Amateur Gardencraft Part 16

If you give your Hybrid Perpetual Roses a good, sharp cutting-back early in September, and manure the soil about them well, you may reasonably expect a few fine flowers from them later on. And what is more delightful than a perfect Rose gathered from your own garden just at the edge of winter?

Perennials can be divided and reset, if necessary, immediately after they have ripened off the growth of the present year. If this work is done now, there will be just so much less to do in spring.

Before the coming of cold weather all tools used in gardening operations should be gathered up and stored under cover. If any repairs are needed, make note of them, and see that the work is done in winter, so that everything needed in spring may be in readiness for use. It is a good plan to give all wood-work a coat of paint at the time it is stored away, and to go over the metal part of every tool with a wash of vaseline to prevent rust.

Have a general house-cleaning before winter sets in. Cut away the stalks of the perennials. Pull up all annuals. Rake up the leaves, and add everything of this kind to the compost heap. All garden refuse should find its way there, to be trans.m.u.ted by the alchemy of sun and rain, and the disintegrating forces of nature into that most valuable of soil const.i.tuents--humus. Let nothing that has any value in it be wasted.

After hard frosts have killed the tops of Dahlias, Cannas, Caladiums and Gladioluses, their roots should be dug, on some warm and sunny day, and prepared for storage in the cellar or closet. Spread them out in the suns.h.i.+ne, and leave them there until the soil that was dug with them is dry enough to crumble away from them. At night cover with something to keep out the cold, and expose them to the curative effects of the sun next day. It may be necessary to do this several days in succession. The great amount of moisture which they contain when first dug should be given a chance to evaporate to a considerable extent before it will be safe to put them away for the winter. Cut off the old stalks close to the root before storing.

While clearing the beds of dead plants and leaves be on the lookout for insects of various kinds. The cut-worm may still be in evidence, and may be found among the rubbish which you gather up. And if found, destroy it on the spot. This precaution will go far toward safeguarding plants in spring, many of which are annually injured by the depredations of this pest.

When you are sure that cold weather is at hand, cover the bulb-bed with coa.r.s.e manure or litter, hay, or straw, as advised in the chapter on The Bulb Garden. And give your Roses the protection advised in the chapter on The Rose.

Cover Pansies lightly with leaves or evergreen branches. If you have mulch enough, apply some to your hardy plants, and next spring note the difference between them and the plants which were not given any protection.

BY WAY OF POSTSCRIPT

A CHAPTER OF AFTERTHOUGHTS WHICH THE READER CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLANTING TO HIDE FOUNDATION WALLS]

Think things out for yourself. Do not try to copy anybody else's garden, as so many attempt to do. Be original. What you see on your neighbor's home grounds may suggest something similar for your own grounds, but be content with the idea suggested. He may not have a patent on his own working-out of the idea--indeed, the idea may not have been one of his originating--but the manner in which he has expressed it is his own and you should respect his right to it. Imitation of what others have done, or are doing, is likely to spoil everything. If the best you can do is to copy your neighbor's work servilely in all its details, turn your attention to something else. If all the flower-gardens in the neighborhood were simply duplicates of each other in material and arrangement, the uniformity of them would be so monotonous in effect that it would be a relief to find a place that was without a garden.

Never imitate anything that you see on the grounds of wealthy people with cheap and inferior material. The result will be a sham that will deceive no one, and you will soon tire of it, and the sooner the better.

Be honest. If you have only cheap material to work with, be satisfied with unambitious undertakings. Let them be in keeping with what you have to work with--simple, unpretentious, and without any attempt in the way of deception. The humblest home can be made attractive by holding fast to the principle of honesty in everything that is done about it. It is not necessary to imitate in order to make it attractive. Think out things for yourself, and endeavor to do the best you can with the material at hand, and under the conditions that prevail, and be content with that. The result will afford you vastly more satisfaction, even if it does not measure up to what you would like, than you can possibly realize by imitating another's work. There is a deal of pleasure in being able to say about one's home or garden, "It may not be as fine as my neighbor's, but, such as it is, it is all mine. I have put myself into it. It may be plain and humble, but--there's honesty in it." And that is a feature you have a right to be proud of.

Never make the mistake of neglecting good old plants for the sake of something new, simply because it is new. Old plants--plants that have held their own against all newcomers--are the ones to depend on. The fact that they _have_ held their own is sufficient proof of their merits. Had they been inferior in any respect they would have dropped from notice long ago, like the "novelties" that aspired to take their places. Old plants are like old friends, old wine--all the better because of their age. There's something substantial about them. We do not tire of them. We know what to expect of them, and they never disappoint us.

Never make the mistake of thinking the shape of a bed deserves more consideration than what you put into the bed. It's the flower that deserves attention,--not the bed it grows in. It isn't treating a flower with proper respect to give it secondary place.

Many an amateur gardener tries to have a little of everything, and the result is that he has nothing worth speaking of, because quality has been sacrificed to quant.i.ty. Grow only as many flowers as you can grow well, and be wise in selecting only such kinds as do best under the conditions in which they must be grown. Depend upon kinds that have been tried and not found wanting unless you have a fondness for experimenting.

No really artistic results can be secured by the use of seeds in which all colors are mixed. If you desire harmonious effects, you will have to purchase seed in which each color is by itself. A few varieties in which there is perfect color-harmony will please you far more than a collection in which all the colors of the rainbow are represented. Take the Sweet Pea as an ill.u.s.tration of this idea: From a package of mixed seed you will get a score of different colors or shades, and many of these, though beautiful in themselves, will produce positive discord when grown side by side. The eye of the person who has fine color-sense will be pained by the lack of harmony. But confine your selection to the soft pinks, the delicate lavenders, and the pure whites, and the result will be something to delight the artistic eye--restful, harmonious, and as pleasing as a strain of exquisite poetry--in fact, a poem in color.

