1 which grows wild in ,yorkshire woods4 ,many ,lilies like partial shade and to be near shrubs1 but they should never be planted close to the roots of trees4 ,it is not as generally known as it should be that nearly all the ,cyclamens are hardy4 ,the ,persian ,cyclamen1 that we know so well as a pot plant and in greenhouses1 is not hardy1 and you must not try that in your garden4 ,get some of the other species which you will find offered in any good bulb catalogue1 and in winter give them a covering of moss or dry leaves4 ,they like a dry1 porous soil1 mixed with a little peat or leaf-mould and some lime or old mortar4 ,the corms are often half out of the ground1 or at any rate level with it2 but some gardeners1 who have paid great attention to their culture1 prefer to bury them just under the soil1 because the roots of some species come from the top of the corm4 ,the one thing ,cyclamens will not stand is stagnant moisture4 ,you must give them well-drained1 sandy soil1 mixed with a little lime4 ,we repeat this because it is so important1 and because ,cyclamens are so beautiful that they are worth any trouble you can take for them4 ,some flower in spring and some in autumn1 and they must be planted when they are at rest3 the spring ones in ,october or ,november1 and the autumn ones in ,june4 ,if they flourish with you their seedlings will appear naturally2 otherwise you had better buy new corms when you want them4 ,gardeners raise them from seed1 but this requires a frame or gentle heat4 ,in a mild climate you can grow ,hydrangeas and the shrubby ,veronicas in shady places1 but they will not live through prolonged hard frosts4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,some ,,hardy ,,climbers ,,we think the ,american who described climbing plants as #8creepers and crawlers' must have been first cousin to the ,american novelist who said the house in which his heroine lived was not disfigured by any messy plants growing near it4 ,as you may have a wall1 a paling1 an arch1 or the dead stump of a tree that you would like to disfigure with flowers all the summer1 we will tell you of a few good hardy climbers1 other than those already recommended in earlier chapters4 ,a creeper should always be allowed to grow as naturally as possible1 and not be restrained more than is necessary by nails or by cutting back4 ,climbing ,roses lose much of their vigour and beauty if penned severely and stretched out tight on a wall4 ,most climbing plants need some support at the beginning1 but later in life take care of themselves4 ,one climber may be freely allowed to mingle with others1 so that you can think out lovely combinations2 but you must understand which are free growers and which are shy and delicate1 or the strong will strangle the weak4 ,the common ,honeysuckle and a pink monthly ,rose climb all over the front of a cottage known to us1 and on the south side the exquisite ,solanum ,jasminoides throws its clusters of snowy flowers into them4 ,the ,honeysuckle and the monthly ,rose would grow almost anywhere in these islands1 but the ,solanum ,jasminoides1 or ,winter ,nightshade1 is only hardy in the ,south of ,england and other warm districts4 ,it finds support for itself by a twist of its leaf-stalk 7you will have watched your ,giant ,nasturtiums do this most cleverly71 and its colour varies a little according to its place in sun or partial shade4 ,the shoots of this creeper must be cut back in spring1 when frosts are well over1 and in hot weather it must be watered4 ,the ,wistaria is one of the most beautiful of all creepers1 and its long mauve racemes mix well with a ,dorothy ,perkins ,rose4 ,the ,wistaria is a native of ,china1 and was brought to ,europe by ,mr4 ,wistar in #ahaf4 ,the original plant is still to be seen at ,wistar ,house1 grown to an immense size4 ,it is a most useful creeper1 for it will flower year after year without any attention to roots or soil4 ,if you have one you should1 if possible1 get a gardener to pay its woody branches a little attention once a year1 as1 if left quite to themselves1 they grow into an inextricable tangle1 too thick in some places1 and not thick enough in others4 ,we are sure you gardening children who live in a cold climate must often wish for a warm one4 ,but now we will tell you about one of the most brilliant creepers known that likes to be as far north as possible1 spreads like a weed in ,scotland1 ,yorkshire1 ,westmorland1 and is usually a #8miffy doer' in the ,west ,country4 ,this is the ,flame ,flower1 the ,tropolum ,speciosum1 whose vermilion trumpets can be seen two miles away on a clear day4 ,it is a capricious plant1 sometimes failing when it has every attention1 and succeeding when it is badly treated4 ,mr4 ,j4 ,weathers tells a story of a garden in which it was planted most carefully in many places1 but some tubers left over were thrust anyhow amongst the roots of an old yew4 ,none of the correctly-planted ones came up1 and the others were forgotten4 ,in the third year someone noticed a flame-coloured flower on a ,yew1 and found that the badly-planted tubers were all coming up1 increasing1 flowering1 and likely to go on for ever4 ,it dislikes scorching heat1 and needs moisture in the air4 ,a west or north aspect suits it1 and bushes or hedges amongst which it can scramble4 ,we know a ,westmorland garden where it can hardly be kept within bounds1 and there they believe in deep planting4 ,a daughter of the house got it to succeed against the wall of a cottage on the place1 where it had never succeeded before4 #8,what did you do8' we asked4 #8,i dug till ,i got to ,new ,zealand1' she said1 #8and then ,i planted it4' ,if you live in the ,midlands or the ,south1 where this ,chilian ,tropolum would probably not do well1 you had better be content with the ,ampelopsis ,veitchii1 the best of the ,virginian creepers4 ,it is a wonderful sight in ,oxford all through ,september1 and even in ,london it makes a lovely blaze of colour on many a dull house and wall4 ,it is the least troublesome of all creepers1 as it attaches itself by little suckers4 ,we once grew the ,ceanothus ,veitchii with it1 a shrub that is often trained against walls1 and which in spring becomes a mass of powder-blue flowers4 ,it is one of the easiest and handsomest doers we know1 but be sure to get the right kind1 the ,gloire de ,versailles or the ,veitchii4 ,there are a good many kinds of ,ceanothus1 and some are a very poor colour4 ,we have told you already about two of the ,clematis tribe1 the white ,montana and the purple ,jackmanni4 ,the ,montana must not be pruned until its flowering season is quite over4 ,if you cut it back while it is making new shoots1 you will injure it4 ,the ,jackmanni and its relations are hybrids1 and you must try to get either a layered plant or one grown from seed1 as the grafted ones are unsatisfactory4 ,the flowers are produced on this year's shoots4 ,the plants should be cut down in winter to twelve inches from the ground4 ,if you get one of the #8,patens' section1 remember when you prune that the flowers are borne on the old ripened wood4 ,only dead wood should be cut away4 ,lady ,londesborough1 ,miss ,bateman1 and ,mrs4 ,george ,jackman1 are three well-known ones4 ,the ,wild ,clematis1 ,vitalba1 or ,traveller's ,joy1 will grow into a dense mass if left undisturbed4 ,we know of a cottage where1 with a ,japanese ,honeysuckle1 it forms a rainproof porch2 and even that is nothing to one at ,belvoir ,castle1 which is twenty feet high and thirty feet in diameter4 ,the great advantage of ,wichuriana ,roses is that they are evergreen1 and it is a good plan to grow one of them--for instance1 the deep red ,hiawatha1 with the yellow ,jasmine 7,jasminum ,nudiflorum71 whose flowers come out before its leaves4 ,if we could only have one creeper out of all there are1 we would have this ,jasmine1 which flowers in winter1 and is quite hardy4 ,be sure not to let anyone prune yours in autumn4 ,ignorant gardeners often do this1 and cut off all the shoots that wanted to flower4 ,any pruning necessary should be done in ,march or ,april1 but you need only cut out dead wood4 ,the charming sprays1 if cut in bud1 come out well in water4 ,the ,hop is a graceful1 hardy1 and quick-growing climber1 and there is a variegated kind that some people prefer4 ,a ,hop will cover a big arch in one year4 ,also1 if you are not on the spot to attend to it1 it will throttle every other plant near1 and it will probably acquire several varieties of insect blight1 and hand them on to its neighbours4 ,one of the authors has suffered from sharing a garden with a ,hop enthusiast1 and she well remembers the struggle she had to rescue her ,roses1 ,hollyhocks1 and ,delphiniums from the ,hop's embraces and from the green fly it encouraged4 ,it came up year after year1 too1 and would not be killed4 ,the ,everlasting ,peas are most useful climbers in town gardens4 ,they have no scent1 but they give you colour1 and are extremely hardy4 ,then1 