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 My Little Garden 
 
 AND 
 
 Your Little Garden 
 
 JOSEPHINE ROGERS SIDLE 
 
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OUR LITTLE GARDEN 
 
MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 AND 
 
 YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 BY 
 JOSEPHINE ROGERS SIDLE 
 
 MINNEAPOLIS 
 NINETEEN TWENTY-TWO 
 

 Copyright 1922 By 
 Josephine Rogers Sidle 
 
 0)Cl.A6o9679 
 -^0 I 
 
 THE TORCH PRESS 
 
 CEOAR RAPIOS 
 
 IOWA 
 
DEDICATION 
 
 I dedicate this book to you, 
 little sister, the sweetest flower 
 in Nature's garden, and to the 
 memory of my beloved mother, 
 who must have imbued into 
 my soul this wondrous love of 
 flowers. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter I 7 
 
 Chapter II — Lawns lO 
 
 Chapter III — Perennials 15 
 
 Chapter IV — Color and Grouping of Pe- 
 rennials 47 
 
 Chapter V — Vines and Shrubs .... 52 
 
 Chapter VI — Annuals 60 
 
 Chapter VII — Arrangement of Cut Flowers 77 
 
 Chapter VIII — Bulbs 82 
 
 Chapter IX — Sunshine, Cultivation, and 
 
 Fertilizing 86 
 
 Chapter X — General Floral and Color 
 
 Arrangement 90 
 
 Chapter XI — My Garden 99 
 
 Annltals and Perennials 119 
 
 Garden Pests and Remedies 122 
 
 Cut Worms and Wire Worms 124 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 My garden is a place of enchantment 
 
 Shared with the birds, the bees, and the butter- 
 
 flies; 
 A place to rest, to dream, and to forget. 
 
 It seems so strange a thing to me, why so 
 few people know or feel the restful charm of a 
 garden of flowers. At the age of two years 
 my greatest happiness was to sit in the middle 
 of the largest bed of flowers, and pick any- 
 thing my tiny arms could reach. From my 
 mother I inherited this perfect love of flowers 
 and for the great out-of-door world. She 
 must have imbued into my soul this longing 
 for, and to be of, nature. My happiest hours 
 were spent with her in our garden, with her 
 arm around my waist telling me of this flower 
 or of that, and together watching the setting 
 of the glorious sun as it slowly lost itself be- 
 
8 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 hind the hill tops that edge the river banks. 
 She had hoped to make an Eden of this gar- 
 den spot, and we laid our plans with the ex- 
 quisite delight of children, and dreamed of 
 the happiness that was to be ours, but cruel 
 Fate strode in our midst and took her soul to 
 Paradise. Her loss to me was so terrible, I 
 felt never another flower could I grow, never 
 another flower could I love, but my undying 
 devotion for her prompted me to try to do 
 better things, to try to accomplish what she 
 had hoped to do. My knowledge of flower 
 lore was so limited I felt lost as to how to 
 begin for I knew only with a proper begin- 
 ning could I accomplish a perfect end. 
 
 My first step was to engage a capable gar- 
 dener, when to my dismay I found his capa- 
 bilities lay mostly in handling the spade and 
 hoe, but further than that, as to general knowl- 
 edge he was as deficient as I was. Then my 
 thoughts turned to books, and in searching for 
 them and finding so few written for our own 
 climatic conditions is what urged me on to 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 9 
 
 produce this little volume. I only hope to 
 show the beginner what and how successfully 
 to produce a love garden^ one that holds you 
 every moment and fills the saddest hours with 
 sweet fragrance and lingering thoughts of true 
 contentment. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 Lawns 
 
 Our first step is to select only flowers that 
 can be successfully grown by amateurs, grown 
 with comfort and happiness, not with care and 
 worry, tho the production of all things beau- 
 tiful requires loving care and patience. 
 