What is true of the Sweet Pea, in this respect, is equally true of all plants which range through a great variety of colors. Bear this in mind when you select seeds for your garden of annuals.

Don't throw away any plants that are worth growing. If you have no use for them some of your neighbors will doubtless be glad to get them. Give them to the poor children of your neighborhood, and tell them how to care for them, and you will not only be doing a kind deed but you will be putting into the life that needs uplifting and refining influences a means of help and education that you little guess the power of for good.

For every plant is a teacher, and a preacher of the gospel of beauty, and its mission is to brighten and broaden every life that comes under its influence. All that it asks is an opportunity to fulfill that mission.

If no one cares for the plants you have no use for, give them a place in out-of-the-way nooks and corners--in the roadside, even, if there is no other place for them. A stock of this kind, to draw upon in case any of your old plants fail in winter, will save expense and trouble, and prevent bare spots from detracting from the appearance of the home grounds. It is always well to have a few plants in reserve for just such emergencies as this. Very frequently the odds-and-ends corner of the garden is the most attractive feature in it.

Many a place is all but spoiled because its owner finds it difficult to confine his selection of plants for it to the number it will conveniently accommodate. There are so many desirable ones to choose from that it is no easy matter to determine which you will have, because--you want them all! But one must be governed by the conditions that cannot be changed. Unfortunately the home-lot is not elastic. Small grounds necessitate small collections if we would avoid cluttering up the place in a manner that makes it impossible to grow anything well.

Shrubs must have elbow-room in order to display their attractions to the best advantage. Keep this in mind, and set out only as many as there will be room for when they have fully developed. It may cost you a pang to discard an old favorite, but often it has to be done out of regard for the future welfare of the kinds you feel you _must have_. If you overstock your garden, it will give you many pangs to see how the plants in it suffer from the effect of crowding. If you cannot have _all_ the good things, have the very best of the list, and try to grow them so well that they will make up in quality for the lack in quant.i.ty. I know of a little garden in which but three plants grow, but the owner of them gives them such care that these three plants attract more attention from pa.s.sers-by than any other garden on that street.

Be methodical in your garden-work. Keep watch of everything, and when you see something that needs doing, do it. And do it well. One secret of success in gardening is in doing everything as if it was _the_ one thing to be done. Slight nothing.

For vines that do not grow thick enough to hide everything with their foliage, a lattice framework of lath, painted white, is the most satisfactory support, because of the pleasing color-contrast between it and the plants trained over it. Both support and plant will be ornamental, and one will admirably supplement the other. The lattice will be an attractive feature of the garden when the vine that grew over it is dead, if it is kept neatly painted.

But for the rampant grower a coa.r.s.e-meshed wire netting is just as good, and considerably less expensive, in the long run, as it will do duty for many years, if taken care of at the end of the season. Roll it up and put it under cover before the fall rains set in.

The simple fact of newness is nothing in any plant's favor. Unless it has real merit, it will not find purchasers after the first season.

Better wait until you know what a plant is before investing in it. We have so many excellent plants with whose good qualities we are familiar that it is not necessary to run any risks of this kind.

Many home-owners make the mistake of putting down boardwalks about the dwelling and yard. Such a walk is never attractive, and it has not the merit of durability, for after a year or two it will need repairs, and from that time on it will be a constant source of expense. The variegated appearance of a patched-up boardwalk will seriously detract from the attractiveness of any garden. It may cost more, at first, to put down cement walks,--though I am inclined to doubt this, at the present price of lumber--but such walks are good for a lifetime, if properly constructed, therefore much cheaper in the end. There can be no two opinions as to their superior appearance. Their cool gray color brings them into harmony with their surroundings. They are never obtrusive. They are easily cleaned, both summer and winter. And the home-maker can put them in quite as well as the professional worker in cement if he sets out to do so, though he may be longer at the work.

But _make sure_ about the location of your paths before putting in cement walks. That is--be quite sure that you know where you want them to be. A boardwalk can be changed at any time with but little trouble if you get it in the wrong place, but a cement walk, once down, is down for all time, unless you are willing to spend a good deal of hard labor in its removal.

Never do spasmodic work in the garden. The unwise gardener neglects what needs doing until so much has acc.u.mulated that he is forced to give it attention, and then he hurries in his efforts to dispose of it, and the consequence is that much of it is likely to be so poorly done that plants suffer nearly as much from his hasty operations as they did from neglect. Do whatever needs doing in a systematic way, and keep ahead of your work. Never be driven by it.

It is one of the most satisfactory laws of Nature that we can have only what we work for. Too many seem to forget this, and think that because a flower hasn't a market value, like corn or wheat, it ought to grow without any attention on their part. Such persons do not understand the real value of a flower, which is none the less because it cannot be computed on the basis of a dollars-and-cents calculation.

Man, wife, and all the children ought to work together for whatever adds beauty to the home, and nothing is more effective in this line than a good flower-garden. I can remember when it was considered an indication of weakness for a man to admit that he was fond of flowers. I look back with amus.e.m.e.nt to my own experience in this respect. Because I loved flowers so well, when I was a wee bit of a lad, that I attempted to grow them, I was often laughed at for being a "girl-boy." "He ought to have been a girl," one of my uncles used to say. "You'll have to learn him to do sewing and housework." It often stung me to anger to listen to these sarcastic remarks, but I am glad that my love for flowers was strong enough to keep me at work among them, for I know that I am a better man to-day than I would have been had I allowed myself to be ridiculed out of my love for them. If the children manifest a desire to have little gardens of their own encourage them to do so, and feel sure that the cultivation of them will prove to be a strong factor in the development of the child mind.