there are many annual climbers1 some of which we have told you about already4 ,if you get ,convolvulus ,major do not be in a hurry to sow your seeds4 ,the seedlings are delicate1 and do not seem to recover well if touched by a spring frost4 ,the first week in ,may is soon enough4 ,we have seen their blue trumpets grown with a ,gloire de ,dijon1 and their pink ones opening all over an old ,lavender bush4 ,another combination we remember in the same garden was a yellow ,banksia ,rose and a pink monthly one climbing together up an old grey stone wall4 ,the climbing ,la ,france1 too1 loves a wall1 and will flower in masses against one4 ,but we might go on for ever about the fascinations of creepers and crawlers4 ,the real difficulty is invariably that of choice4 ,you never have room for all you want to grow4 ,so you must decide for yourself what you will grow2 but we advise you strongly to buy your climbers from a first-rate grower4 ,they only cost #as4 or #as4 #f;d4 each2 you cannot have room for many1 and they last for years4 ,the cheap stuff advertised is usually most disappointing4 ,we once planted two of the ,ampelopsis ,veitchii against the same wall1 one from the great ,veitch himself1 and one from a little man round the corner4 ,the difference was in colour rather than in growth4 ,both lived1 climbed1 and covered the house1 but it was the ,veitch plant that turned glowing red and yellow4 ,the other remained brownish-green4 ,it was the same with a ,ceanothus4 ,the one from a good firm covered a side of the house with soft yet vivid blue in spring4 ,a cheap one flowered1 but its flowers were wishy-washy1 a vexation rather than a pleasure4 ,before you plant a creeper turn over the soil well1 and if it is poor have some good manure forked in4 ,we should never dream of planting a climbing ,rose without digging a large hole and putting in a quantity of manure for its roots to feed on1 not immediately1 but later on4 ,there should be soil on the top of the manure1 and in that your ,rose should be planted1 as we have told you1 firmly1 yet not too deeply1 and with outspread roots4 ,the main stem of your creeper should be as near its support as possible1 and tied to nails1 wires1 or trellis1 with bast or twine2 but be careful not to bind it tightly1 or when it grows it will be cut through4 ,many gardeners use little strips of cloth and nails1 but the cloth shelters insects4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,fruit ,,and ,,vegetables ,,to this hour one of the authors of this book prefers unripe ,greengages to ripe ones1 because they remind her of those that grew against the wall of her own garden when she was a child1 and which she always ate long before they were ripe4 ,in her days children did imprudent things of this kind1 but no doubt you modern children know too much about the laws of hygiene to run such risks--at least1 we hope so1 or we might be blamed for letting you know that anyone could eat unripe fruit and survive4 ,we are not going to tell you much about fruit and vegetables1 because a child is not likely to want his little garden to be a kitchen garden4 ,in case you are a town child1 and have never seen vegetables growing1 we may as well tell you that they take a great deal of room4 ,we know a boy in ,germany who went to live in a ground-floor flat that had a tiny garden belonging to it1 the kind of garden in which you can have three rose-bushes and a border of pinks4 ,he was so fond of gardening that after school on a winter day he would amuse himself with a trowel shovelling the bare soil up and down2 but he knew so little about it that he wrote to his aunt in ,england1 saying he wished to grow ,potatoes1 ,parsley1 ,mint1 ,honeysuckle1 ,runner ,beans1 and ,vegetable ,marrows4 ,the aunt had to explain as well as she could by letter that in a garden of that size he could only grow about two ,potatoes1 and that he had better try a few ,tulips and ,daffodils instead4 ,but when spring came she sent him some ,vegetable ,marrow seeds1 and they were the source of a great and joyful excitement later in the year4 ,the boy was away in the country most of the early summer1 and when he got back to his little garden in ,august he found a huge ripe ,marrow and smaller ones coming on4 ,we can't advise you to grow ,vegetable ,marrows1 however1 as they take a great deal of room1 and require a mound or ridge4 ,if you have a warm brick wall you should have a ,peach1 a ,pear1 a ,golden ,plum1 a ,greengage1 or a ,white ,heart ,cherry4 ,if you have a spare corner1 plant a ,gooseberry or a ,currant bush4 ,in your border try to grow a few ,lettuces and ,radishes1 and some ,mustard and ,cress for the schoolroom tea4 ,,mustard ,,and ,,cress4 ,the author who has survived a yearly crop of unripe plums has another vivid memory associated with her schoolroom days in the garden4 ,she will never forget the moment when she saw her own initials growing in her own little plot of ground4 ,there they were1 made of ,mustard and ,cress1 as if someone had written them4 ,it is a miracle you can perform for yourself any time from the end of ,march onwards by drawing the letters you want in the soil with a stick1 and sowing your seed in them4 ,you must remember1 however1 that the ,mustard grows quicker than the ,cress1 and should be sown about three days later4 ,sow both seeds rather thick1 and cover very slightly1 or not at all4 ,if it is dry weather water with a fine rose every evening4 ,people often place a mat1 or even a newspaper1 over the seeds when first sown1 as this makes them sprout quicker2 but the covering must be removed the moment the seedlings appear4 ,this may happen in twenty-four hours in favourable weather1 so you must keep a good lookout4 ,in spring and autumn choose a sunny spot for your ,mustard and ,cress1 but in full summer give a moist and shaded position4 ,mustard and ,cress must be cut the moment it is ready1 while the seed leaves are tender1 green1 and short4 ,if you leave it till it is more than about an inch high1 the ,mustard is too hot and the ,cress is coarse4 ,,lettuce4 ,both the ,cabbage and the ,cos1 or ,long ,lettuce1 can be sown out of doors in little patches from ,march to ,august4 ,first rake the soil very smooth and fine1 and then1 if you wish to have a big bed of ,lettuces1 draw lines an inch deep and a yard long1 about ten inches apart4 ,sow your seed in these little ruts and rake your bed smooth1 taking care that the seed is only lightly covered with soil4 ,you will soon see lines of pale-green seedlings1 but you will not have a single ,lettuce if you don't keep off slugs4 ,they are so fond of ,lettuces that gardeners often plant them as traps amongst ,dahlias and other flowers they wish to preserve4 ,the slugs will desert everything else for ,lettuces1 and can be caught in numbers on and around them at night4 ,so if you have a sluggy garden you must catch all the slugs you can1 and also dust your seedlings with soot or wood-ash4 ,the proper time to do this is after sunset1 when the leaves are a little damp with dew4 ,when the ,lettuces begin to grow up1 the slugs will leave them alone1 and then the rain will wash away the slight dust of ash or soot from the outside leaves4 ,when you have rescued your ,lettuces from slugs1 you must thin them severely4 ,this is most important4 ,you wait to do this until they are big enough to handle easily1 and then you leave nine inches between each ,lettuce and its neighbour in your rows4 ,the ,french use the small1 thinned-out ,lettuces as salad mixed with ,cress2 and if they were washed they would be nice with bread and butter for tea--at least1 they would if you had not been obliged to dust them with soot or wood-ashes4 ,cabbage ,lettuces do not require tying1 and are ready to cut when they have a firm heart of folded1 crinkled leaves like little ,cabbages4 ,some kinds of ,cos ,lettuce require tying1 but not all4 ,sutton's ,superb ,white ,cos does just as well1 or better1 without this extra trouble4 ,but we think some of the good self-folding cabbage kinds are more suitable in a small garden4 ,mammoth ,white1 ,nonsuch1 and ,all the ,year ,round are good kinds4 ,lettuces are more tender when they are grown quickly4 ,it is best to sow a few at a time about once a fortnight all the summer1 because they must be eaten when they are ready4 ,if they are allowed to stand1 they bolt--that is to say1 they shoot up tall and begin to grow flowers4 ,then their leaves become tough and bitter1 and they are spoiled for salad4 ,,radishes4 ,in ,london the ,radishes you buy are often big and coarse4 ,you must try to grow them as the ,french eat them--crisp1 small1 clean1 and pungent1 but not acrid4 ,there are several kinds1 as you probably know--some red1 some white1 some round like ,turnips1 and some long like little ,carrots4 ,the long ones1 if you fancy them1 should be sown in spring1 and the round and oval ones in hot weather4 ,it is of no use to try to grow ,radishes in rough1 lumpy ground4 ,your soil must be finely broken and raked before you sow your seed4 ,if you live in a warm district you can make your first out-of-door sowing in ,february1 but this would be too early in cold climates4 ,radishes must grow quickly and be eaten while they are young1 or they are not worth having4 ,on this account you should sow a tiny pinch of seed every fortnight1 rather than a whole packet at once4 ,they must be well thinned1 as crowded plants make big leaves and poor ,radishes4 ,in early spring give them a sunny place1 but when the warm weather comes sow in partial shade4 ,,spring ,,onions4 ,you will not want to grow big ,onions1 but some of the friends you invite to eat your salads may like some very little ones with ,lettuces4 ,the soil for ,onion seed must be rolled or stamped quite hard and smooth4 ,they never do any good in loose ground4 ,you sow in ,march or ,april in shallow drills about six inches apart4 ,when you have sown rake the ground lightly1 and pat it smooth with a spade4 ,as you will only want quite small young ,onions you need not thin them1 but pull one or two when you want them for a salad4 ,they will not be ready1 however1 for your early crops of ,cress and ,lettuce1 as they grow slowly4 ,chives are more delicate than ,onions1 and are a great deal used abroad for omelets and salads4 ,you need only get a clump of these1 and if you want to increase it lift1 divide1 and replant in autumn or spring4 ,,mint4 ,children who live where there is a kitchen garden will not want to grow ,mint1 but we have known of children who were anxious to have a plant or two of this useful and fragrant herb4 ,those who do must be warned that it is an underground wanderer1 and will come up where it is not welcome if not kept within bounds4 ,the plants1 if they are not to spread1 should be taken up1 divided1 and replanted in fresh soil when they show in early spring4 ,it does best in a moist situation4 ,each bit must have a good root1 and should be set six to nine inches from the next4 ,the tops1 three to six inches long1 will root easily in summer if inserted about half their length1 with the lower leaves stripped off1 in a cool border4 ,in dry weather these cuttings must be watered after sunset4 ,if you are a ,london child1 and do not know where to get ,mint plants1 you could try to raise some yourself in this way1 as ,mint without roots is to be bought everywhere4 ,you would1 of course1 have to buy it as fresh as possible4 ,,parsley4 ,parsley seed takes some weeks to germinate1 so you must not be impatient about it4 ,soon after its seed leaves appear1 if you look closely you will see the pretty ,parsley leaves coming4 ,you should sow the seed thinly1 and then thin again1 first to three inches and then to six inches apart4 ,all weeds must be kept down1 as each ,parsley plant should be big and healthy4 ,when you gather do not strip a plant1 but take a leaf here and there4 ,when ,parsley gets old and coarse the plants should be cut over1 as then they will make new growth4 ,those that run to seed must be pulled up and thrown away4 ,your bed should give you ,parsley all through the winter and spring--in fact1 until your new plants are ready4 ,one annual sowing in ,april is enough for a small supply4 ,,fruit4 ,we know of a lady living in a cathedral town in the ,south of ,england who has three ,peach-trees 7two ,alexandra ,noblesse and one ,sea-,eagle71 from which she gets more fruit than many of her neighbours who own big gardens4 ,even in the suburbs of ,london fruit ripens well1 provided it is grown properly4 ,the best ,walnuts we ever ate were grown in a ,surbiton garden4 ,in the midst of a grimy city we advise you not to try fruit1 as we know of no kind that would be healthy2 but if you are in a country town or suburb or in the country itself1 if you have a brick wall with a south aspect1 and if you live in the ,midlands or in some other warm corner of ,england1 you should certainly have a tree of your favourite fruit4 ,it is most important to get it from a first-rate grower1 to prepare the ground properly1 and to plant it well4 ,november is the proper month for planting4 ,you must get someone to dig a large hole at least two feet deep1 and put in plenty of manure for the roots to find when they grow down4 ,if your tree is to be against a wall1 put the main stem up against it before you begin1 and then spread out the roots carefully in the shape of a fan4 ,any that are growing straight down must be cut off4 ,those that remain will be on different levels1 so you must arrange the lower ones first1 and put soil amongst them1 then the next1 and so on1 till they are all comfortably spread out and covered4 ,the hole in which you plant a tree should be rather bigger than its roots when spread out1 and about a foot deep4 ,when finished1 the uppermost roots should be four inches below the soil4 ,if you are going to grow it as a tree1 and not against a wall1 you must tie it to a strong stake directly it is planted4 ,in this case you must take care that the rope you use does not chafe the bark4 ,a short length of old hose-pipe or a band of hay is usually put between the rope and the tree where they touch each other4 ,if the tree is to be trained against a wall1 you must first cut off all damaged or broken branches1 and then spread out those that remain in the shape of a fan4 ,for this purpose you will want some little bits of cloth1 a hammer and nails4 ,before you do it you should look at some well-trained fruit-trees carefully1 and try to find out how they are done4 ,but if you can possibly get a skilful gardener to plant your tree for you1 we strongly advise you to do so1 as a newly-planted fruit-tree should be cut back more or less1 according to its variety and vigour4 ,pruning is also an operation that requires more skill and knowledge than any child can be expected to acquire4 ,it should be done for you by the grown-up gardener4 ,for a year or two a young tree will not require much pruning1 and will not bear much fruit4 ,if much fruit sets it should be picked off at once1 or it will weaken the tree4 ,all shoots from the roots should be cut off at once with a sharp knife4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,window ,,garden4 ,if your wall is covered with climbing flowers1 so that you have no room against it for a ,peach1 a ,pear1 a ,plum1 or a ,cherry1 you might find a corner for a ,gooseberry bush1 or a ,red or ,white ,currant4 ,in the ,north of ,england you must put your ,gooseberry or your ,currant in the sunniest corner you can find1 or the fruit will not ripen4 ,in the ,south a little shade and moisture will suit it better4 ,gooseberries and ,currants will prosper in any ordinary good garden soil1 but the places for them should be well dug and dressed with manure some time before planting4 ,they must not be put in too deeply1 or the roots will send up suckers4 ,october is a good month to plant4 ,red ,champagne1 ,yellow ,champagne1 ,red ,warrington1 and ,early ,sulphur1 are good ,gooseberries2 ,raby ,castle and ,comet are good ,red ,currants2 ,white ,dutch is the best ,white ,currant4 ,gooseberries and ,currants are liable to be attacked by caterpillars in ,may1 and these will eat all the leaves and destroy your crops if not removed4 ,hand-picking is the best way4 ,you can also first syringe with soft water in which you have put a little soap1 and then dust with a mixture of dry soot and lime4 ,this will look ugly for a time1 but rain soon washes it away4 ,both ,gooseberries and ,currants require careful pruning in the autumn4 ,the main branches should be shortened to six inches1 and the side shoots to two or three buds4 ,you always cut just above a bud1 upwards and slantwise4 ,you begin on the opposite side from the bud1 and end cleanly just above it4 ,always choose a bud that means to grow out from the tree1 and not inwards4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,window1 ,,room1 ,,and ,,japanese ,,gardens ,,if you are fond of flowers1 and cannot have even a small garden1 perhaps you can have a window-box1 or some plants in pots or bulbs in glasses4 ,a window garden should face south1 east1 or west1 so that it gets plenty of sun4 ,if you are obliged to have a north window you must grow plants that do not need much sun1 such as ,creeping ,jenny1 ,musk1 ,golden ,privet1 ,euonymus1 ,crocuses1 ,snowdrops1 and hardy ,ferns4 ,have your window-box made as long and as wide as the window-ledge will allow1 and see that there are several holes bored in the bottom to allow waste water to run away4 ,there must then be a layer of broken pots for drainage4 ,the earth with which you now fill the box must be the very best you can obtain--if possible1 a mixture of good loam1 leaf-mould1 and sand4 ,in front you should put plants that will hang down1 such as ,petunias1 ,nasturtiums1 ,convolvulus1 ,carnations1 ,canariensis1 ,musk1 or the ,ivy-leaved ,geraniums4 ,the ,giant ,nasturtium and ,convolvulus and ,canariensis can all be grown from