 Of course, we all know the quaint little old- 
 fashioned flower bed in the middle of the lawn 
 is quite a thing of the past; in order to make 
 a perfect landscape we must have a picture in 
 a frame as it were, a lawn, a house, and a bor- 
 der. I can safely say, all flowers require sun- 
 shine; therefore we must follow Mr. Sun for a 
 day or two, and see just where he casts his 
 beams, for in just those spots must we use our 
 greatest efforts. 
 
 The next requisite to beautifying the 
 grounds is a well built lawn. First see that 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 1 1 
 
 the soil is well pulverized and a goodly supply 
 of black dirt, coarse bone meal and wood ashes 
 is raked in, one-half pound to each square yard, 
 see that all the little holes and low places are 
 well filled, then grade very gently from the 
 foundation of your house to the street. I think 
 all lawns have a much prettier effect in so 
 grading rather than in a perfectly flat surface. 
 Supply yourself with a goodly mixture of grass 
 seed. I find all reputable seed firms have 
 lawn mixtures far superior to any you yourself 
 might mix, because they are composed of the 
 seeds of such grasses as are best adapted to the 
 production of a good sward. Always buy the 
 best lawn seed, tho more expensive in the end 
 it is the cheapest. The proper time to sow the 
 seed is on a still damp day, as any wind will 
 carry it where you do not want it. On such a 
 day, the seed can be scattered with a greater 
 degree of evenness by amateur gardeners. 
 Sow your seed from north to south and cross- 
 sow it from east to west. In this way you are 
 quite sure to miss no part of the ground, and 
 
12 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 as a general thing it will germinate in four or 
 ^VG days and in a week's time the soil will 
 show a film of green over its entire surface, 
 and a month later will be quite hidden by the 
 grass, then you can form an opinion of what 
 your lawn will be when the sward is well 
 established. It will take fully one season to 
 thicken up and '^stool out," and no lawn is at its 
 best before the second year. 
 
 Do not be in a hurry to use your lawn mow- 
 er. I earnestly advise waiting until the grass 
 gets to be at least four or five inches tall before 
 beginning to clip it. It should be allowed to 
 get such a start that mowing off the top would 
 not interfere with the root action sufficiently 
 to injure it ; later on you can adjust your mower 
 to cut lower without any risk to the health of 
 the plant, and the result will be a sward that 
 looks and feels like velvet. Such a lawn is 
 good for years if proper care is taken of it. 
 Remember, a half-pound of coarse bone meal 
 to each square yard raked in the soil just be- 
 fore seeding to my idea is the making of the 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 13 
 
 lawn. Every lawn should be treated to a good 
 top dressing of lawn fertilizer in the spring 
 and again in August. These two applications 
 of fertilizer will keep the grass in good health 
 and make it vigorous and luxuriant year after 
 year. I much favor sowing all seed in the fall 
 of the year if this can be done before freezing, 
 as the seed receives the benefit of the early 
 spring rains long before seeding could possi- 
 bly be done; in this all gardeners do not agree, 
 tho my success has come from fall sowing. 
 
 The greatest enemy of a well kept lawn is 
 the dandelion. In some manner they find their 
 way and deposit their tiny seeds and seemingly 
 over night we have a wonderful crop of dan- 
 delions. So be ever watchful and destroy the 
 first tiny flower that makes its appearance. 
 This brings to my mind an incident, of a man 
 whose greatest joy was his lawn. On his re- 
 turn from two years overseas he found a veri- 
 table dandelion garden. Being the father of 
 two lovely little girls, six and eight, he told 
 the little tots that he would give them five 
 
14 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 cents a dozen for all the dandelions they would 
 pick and to get their tiny friends to help. 
 With childish enthusiasm the morning found 
 them bright and early surrounded with an 
 army of little folks starting on their campaign. 
 At night when father returned from business, 
 they were waiting with their pails full of dan- 
 delions. When asked for their amounts due, 
 according to their figures father owed them 
 something over two thousand dollars. So be- 
 ware of the dandelion, or you may become 
 financially embarrassed. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Perennials 
 
 Next to a perfect lawn come perennials. 
 I have spent many years raising and producing 
 perennials. No garden can be a true success 
 without some of these wonderful plants. First 
 must come the making of the perennial bed. 
 All perennial beds must be dug deep. I lay 
 aside perhaps one and a half feet of earth. In 
 the bottom I place old pieces of broken jars, 
 some sand, a bit of gravel, and any coarse ma- 
 terial for drainage purposes. Then a few 
 spades of clay to help hold the moisture and 
 over this good rich black dirt and coarse bone 
 meal. 
 