seed sown early in ,may1 and they can either hang or climb upwards round strings or wires put for them from an upper window to your box4 ,you must1 of course1 study the colours of the plants you grow in this way1 and not choose ,petunias and ,nasturtiums in one season4 ,alternate pink ,petunias and pink ,ivy-leaved ,geraniums would look well hanging down4 ,behind them you could have a row of pink ,geraniums standing up1 and behind these a row of white ,marguerite ,daisies4 ,another pretty combination would be ,creeping ,jenny to hang down1 then ,heliotrope1 and then yellow ,marguerite ,daisy4 ,in ,london the ,heliotrope might be a little uncertain1 as it likes pure air1 but ,calceolarias should thrive if properly treated1 or mauve ,violas4 ,a box filled with healthy plants in the first week of ,may should flower till late in ,september4 ,you must never let your window-box get quite dry1 and never water your plants when the sun is on them4 ,give a good soak 7not a sprinkle7 every evening after sunset4 ,all faded flowers and dead leaves should be carefully cut off1 and a little ,clay's ,fertilizer--a teaspoonful to half a gallon of water--given once a fortnight4 ,in the autumn1 when your summer flowers are over1 remove them1 roots and all1 and turn over the soil well with a hand-fork4 ,if you can add some fresh soil1 so much the better4 ,then fill your box with bulbs for the spring4 ,you might put ,snowdrops1 or ,crocuses1 or ,siberian ,squills in front1 and then ,daffodils of medium height1 such as ,princess ,victoria1 ,sir ,watkin1 or ,golden ,spur4 ,the back of the box can either be filled with small evergreen shrubs or with late ,daffodils1 such as ,emperor or ,empress1 or with ,hyacinths and ,tulips4 ,a box filled entirely with ,tulips will make a splendid show for three weeks4 ,when a hard frost comes1 or rather a little while before it comes1 you should protect your bulbs with a covering of cocoanut fibre4 ,for many years of her life one of the authors of this book was obliged to live mostly in ,london without a square yard of garden1 but so great was her love of flowers and her desire to grow them that by degrees she made a #8room garden' for herself1 and found endless interest and pleasure in it4 ,she was prepared from the first to spend some time each day in feeding1 washing1 watering1 and shifting her plants2 otherwise success would have been impossible4 ,unfortunately1 most of us know how miserable neglected or misunderstood plants soon get to look in a room--their leaves yellow and dusty1 their flowers stunted1 their soil either baked hard for want of water or sour and mossy through having more than they can digest4 ,we fear that if you are unlucky enough to have gas in your room you cannot have healthy plants at all--at any rate1 you would have to content yourself with one or two that you could carry out of your gas-poisoned air every evening4 ,but if you have no gas1 and a sunny window in which you can place a good-sized plain wooden table1 you may have a delightful room garden1 as well as some pot plants in other places4 ,to begin with1 you would want some of the well-known hardy foliage plants that you can get from any good nurseryman4 ,one of the best known is the ,aspidistra1 or ,parlour ,palm4 ,you can get it with plain green or with variegated leaves4 ,if it is in good health it sends up new leaves every spring1 and makes queer dwarf flowers4 ,when it seems too crowded for its pot you can either give it a bigger one1 with some fresh soil1 or divide it4 ,this should be done in ,april or ,may4 ,young gardeners often make the mistake of giving a plant too big a pot when they change it4 ,they hope in this way to persuade their plant to grow to a great size1 but what they really do is to give its roots more soil than they can keep healthy1 so it languishes or dies4 ,one1 or at most two1 sizes larger than the last pot should be used1 or1 in the case of ,aspidistras1 you can divide and repot into the same size1 or even smaller ones4 ,some people say these plants are impatient of disturbance1 but we have found them easy to manage with a little care4 ,never use pots that are not both dry and clean4 ,if they are dirty they must be well scrubbed with soap and hot water1 and then well dried before you use them4 ,you must also get a little good soil from a nursery gardener before you divide or repot any of your plants4 ,besides ,aspidistras1 you can have some of the hardy ,ferns1 of which the ,holly ,fern is the most enduring2 ,aralias1 which look like little ,fig-trees2 ,indiarubber plants1 whose young unfolding leaves it is such a pleasure to watch2 various hardy ,palms 7,phnix and ,kentia1 for instance72 and some of the hardy ,cactuses4 ,the ,indiarubber 7,ficus ,indica7 and ,palms are plants that you must be careful not to overpot4 ,we know that from sad personal experience1 as well as from some of the great authorities4 ,in our early gardening days we often used to get a healthy ,palm or ,indiarubber from a good nursery1 thinking when we bought it that the nurseryman was rather stupid and neglectful to leave the poor thing caged in that little pot of hard soil4 ,we would bring it home1 turn it out1 find its roots in a thick mat1 plunge them into a pot about four times the size of the old one1 full of nice1 loose1 fresh soil1 and expect it to grow like ,jack's ,beanstalk in its happy new conditions4 ,the ungrateful thing usually died4 ,so remember that if you repot ,indiarubber plants and ,palms at all1 take a pot only slightly larger than the last4 ,remember1 too1 that if you overwater an ,indiarubber plant its leaves will turn yellow and drop off1 while ,palms must not be allowed to suffer from drought4 ,it is death to nearly all plants to be allowed to stand in stagnant water4 ,we mean that you must not leave the water in the saucer that has run out of the pot4 ,when a plant is dry it is a good plan to plunge it in water nearly1 but not quite1 up to the brim of the pot1 and to leave it there till the top of the soil is moist4 ,that will show you that it has had enough to drink1 and it should then be lifted out and allowed to drain before being replaced in its saucer4 ,if you let plants stand in stagnant water day after day1 they soak up more than they can digest--their leaves turn yellow1 their roots rot1 and they die4 ,you can generally judge by the state of the pot whether you should give water4 ,at least we know one good amateur gardener who would never water a plant in a moist pot1 but only one in a pot that felt dry to the touch4 ,all foliage plants must be sponged once a week with a soft sponge and lukewarm water1 as dust chokes and kills them4 ,if you can put them out on some leads after sponging and spray them well with a syringe1 so much the better1 but this must be only done in mild weather4 ,remember1 too1 not to use ice-cold1 hard water from a tap4 ,in summer let them stand out in soft warm rain as often and as much as possible4 ,many plants in pots die of starvation4 ,when you drench them with water1 the water that runs off carries plant food with it1 and this is often not replaced4 ,we used to use a little ,clay's ,fertilizer1 about half a small teaspoonful to a half-gallon of water1 well mixed2 but lately we have used ,shefa1 a new kind that is especially suitable for ferns4 ,these liquid manures must never be given more than once a month1 and never to flowering bulbs4 ,if you have more plants than will stand on your table in the window1 you must shift some of them every week1 and bring those that have had several days of semi-darkness to the light4 ,you must also be careful not to let your plants stand in a draught4 ,it is most injurious to them1 especially when it is a cold one4 ,if you have a light bathroom1 with a good-sized window1 and are allowed to use it1 you would find it a help1 as the air of a bathroom is sometimes steamy1 and never as dry as that of a sitting-room4 ,you could put plants that you wanted to nurse there1 and more especially a succession of bulbs when they have made their roots in darkness and first need the light4 ,the real joy and glory of room gardens are the flowering bulbs1 and the more you can have the better2 but grow a few of many kinds rather than many of a few kinds1 because then you will have a longer and more continuous succession4 ,you do not want your room over-crowded at one time1 and then empty of scent and colour4 ,in ,september you should muster your glasses1 bowls1 and pots1 and decide what you want and can afford to buy1 and you must also choose what you will grow your bulbs in4 ,hyacinths1 as you no doubt know1 do well in water1 and nowadays you can buy pretty squat glasses instead of the ugly tall ones we used to have4 ,the bulb should almost1 but not quite1 touch the water2 if it gets sodden1 blue mould forms on it1 and it decays4 ,crocuses are also grown in water in small glasses sold now for this purpose4 ,the early ,roman ,hyacinths and the ,polyanthus ,narcissus will also flower well in this way4 ,when you grow bulbs in water you will find that you must often add a little4 ,the amount a ,hyacinth in flower will drink is surprising4 ,many people change all the water in their bulb glasses once or twice in the season4 ,a scrap of charcoal in each glass keeps the water clean and wholesome4 ,many mixtures for growing bulbs are recommended4 ,the one we like best for bowls without drainage is gravel mixed with a little carbon4 ,you buy it in little sacks mixed ready for use at any of the big ,london shops that have a gardening department1 and probably at any good florist's elsewhere4 ,moss-fibre is satisfactory1 too1 but the gravel is cleaner to handle1 and the carbon keeps the water sweet4 ,from the moment that bulbs are planted in bowls they must not be allowed to become quite dry4 ,if you think there is too much water1 however1 you must put your hand over the top of the bowl to keep your bulbs in place1 tilt it a little1 and drain off the water4 ,for ordinary flower-pots a mixture of leaf-mould and sand is good1 and while these are in the dark you must not water much1 or the soil will get sour and unhealthy4 ,in planting bulbs for a room garden1 do not set them deeply in the gravel or moss-fibre4 ,the point of the bulb should just show above ground4 ,this applies also to bulbs grown in ordinary pots4 ,whatever medium you use should be damp when you finish your planting4 ,your bulbs must then be put into a dark1 cool place for four weeks to make their roots4 ,an airy cellar is good1 but many people use a cool cupboard4 ,they usually choose one that is sometimes opened1 and therefore aired for a moment4 ,at the end of the four weeks the bulbs must be brought into a light and cool1 but not cold1 place1 and it was at this stage that we found a bathroom window so useful4 ,when the green is well up and the flowers beginning to show1 they may be moved to a light place in your warm sitting-room4 ,the first bulbs to push up are the white single ,roman ,hyacinths4 ,these1 if planted in ,september1 will bloom in ,november1 and will give you a little of the promise and fragrance of spring in the dull1 dark days4 ,two dozen bulbs would be enough to buy1 and of these one dozen should be started in ,september and the other dozen in ,october for succession4 ,next come the red and yellow ,duc ,van ,thol ,tulips1 ,crocuses1 ,trumpet ,daffodils1 and ,hyacinths4 ,the two earliest ,daffodils are ,trumpet-,major and ,sir ,henry ,irving1 and they should be planted in ,september4 ,the ,hyacinths look well either singly in glasses or three together in a bowl4 ,in ,october plant some of the later ,daffodils--for instance1 ,golden ,spur1 ,princess ,victoria1 ,emperor1 and ,empress4 ,these may all be treated in the same way3 set in gravel with a little carbon added1 kept from frost and in the dark for four or five weeks1 then brought to a cool1 light place1 and1 when in bud1 to the warm room4 ,the ,japanese ,sacred ,lily1 which is so largely advertised1 is only a large kind of ,polyanthus ,narcissus4 ,it is easy to grow in a sunny window2 but we should always buy ,narcissus ,gloriosa instead1 as it is very like it1 just as sweet1 and about a quarter the price4 ,all these ,polyanthus ,narcissi bloom well in pots without drainage1 and if you have a blue-and-white bowl you should fill it with the one called ,soleil d',or4 ,scilly ,white1 too1 is easy to grow in a room4 ,so far our description of the room garden has dealt with foliage plants and spring flowers1 but there are also many summer flowers that do well in a light window4 ,in most parts of ,england the cottage windows show you that4 ,for instance1 you often see the blue or white hanging ,campanula ,isophylla1 such a mass of flower that it covers the pot4 ,it is an easy plant to manage and propagate4 ,if you get a healthy specimen of it in ,may1 it should flower all the summer4 ,in the autumn cut it back a little and give a mild dose of liquid manure4 ,it will flower for years without being repotted1 and can be increased by cuttings put round the edge of a pot and stood in a window4 ,gardeners always put anything they want to strike near the edge1 and not in the middle of a pot4 ,begonias make handsome room plants2 so do ,fuchsias1 ,heliotropes1 and ,geraniums4 ,we have seen a big plant of ,heliotrope that had lived for years in a ,paris window1 but it does not like the sooty air of our big cities4 ,some of the vigorous ,ivies grow well in pots1 and in ,germany you often see them trained round picture-frames4 ,we once brought a spray from the country that was so determined to grow that it rooted itself in an earthenware jug1 lived for more than two years on an occasional drink of fresh water1 and only died when we were away from home and could not attend to it4 ,geraniums would rather be dry than wet4 ,the pretty white ,spira and the little trailing yellow ,musk are both very thirsty plants1 and flag at once if you neglect them4 ,the ,vallota ,purpurea1 the ,scarborough ,lily1 is a splendid window plant4 ,when once you have potted it you should not disturb it1 as it flowers best when it is almost bursting the pot with its big onion-shaped bulbs4 ,the ,vallota never cares to be wet1 and after it has flowered it needs very little water2 yet it must not become bone-dry4 ,you will say these are difficult directions1 and we can only agree with you4 ,gardening is an art that in the end must be largely learned by experience1 and the earlier you begin to practise it the sooner you will find out some of the things all the books in the world cannot tell you4 ,you cannot give a recipe for watering as you can give one for a cake or a pudding1 because the same plant will need different quantities in different conditions and at different times4 ,when you see leaves flag in their flowering season1 they probably want water2 when they turn yellow and drop off1 they have probably had too much4 ,in winter you must not water in a room likely to feel frost at night1 as that would help to freeze the roots4 ,you are sure to have some failures and some successes with your plants to the end of your gardening days1 but every failure ought to teach you1 and every success will spur you on4 ,the true gardener loves his art so well that he will grow what he can even under difficult conditions4 ,,three ,,golden ,,rules ,,for ,,the ,,room ,,garden4 ,keep your plants free from dust on their leaves4 ,keep stagnant water out of their saucers4 ,see that those in undrained bowls are just moist1 but not wet4 ,give all the light and air possible1 but remember that draughts are injurious4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,room ,,garden ,,in ,,spring4 ,,the ,,japanese ,,garden4 ,this is the story of a ,japanese garden made by one of the authors when she was in her ,london home1 and had to grow all her plants in a window-box and in a room4 ,the ,japanese1 as you probably know1 think that size in a garden does not matter1 provided that everything is in proportion1 and they produce the most wonderful effects of landscape gardening in a small space4 ,the one in the room was copied as nearly as possible from a photograph of a real one4 ,to begin with1 a zinc tray was made1 five feet long1 two feet wide1 and four inches deep4 ,at one end a hill was arranged of good-sized stones bedded in earth4 ,halfway up the hill grew a dwarf ,japanese ,fir-tree4 ,it was really in a pot1 but the pot was hidden by ,moss and stones4 ,on the other side of the hill1 a little lower down1 there was an ,orange-tree1 covered with small red oranges4 ,these are to be had at any good flower shop for five shillings4 ,the ,orange-tree lasted a year with care1 but the ,fir-tree lasted five years in ,london1 and is still alive in a ,west ,country garden4 ,down the centre of the hill a staircase was made of small1 flat stones wedged into the earth1 and beside this several sorts of tiny hardy ,ferns grew4 ,at the base of the hill a good many plants in pots were arranged to look as natural as possible1 but all the pots were bedded in earth and covered with ,moss4 ,some paths were arranged with flat stones1 and one of them led to the lake4 ,this was made of a green earthenware dish eighteen inches long and an inch and a half deep4 ,ferns hung over its edge1 and one or two hardy water-plants grew on its surface1 while over a corner of it there was a wooden bridge4 ,at the back of the lake there was a tall ,umbrella ,fern that looked like a ,bamboo4 ,stones were artfully arranged so as to break the straight lines of the dish1 and in the spring bulbs grown in very small pots were flowering near it4 ,some of the miniature ,daffodils do well for such a purpose1 and so do ,crocuses1 ,snowdrops1 and ,squills4 ,the dwarf ,japanese trees you need for such a garden are rather expensive1 but if you do not mind that you can get many beautiful kinds4 ,any of the ,japanese curio dealers would sell little china temples1 houses1 lanterns1 and figures that