 All perennial plants grow down with deep 
 feeding roots, consequently hoeing is more 
 beneficial than water. Water tends to bring 
 
1 6 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 the roots to the surface where they soon dry 
 out and die. 
 
 If our perennial border is to be along the 
 lot line or against the house, I feel that a 
 banking of shrubs must come first as a back- 
 ground for the flowers. There are a number 
 of flowering shrubs very attractive and easily 
 grown; first and perhaps the hardiest of all 
 is the old reliable purple lilac. To me in 
 May when they are in full bloom there are no 
 flowers that hold the wonderful fragrance of 
 the purple lilacs. They lend themselves won- 
 derfully for banking, as you can train them to 
 grow either high or spreading, as is your de- 
 sire. There are other shrubs of the Syringia 
 family, tho I find in the long run the syringias 
 grow so tall and branch out at the top so full 
 they outgrow their position in the border. I 
 prefer the syringias by themselves, bunched in 
 some corner where they can hold full sway 
 over their own domain. The Bridal Wreath, 
 Von Houttei, is perhaps the favorite shrub 
 among all classes. This is a shrub that in the 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 17 
 
 latter part of May produces myriads of tiny 
 white blossoms in long sprays that cover the 
 shrub almost completely. There is nothing 
 more saintly pure than a bridal wreath in full 
 flower. After selecting your shrubs see that 
 they are carefully and deeply planted to insure 
 safety in dry seasons. Between the shrubs I 
 leave little spaces for clumps of hollyhocks — 
 to me the King of Glory. (In my garden last 
 year I produced 500 hollyhocks in a single 
 mass. The effect was absolutely dazzling.) 
 
 I never make a straight row of hollyhocks 
 as is usually seen in the average garden. 
 Massed together the effect is much more gor- 
 geous, as for artistic effects straight lines and 
 I never agree. Next in front of my bridal- 
 wreath, or Spirea, with the bunches of holly- 
 hocks I place my peonies. I suggest not buy- 
 ing fancy stock. My first terrible blow at 
 raising peonies was when I selected from a 
 local nursery peonies I thought were effective 
 and sure to growj averaging what I had ex- 
 pected to cost about $17.00. 
 
1 8 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 After they were delivered to my home and 
 the gardener and I had spent most of the day 
 planting and cherishing and loving them the 
 bill arrived — $90.00 for a dozen peonies, and 
 for three years never a bloom rewarded us for 
 all our labor and my hard earned money. 
 Why? Climatic conditions. After the third 
 year they were relegated to the brush pile. 
 Peonies are easily grown and require little 
 care if properly planted to start with. Never 
 allow fresh manure to touch the roots, but 
 nourish from the top. Set them deep, but do 
 not cover the crown. Peonies do not like 
 changes. They are like the old maid w^ho for 
 fifteen years refused to re-paper her bedroom 
 because of changing the style of the wall pa- 
 per. I have known of a famous bed of peonies 
 in one location for fifty years. With fertiliz- 
 ing and care they are things of wondrous beau- 
 ty. So plant your peonies to remain in one 
 location. 
 
 In front of my peonies I place the lark- 
 spurs, so wonderful in colors of blue. Lark- 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 19 
 
 spurs grow to a height of from two to three 
 feet, the Bella Donna being the favorite for 
 all-summer bloom. After their flowers are 
 spent I cut them down, leaving the foliage of 
 the peony to cover their unsightly roots. 
 