add to the quaint charm of a garden made in this way4 ,if you please1 you may call it artificial1 but that is a word you may apply to any form of gardening4 ,when you have made your ,japanese garden with great skill and patience1 and kept it in good order by unfailing care and attention1 you will be rather vexed if other people who cannot keep a ,fern alive exclaim3 #8,very curious1 certainly1 but quite artificial4' ,of course you will smile politely and say nothing1 but in your mind there will be some lines from ,shakespeare's #8,winter's ,tale' which will comfort and support you4 ,they come in that scene where ,perdita says so many beautiful things about the flowers in her garden--when she talks of the ,marigold that goes to bed with the sun and with him rises weeping2 and of ,daffodils that come before the swallow dares1 and take the winds of ,march with beauty4 ,but in her garden she has no streaked ,gillyvors 7,stocks71 and she tells ,polixenes1 the ,king1 that she will not grow them because they are #8artificial4' #8,there is an art1' she says1 #8which in their piedness shares with great creating ,nature4' ,and ,polixenes answers her3 #8,say there be2 ,yet ,nature is made better by no mean1 ,but ,nature makes that mean3 so1 o'er that art1 ,which you say adds to ,nature1 is an art ,that ,nature makes4' ,but you mustn't take this quotation as an excuse for carpet-bedding4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,calendar ,,of ,,work ,,january4 ,,unless you live in a warm corner of these islands and have a sunny garden1 you will not be able to do much this month4 ,if you have any empty ground it should be dressed with manure1 dug on a mild day1 and left with a rough surface4 ,the frosts then help to break it up1 and when spring comes it will be powdery and friable4 ,fruit-trees should be dusted after a slight rain with slaked lime or fresh soot1 as this kills moss1 lichen1 and the insect pests that lodge in the rough places of the bark4 ,iris ,stylosa should be flowering now in the ,south of ,england1 and even in colder climates under a south wall4 ,slugs are fond of these plants1 and eat them up when they are in bud4 ,if you notice that this is happening1 you must dust with wood-ashes or soot4 ,gather the flowers with a sharp upward jerk when in tight bud1 and put them in a room in tepid water to expand4 ,snowdrops1 ,winter ,aconites1 ,crocuses1 ,squills1 early ,daffodils1 and ,grape ,hyacinths will all begin to push towards the light this month4 ,when they are growing in heavy soil that cakes badly1 you help them by carefully loosening it a little with a hand-fork4 ,you must not do this in frosty weather4 ,all delicate plants will need protection now4 ,a piece of rough matting supported by sticks at the comers is enough for many things4 ,it is not a bad plan first to stretch a piece of wire-netting across the sticks and fasten it securely4 ,by day it lets in light and air1 and at night the mat or sacking is easily thrown over it4 ,if ever you are on the ,riviera you will see the gardeners put their plants to bed every evening as carefully as if they were children1 while in this country1 where much cold is expected1 you see numbers of plants in any well-tended garden protected the whole winter with coverings of bracken or matting4 ,when the plant you want to protect is below ground 7a delicate bulb or tuber1 for instance1 or one that quite dies down in winter71 you need only pile on manure or ashes or dead leaves to act as a blanket4 ,we know someone who grew tuberoses successfully out of doors in a ,cornish garden1 and in the winter he protected them with little heaps of ashes1 which he did not remove till the ,may frosts were over4 ,in most parts of ,england manure is used as a protection for ,roses and slightly delicate climbers2 but a skilful gardener will shelter many of his delicate plants with little tents that he makes of twigs and bracken4 ,we have seen them all shapes and sizes in a ,north ,country garden where many rare things are grown4 ,some enclosed the plant altogether1 and some gave it shelter1 but let in sun and air on the south side4 ,this is the month when seed lists arrive1 and remind you that spring is coming4 ,remember that it is easier to buy seeds than to grow them well1 and do not order more than you have room for1 or any requiring conditions you cannot give them4 ,,february4 ,all weeds should be destroyed this month1 both in the path and the edging1 as well as in the border4 ,if you have ,dandelions or ,hemlock1 cut their heads off1 and cover the remains with common salt4 ,plantains and most other weeds may be killed in time in this way4 ,perhaps you remember that line in ,tennyson about ,geraint glancing at ,enid #8as careful robins eye the delver's toil4' ,you are sure to think of it this month when you begin to fork over your garden1 for wherever you turn the soil there you will see a robin with its red breast and bright eyes looking for food4 ,never drive one away1 for they eat wood-lice1 grubs1 and worms1 but do no harm to plants4 ,a nice big toad--not a frog1 but a rough1 grey toad--is a most desirable friend1 too1 as he will eat ants1 wood-lice1 and flies4 ,ants are sometimes most mischievous in a garden4 ,they do not eat plants1 but they eat certain aphides they find on the roots4 ,anyhow1 they will kill your pet plant if they are so inclined4 ,you see it turn yellow and die1 and when you take it up you find its roots gnawed away4 ,we do not pretend that this is a scientific description of what happens1 but only one we can relate out of our own sad experience4 ,we once built a wall with great care1 meaning to grow many beautiful rock plants on it4 ,we could not understand why they flourished for a time1 and then died4 ,then we found the ants and tried to kill them in various horrid ways that made us feel like inquisitors4 ,we won't harrow you with them1 because they were not only cruel1 but useless4 ,at last we asked one of the best gardeners we knew what he did when one of his plants was attacked by ants1 and he said he only knew of one thing to do1 and that was to remove the plant4 ,lady-birds1 as well as birds and toads1 are friends in your garden1 as they eat aphides--what the little girl in one of ,anstey's stories calls #8those horrid little green atheists4' ,sparrows you must keep away this month with black cotton amongst your ,crocuses if you want to see the flowers whole and upright4 ,when you find their yellow petals strewn on the ground1 you will know that the mischievous birds have been at them4 ,in mild springs some of the herbaceous plants begin to push up young leaves this month4 ,the ,phloxes are amongst the earliest4 ,look out for slugs1 or they will devour the early shoots of many plants1 often so greedily that the plant cannot recover4 ,japanese ,lilies are now arriving1 and should be planted in peat and sand4 ,the sand keeps off slugs and attracts moisture4 ,they should have a thick dressing of manure on the top to keep out frost4 ,sweet-peas may be sown this month without harm1 but it is too early for your other seeds1 as long as you depend on an outdoor garden4 ,the impatient1 inexperienced gardener reaps nothing but failure when he sows too early4 ,if you are lucky enough to have a frame1 you will find it most useful1 even though the elaborate1 costly hot-beds described in gardening books are beyond your reach4 ,a simple hot-bed can be made with some manure1 which must be put in the frame and turned over two or three times with a garden fork4 ,it is then spread out flat1 and covered with good garden soil4 ,you can either sow your seeds in this soil or put your seed-boxes on it a few days after it is made4 ,if a hot-bed cannot be made you can fill your frame with cinders1 and place your seed-boxes on them4 ,the boxes must be lifted in some way1 so as to be near the glass1 or the seedlings would grow spindly4 ,on warm days you must open your frame and let in air1 or the soil will turn sour and mossy4 ,in showery weather let in rain1 and in a drought water judiciously4 ,the four elementary things to remember about seeds grown in a frame are3 they must be raised in some way1 so as to be near the glass2 they must have air to keep the soil healthy2 they must be shaded from strong sunshine2 and they must be moist1 but not too moist4 ,you do not want them either to be withered by drought or smothered by moss4 ,,march4 ,this is a busy month in the garden4 ,when it #8comes in like a lion' you have to sit idle2 but directly there are mild1 dry days you should be at work4 ,wherever you mean to sow seeds the ground should be well dug1 and then raked smooth and fine4 ,if you just rake the top1 and leave the soil beneath in a hard cake1 your seeds will be like those sown in the parable that fell on stony ground and had no depth of earth4 ,they will spring up1 but they will have no roots1 and when the sun comes they will wither away4 ,in a cold climate ,sweet-peas and ,mignonette should not be sown till the middle or end of this month1 and most other seeds will do better if sown in ,april4 ,march is too early for ,nasturtiums or ,convolvuluses1 two flowers most children wish to grow4 ,towards the end of the month you can divide those herbaceous plants that are not spring-flowering1 if you wish to increase them4 ,you must not disturb plants that are just going to flower1 but all the strong kinds will stand division and transplanting when they have only sent up young leaves4 ,for instance1 you could take up a ,phlox1 a ,michaelmas ,daisy1 or even a ,pyrethrum1 on a showery day1 pull it to pieces1 and find that every bit made a strong plant by the autumn4 ,in the rock garden the mossy ,saxifrages that have bald places in the middle should be taken up1 divided1 and firmly replanted4 ,this is the way to treat many little rock plants that grow themselves shabby in a year or two4 ,any new hardy perennials you want may be planted in favourable ,march weather1 and so may the autumn-flowering ,gladioli4 ,,april4 ,most of the hardy annuals may still be sown this month4 ,those sown in ,march will be coming up1 and you must remember what we told you about the importance of thinning out4 ,in some gardens nearly all annuals are raised in boxes1 and pricked out in the borders where they are to bloom4 ,we tell you this because you may belong to a garden where you can get all the annuals you need given this month in the shape of little ready-made seedlings4 ,you must plant them several inches apart on a showery day1 and shade them from the sun at first2 a tent made of four sticks and a newspaper will serve when there is no wind4 ,as soon as they have taken root1 and look well established1 it is a good plan to pinch off their tips with your thumb and finger1 because then they will make spreading side shoots1 and give you more flowers4 ,you can pinch most of your annual and herbaceous plants in this way when they are young1 but you must not do it to any plant growing from a bulb or a corm1 such as a ,lily or a ,gladiolus4 ,some tuberous plants1 such as ,dahlias1 may be pinched with advantage4 ,roses are pruned in ,march or ,april1 but the different varieties need different treatment4 ,you must get some good advice about your special kinds1 or be content to cut away the dead-looking wood4 ,the green fly begins this month1 and you should keep your ,roses free from it1 either with an aphis brush or by spraying with quassia chips and water as recommended on p4 #abf4 ,weed hard this month1 as you do not want any weeds to seed themselves1 and they will do so if you neglect them4 ,,may4 ,the leaves of your early-flowering bulbs will now begin to look shabby1 but you must put up with that if you do not mean to throw away your bulbs or to lift them carefully to the wild garden4 ,daffodil leaves may be tied up with string or raffia if they are sprawling over seedlings1 or over plants you want seen4 ,weeds grow fast this month1 and should be diligently removed4 ,gardeners weed with a ,dutch hoe1 but it is an implement that does more harm than good if unskilfully used4 ,you will find when you first try to use one how easy it is to damage the young shoots of your treasures with a hoe1 and that in a crowded corner it is far safer to weed with a knife or a small hand-fork4 ,the middle or the end of ,may is an exciting time in gardens1 because we then bring out our half-hardy plants4 ,dahlias1 delicate annuals1 and bedders are all put into the borders when the early ,may frosts are over4 ,if possible1 this should be done in showery weather4 ,two or three dull1 damp1 warm days save a gardener a deal of trouble in shading and watering at this time of year4 ,in case the weather is fine and dry1 however1 remember that a great deal can be done by planting each plant in a little puddle of water and shading it with a flower-pot or a box1 or any little tent you can invent4 ,when the nights are warm these coverings can be removed at sunset and replaced in the early morning4 ,you will have to judge in each case how many days of such care a plant requires4 ,when its roots are well established1 it will look after itself by day as well as by night4 ,you know1 of course1 that plants must never be watered when the sun is on them4 ,nevertheless1 if ever you see a plant flagging badly in the sun1 and plainly dying for a drink1 you may give it one carefully at its roots4 ,do not let the water touch its leaves1 and1 if possible1 shade it for the rest of the day4 ,a great many biennial and perennial seeds are sown in ,may1 for a gardener must work for the years to come as well as for the present one4 ,it is a good plan to try to grow one biennial and one perennial every year1 as two boxes of seedlings do not give you too much work4 ,be sure to get your seed at one of the best places1 for nothing is more disappointing than to take great pains with inferior seed4 ,look carefully at your ,rose-trees every day this month1 and remove any leaves that are curled and stuck together4 ,each one contains a grub1 that will become a caterpillar and devour the foliage of the tree later on4 ,leaves that are merely curled by cold1 and not stuck together1 must not be picked off4 ,convolvulus seed may be sown in the open this month4 ,,june4 ,many plants will now require staking4 ,we have told you how this should be done at the end of the chapter on #8,hardy ,perennials4' ,towards the end of the month you will find the leaves of ,crocuses and ,snowdrops quite dead1 so that you can remove them without injuring the bulbs4 ,at the beginning of the month you can still put out bedding plants1 half-hardy annuals1 and biennials4 ,a plant may be put into the open ground out of a pot at almost any time of the year4 ,it is the safest way of transplanting in hot weather1 but you must distinguish between plants that have been honestly grown in pots and those that a nurseryman has potted from boxes a day or two ago4 ,when the soil falls away and leaves the root and stem quite bare1 your plant will want care and shade as much as if you had just pulled it out of a box yourself4 ,your ,primroses and ,auriculas should be taken up and divided this month if you wish to increase them4 ,let them spend the summer in a moist1 shady corner of the garden4 ,you will probably lose them all if you plant them where it is hot or dry4 ,,july4 ,during this month and the next1 when the soil is heated by the summer sun1 you take cuttings and pipings1 and make layers of the plants you wish to strike4 ,pinks are increased when they have done flowering1 but the young shoots of the ,carnation are often layered while the older shoots are still in flower4 ,daffodil leaves should now come away with a touch1 and without injury to the bulbs4 ,every day this month you should visit your garden with a pair of scissors1 and cut off all dead flowers and all annuals that are going to seed4 ,not one ,sweet-pea must be allowed to make a pod1 and your ,mignonette will have a longer flowering season if you can cut off the green seed-vessels directly they appear4 ,perhaps you will like some of your ,love-in-a-mist to form its handsome seed-pods and sow itself for next year4 ,one pink ,canterbury ,bell1 too1 would give you seed enough to fill a big garden2 but its seedlings will probably not be pink if you have allowed blue and white ones to grow near it4 ,when your ,lupins1 ,pyrethrums1 and ,delphiniums go out of flower1 you can either cut off the flowering stems and leave the rest of the plant1 or you can cut down the whole plant close to the ground4 ,when you cut down severely you should give a little extra food in the shape of manure1 bone-meal1 or ,clay's ,fertilizer4 ,we did not include ,pyrethrums in our short list of perennials1 because they are rather capricious3 easily managed in some gardens1 and bad-tempered in others4 ,slugs devour them4 ,if they are given to you1 and you want to cut them down1 do it rather gingerly1 and in damp1 dull weather4 ,we are not speaking by any orthodox tradition1 but out of our own experience1 as we have lost many a fine clump through being told that they could be cut down sharply after flowering4 ,in dry weather the operation kills them4 ,,august4 ,the chief things to do this month are to enjoy your garden1 to cut your flowers1 and to keep things tidy4 ,pinks1 ,pansies1 and ,carnations may be increased in the ways we have explained4 ,if you have ,rose-trees of your own1 or are allowed to take a few cuttings from other people's1 you should try to grow some on their own roots4 ,we have told you how to take the cutting and how to plant it in the chapter on #8,roses4' ,the bulb lists arrive this month1 and you must decide what bulbs you want for autumn planting4 ,,september4 ,your spring-flowering bulbs should be planted this month4 ,in some cases it cannot be done1 because their places are not vacant yet1 or because you mean to dig over your whole garden later in the autumn4 ,but where complete reorganization is