 Good sized bunches of white phlox add to 
 all perennial beds, and with clumps of iris in 
 the front we have a perennial border which 
 will produce flowers from May through to 
 September. 
 
 For all gardens, perennial plants are the 
 standard. By perennial is meant plants last- 
 ing from year to year, plants whose leaves and 
 stalks die down but whose roots continue to 
 live. Perennials must be made over, as it 
 w^ere, every three or four years, depending up- 
 on the plant. I am giving the names of peren- 
 nial plants that are the easiest and simplest to 
 grow, but are a joy to every garden. Take the 
 wonderful iris family. These come in every 
 shade of blue, yellow, pink, and white. The 
 German iris is the flower par excellence for 
 our American gardens and has gained great 
 
20 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 favoritism over other flowers. No other so 
 staunchly braves the eccentricities of our cli- 
 mate, giving us unblemished foliage and flaw- 
 less petals. The temptation is to fill our gar- 
 dens with this sturdy, beautiful flower, to en- 
 joy to the full the resplendent period of its 
 festival, and to rest content for the remainder 
 of the next season in the gracious memory of 
 those June days. We are, moreover, being 
 encouraged in this course, for from out of the 
 green w^orkshops of the world issues a be- 
 wildering procession of new irises, in the most 
 enchanting furbishings and all the wondrous 
 colors that can be imagined. But the German 
 iris is after all our greatest friend. It is the 
 easiest and most satisfactory to grow. These 
 are a bulbous plant and I find by planting 
 them in August they are nearly always sure to 
 flower the following June. They will grow 
 in almost any garden soil and require little 
 attention. The German iris loves to bask in 
 the sun and it is quite characteristic for the 
 roots to lie almost on top of the ground, scarce- 
 ly covered at all or at least very lightly so. 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 21 
 
 In my iris bed early in June of last year I 
 counted one thousand flowers in one morning. 
 It was a sight not to be forgotten. I am not 
 mentioning the Japanese nor Siberian iris. 
 Tho the Siberian is much easier of culture 
 than the Japanese, still I find difficulty in both 
 for an amateur. After raising two dozen of 
 the Japanese plants from seeds for two years 
 I was rewarded with flowers only one season ; 
 consequently I find them most perplexing and 
 disappointing. 
 
 Iris grows and multiplies so rapidly I find 
 it necessary to divide the plants every three 
 years. Select that part of the garden you in- 
 tend using for the new plants, have it cultivat- 
 ed, plenty of good black dirt and coarse bone 
 meal. About August 15 is the proper time 
 to divide them. Do not move your plants 
 from the ground, but take your spade and cut 
 them straight through the middle, removing 
 only one-half of the plant from the ground. 
 Lift this half out and place it immediately in 
 the new bed already prepared. 
 
 I never allow any perennial plants or shrubs 
 
22 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 to lie around in the wind or sun any longer 
 than is absolutely necessary. Old pieces of 
 burlap or bags should be thrown over the roots 
 if they are to be planted any distance from the 
 old bed. I might say I almost never lose a 
 perennial plant from transplanting, owing to 
 the great care I exercise in doing the work. 
 
 After the division of the plants is made see 
 that the earth is well packed around the re- 
 maining roots in the old bed where they will 
 continue to thrive and flower as luxuriantly as 
 before. The easy culture of the iris makes it 
 an attraction in itself. It is a free bloomer, 
 and for cutting it cannot be surpassed. Buds 
 w^ill come into full bloom after being placed 
 in water. I cannot too strongly urge the cul- 
 tivation of the iris, either in single plants or in 
 large quantities. 
 