unnecessary1 try to find room for your bulbs as soon as possible4 ,if you have any biennial or perennial plants grown from seed sown in ,may1 they should now be strong and big enough to transplant to their flowering quarters4 ,this is an operation you can carry out either in autumn or spring1 but not in winter4 ,frost soon kills plants that have not had time to take a firm hold of the soil4 ,autumn brings much labour in the garden in the shape of tidying1 weeding1 and preparing for next year4 ,annuals that have become shabby may be pulled up and thrown away4 ,they will leave a bare place that you must dig over well4 ,before you replant it you must consider whether what you are going to plant would like a little manure beneath its roots1 or as a blanket on the top4 ,a greedy annual has probably impoverished the soil4 ,herbaceous plants that flower in spring may all be divided and reset now4 ,,october4 ,in ,october great operations are carried out in herbaceous borders4 ,new plants come in from nurserymen or friends2 old ones are cut down1 fed1 and in some cases divided2 seedlings are put in groups where they are to flower4 ,these things are done all through the autumn1 according to convenience4 ,in a mild district you may go on till ,christmas planting out and reorganizing your borders4 ,in a cold one get it done at the end of summer1 before the frosts come4 ,any bulbs you have not planted in ,september should go into the ground now4 ,,november4 ,there is still plenty to do in the garden on a fine day4 ,in a wild garden or shrubbery some people leave all the dead leaves lying4 ,we think that this is advisable in a big country garden1 but not in a small1 compact town one1 that should look trim and well-tended4 ,your flower border you should keep as neat as your bedroom4 ,all weeds1 dead leaves1 and rubbish must be removed now1 and if you have plants that need protection you will give them tidy heaps of manure1 ashes1 or dead leaves4 ,see that the labels and sticks marking plants and bulbs are firmly in the ground4 ,cut down herbaceous plants that have done flowering4 ,throw away the annuals that have become shabby4 ,lift your ,dahlias on a dry day1 cut their stems to within three inches of the crown of the roots1 and put them1 stem downwards1 in an airy place to dry4 ,during the winter they must be kept from frost1 but not altogether from air4 ,they are often stored in a shed1 or on the floor of a cool greenhouse4 ,remember that this is the chief month in the year for planting ,roses1 and do it at the beginning rather than the end4 ,any part of your garden that is empty may be dug over and manured now4 ,the surface should then be left in a rough state1 so that the winter frosts can work the soil well1 and prepare it to receive seeds and young plants in the spring4 ,,december4 ,november and ,december are two most important months in the gardening year4 ,all the digging and the alterations you have planned during the summer are taken in hand now4 ,in a cold climate you would be careful to finish your planting early in ,november1 but in the ,south and ,west of ,england you might still be busy with a new rockery or a new flower border4 ,even in the ,south you must now expect winter weather1 and should complete your preparations for protecting delicate plants4 ,one of the enchanting discoveries you make when you become a gardener is that there is no #8dead' season in these islands4 ,in the milder corners you may have ,roses1 ,violets1 and ,primroses all through the winter1 while the early spring bulbs push their spikes through the soil before you have gathered your last ,chrysanthemum4 ,but even in a cold climate1 when all your plants seem to be asleep beneath the snow1 you can be busy indoors for your garden4 ,it is a good plan to make plenty of large wooden labels1 as the little ones you buy are easily lost4 ,if you have the use of a shed or an attic1 you may wish to repaint your watering-can and wheelbarrow2 and out of doors you can sort all your stakes1 and point those used for ,sweet-peas with a sharp1 strong knife4 ,besides1 you will probably have some bulbs and foliage plants indoors that require your care4 ,if you have any ,christmas ,roses 7,hellebores7 in your garden1 it is well worth while to make a roof over them with strong stakes and sacking4 ,then the air can get in at the sides1 but the roof prevents the rough winter rains from splashing their faces with soil4 ,when ,christmas is over you have ,january1 the worst of the winter months1 before you1 and after that you will say to yourself every day that #8spring is coming4' ,even during a cold ,february the lengthening afternoon lights say this to you a little clearer every week1 and during the spell of mild weather that nearly every ,february brings you will find many other promises of spring in your garden4 ,so the year goes round for us1 a tangled tale of work and pleasure1 success and failure1 hope and disappointment4 ,the great gardener must be wise and humble1 or he would not be great2 so he knows to the end of his days that he has much to learn4 ,the child who first plants his little plot should also teach himself this lesson4 ,then1 if he observes his plants attentively and patiently1 he will in the course of years become a gardener4 #8,who loves a garden ,still his ,eden keeps1 ,perennial pleasures plants1 ,and wholesome harvests reaps4' ,,index ,aconite1 ,winter1 #he ,alonsoas1 #dj ,alstrmerias1 #he ,alyssum ,saxatile1 #aeg ,anthericum ,liliastrum 7,st4 ,bruno's ,lily71 #aeg ,antirrhinums 7,snapdragons71 #aeg ,arabis1 #aeh ,arenaria ,balearica1 #aeh ,aspidistra1 #aih ,aubrietias1 #aeh ,auriculas1 #bbd ,bedding plants1 #ajg ,begonias1 #hf ,biennials1 #ia ,calceolarias1 #aaj ,campanula ,isophylla1 #bjf ,medium1 #ih ,persicifolia1 #agj ,pyramidalis1 #afi ,campanulas1 #ih1 #aeh1 #afi1 #agj1 #bjf ,candytuft1 #afh ,canterbury ,bells1 #ih ,carnations1 #aca ,ceanothus ,veitchii1 #agf ,christmas ,roses1 #bca ,chrysanthemums 7,summer71 #fb ,clarkia1 #cc ,clematis1 #agf ,climbing ,roses1 #aai ,columbine1 #eg ,convolvulus ,major1 #agh ,crocuses1 #gc ,cyclamens1 #agj ,daffodils1 #ge ,dahlias1 #hh ,daisies1 ,marguerite1 #aaj ,day ,lilies1 #adh ,delphinium1 #ej ,dividing1 #bai1 #bbd ,edging1 #ae ,eschscholtzia1 #dj ,evening ,primrose1 #fj1 #ajj ,everlasting ,peas1 #agh ,forget-,me-,not1 #ajd ,foxgloves1 #ajd ,fruit1 #aij ,geraniums1 #aaj ,gladioli1 #hb ,godetias1 #cd ,grape ,hyacinth1 #ha ,gypsophila ,paniculata1 #fa ,helianthemums1 #aeh ,heliotropes1 #aaj ,herbaceous plants1 #bai ,hop1 #agg ,house-leeks1 #afj ,hyacinths1 #hj1 #bjb ,hybrid ,perpetuals1 #aaf ,iberis ,sempervirens1 #aei ,iris ,pumila1 #aei ,stylosa1 #aei1 #bab ,irises1 #ec1 #hd1 #aei1 #bab ,japanese ,anemones1 #ef ,japanese gardens1 #bjh ,jasmine1 #agg ,labels1 #bca ,larkspurs1 #cd ,lavender1 ,sweet1 #fa ,lettuce1 #ahd ,lilies1 ,day1 #adh ,orange1 #add ,sacred1 #bje ,tiger1 #adf ,lilies of the ,valley1 #adh ,lilium ,auratum1 #adf ,candidum1 #adb ,speciosum1 #ade ,lime1 #i ,lithospermum ,prostratum1 #aei ,lupins1 #ee ,malope1 #cc ,manure1 #h ,marguerite ,daisies1 #aaj ,martagon1 #ade ,michaelmas ,daisies1 #ff ,mignonette1 #ca ,mint1 #ahh ,mixtures for growing bulbs1 #bjc ,montbretias1 #hd ,musk1 #bjg ,mustard and ,cress1 #ahc ,narcissus1 #ge ,nasturtiums1 #cf ,nigella1 #ce ,onions1 ,spring1 #ahg ,orange ,lilies1 #add ,oriental ,poppies1 #eb ,palms1 #aii ,pansies1 #ie ,parsley1 #ahi ,paths1 #c ,peas1 ,everlasting1 #agh ,peas1 ,sweet1 #bd ,peonies1 #eh ,perennial ,candytuft1 #afh ,phlox ,setacea1 #afj ,pinks1 #aci ,polyanthus ,narcissus1 #bjc ,poppies1 ,shirley1 #ch ,pricking out1 #ba ,primroses1 #dg1 #bbd ,pyrethrums1 #bbe ,radishes1 #ahf ,roman ,hyacinths1 #bjb ,roses1 ,christmas1 #bca ,climbing1 #aai ,sacred ,lilies1 #bje ,saxifrages1 #afj ,sedums1 #afj ,seed1 #ah ,sempervivums1 #afj ,shirley ,poppies1 #ch ,siberian ,squills1 #gd ,situation of gardens1 #a ,snapdragons1 #aja ,snowdrops1 #gb ,soil1 #a ,speedwell1 #afj ,spira1 #bjg ,spring ,onions1 #ahg ,squills1 ,siberian1 #gd ,staking1 #fh ,stocks1 #aje ,summer-flowering ,chrysanthemums1 #fb ,sunflowers1 #cg ,sweet ,lavender1 #fa ,peas1 #bd ,william1 #ih ,tea ,roses and ,hybrid ,teas1 #aag ,tiger ,lilies1 #adf ,tools1 #aa ,trenches1 #aj ,tropolum1 ,speciosum1 #agd ,tufted ,pansies1 #ie ,tulips1 #ha ,vallota ,purpurea1 #bjg ,violets1 #fd ,wallflowers1 #ic ,water1 #bjb ,winter ,aconite1 #he ,wistaria1 #agc ,,the ,,end ,,billing ,,and ,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,,printers1 ,,guildford 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,obvious punctuation errors repaired4 ,page #ach1 8too0 changed to 8to0 7is heir to7 ,page #ada1 8answer0 changed to 8answers0 7this way answers if7 ,page #bja1 8pots in plants0 changed to 8plants in pots0 7,many plants in pots die7 ,page #bcc1 ,index1 under ,campanula1 8,persicfolia0 changed to 8,persicifolia0 to match usage in text4 ,page #bcc1 ,index1 8,escholtzia0 changed to 8,eschscholtzia0 to reflect usage in text4