STREAM BY WHICH FORGET-ME-NOTS ARE GROWING 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 23 
 
 ''Of all the flowers that deck the field 
 Or grace the garden of the heart, 
 
 Though others richer perfume yield 
 The sweetest is forget-me-not/' 
 
 Fortunate is the flower lover whose garden 
 is blessed with a brook, for here in countless 
 numbers the birds may bathe and drink, and 
 on the sloping margins the wild flowers find 
 their home. Such a brook have L It is fed 
 from springs half a mile distant, and is as clear 
 and cold as a mountain stream. It gurgles 
 and bounds and jumps, turns and twists over 
 its stony bed until it forms itself into a glorious 
 waterfall where it splashes and falls some six- 
 ty-five feet into a gorge of emerald green, 
 thence on into the river below. 
 
 On either side of this stream for a distance 
 of some thirty feet I have placed my iris. In 
 front of the iris on the very bank of the stream 
 forget-me-nots are growing. The dear little 
 old-fashioned flower we so seldom see in any 
 of our gardens now-a-days is not the forced 
 forget-me-not we find at the florist, that has a 
 beauty but no fragrance; but it is the wild 
 
24 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 riotous little flower that sows itself, first up on 
 the banks of the stream, then down away into 
 the water's edge. This flower seeds and re- 
 seeds itself until it has formed a veritable sheet 
 of dazzling blue. It is the one spot de re- 
 sistance in my garden. I am always suggest- 
 ing to my friends to cultivate this flower, if 
 only in small quantities. It is an erroneous 
 idea that forget-me-nots will not grow unless 
 near the water. This I have proven conclu- 
 sively, for up on the high ground in the full 
 sun I have raised this same little flower in pro- 
 fusion, but in this location it does not seed 
 itself and is quite apt to dry out unless well 
 watered. Over this bed in early spring I turn 
 a bushel of leaf mold, which seems about all 
 it requires. A package of seed will cost you 
 but fifteen cents, and oh, the glory of this one 
 package — if you love dainty little flowers try 
 the forget-me-not. Remember to plant it 
 where it will get the sun, either in the morning 
 or afternoon, for it will droop its dainty head 
 and die if left without the warmth of the sun 
 to cheer it into life. In buying your seed, ask 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 25 
 
 for the extra large flower. This seems to be 
 of a more robust nature and withstands the dry 
 weather better than the smaller species. Late 
 May and all through June it is a solid mass of 
 bloom. About July 10, we cut off the old 
 flowers and buds so that late in August and 
 September it comes into flower again, tho not 
 as profusely as in May and June. Up on the 
 hillside in partial shade grow the lilies of the 
 valley. Have you seen a dainty vase filled 
 with lilies of the valley and a spray of forget- 
 me-nots, and have you forgotten it? No, 
 if you are a flower lover I am quite sure you 
 never could. My enthusiasm when it comes 
 to lilies of the valley is quite beyond my con- 
 trol. Just why, I cannot explain; there is 
 something about them so w^hite, so dainty, and 
 oh, so wondrous sweet. 
 
 I plant them both on the north and south 
 side of my home in partial shade. Some gar- 
 deners will tell you they need no sun. I have 
 never found it so. They require deep, rich 
 loam, and little care, but year after year they 
 will surprise you by constant blooming. Be 
 
26 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 good to them, cultivate them occasionally and 
 you will be well repaid for your efforts. They 
 flower the last of May and through June and 
 are white in color. They send up long dainty 
 slender stalks with what appear to look like 
 tiny white bells on either side of the stalk, 
 growing some six to eight inches high. The 
 leaf is straight and stalky and the flowers grow 
 from the center of the plant. 
 
 And now comes June, the month of roses 
 and peonies, the beginning of the larkspurs, 
 and even the copper red gaillardia and yellow 
 coreopsis commence to awaken to their duties. 
 
 Said Pasture Rose, the Bumble Bee 
 Quite often leaves her babes with me, 
 I love to hold them next my heart, 
 Fm sorry when it's time to part, 
 
 — Gordon 
 
 Roses play a large part in an ideal garden. 
 Indeed a garden of roses is a fairy land, a 
 fairy land where one may sit and dream sweet 
 dreams, weave fancies, and recall tender mem- 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 27 
 
 ories. We are all better for a little dreaming, 
 and a rose garden filled with the soft sweet 
 perfume off a full blown rose is the one spot 
 in which to linger, to dream, and to forget, it 
 brings to you a contentment borne of peace 
 and perfect sympathy with your surroundings. 
 Roses are so pure, so soft, so sweet, yet when 
 I think of the hours, the days, the weeks I 
 have spent on rose culture, and at the end of it 
 all I was a sad failure! 
 
 But the longing for a garden rose pursued 
 me; so I visited a local nursery and told the 
 nurseryman my rose woes. 
 
 I was so ambitious to grow only one, just the 
 plain old fashioned yellow garden rose, the 
 kind that grew in the garden at my home when 
 I was a small child and always stood by the 
 side of the yellow flowering currant, where I 
 gathered them the last days of school, and the 
 fragrance of that rose; I close my eyes and 
 drift back to the days of my childhood and 
 eternal peace. 
 
 After explaining my difficulties to the nurs- 
 
28 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 eryman and of my desire for just a yellow 
 rose, he laughed and said: "Why that is a 
 joke, they grow without half trying, no cover- 
 ing, no trouble at all." After his wonderfully 
 assuring words of perfect success, I purchased 
 two of his jokes, as it were, and rushed home 
 fearing they would die before I got them in 
 the ground. 
 
 I selected my location, wonderfully bright 
 sunny spots, sun all day long, perfect soil, an 
 abundance of fertilizer, every requisite known 
 to rose culture. 
 
 We planted the roses. All summer it was 
 my special duty to tend them. I religiously 
 did my work. The bushes thrived and grew. 
 Fall came, I covered the roots with fertilizer. 
 I burlaped the bushes and bid them a fond 
 farewell until early spring. All winter, while 
 traveling in a warmer clime, my yellow rose 
 was fresh in my memory. In fact, I am sure 
 I persuaded the family to go North unusually 
 early that year, not daring to give my reason 
 why. Spring came, daily I visited my rose 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 29 
 
 bush, peeping in through the burlap here and 
 there and wondering and waiting. Finally, 
 we removed the covering. Ah, the terror of 
 that moment. Yes, they were dead. Of 
 course they were dead. Now do you under- 
 stand why I am a failure at rose culture? 
 There is still one rose that clings, one rose that 
 will always find a spot in my heart. It is the 
 tiny pink bud known as the Sweetheart Rose. 
 Ah — the memories of that rose! 
 
 '^Thou art not my first love, 
 
 I had loved before we met 
 And the memory of those happy days 
 
 Still lingers with me yet. 
 But thou, thou art my last love 
 
 The sweetest and the best. 
 My heart but shed its outer leaves 
 
 To give thee all the rest/^ 
 
 I know of many roses I might suggest for 
 a rose garden. Other people raise them and 
 in a most nonchalant manner tell me of their 
 easy culture. I shut my eyes and hear myself 
 
30 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 saying: ''Fairy tales." I will leave the cul- 
 ture of roses to some less skeptical person and 
 go on to the care and raising of peonies. 
 
 I have previously told you of my first ex- 
 perience in raising peonies. Perhaps I have 
 a bit of stubbornness about me, presumably so 
 from the close companionship of ten years 
 with my old gardener who hailed from the 
 land of the Midnight Sun, which explains the 
 tale. 
 
 Tho my first venture with peonies was sucJi 
 a crushing failure, it never for one moment 
 dampened my ardor, and I continued to grow 
 peonies until I now^ feel I am quite expert. 
 
 Peonies should be in every garden, however 
 large or small. They are the very easiest of 
 culture, and if given a good, rich garden soil 
 and left undisturbed they are good for many 
 years. The wonderful pink peony that so 
 closely resembles the rose has a fragrance al- 
 most equal to it. Other colors, red and white, 
 are fully as attractive tho they have no frag- 
 rance. The peony blooms in June, requires 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 31 
 
 plenty of sun, and an occasional stirring up 
 with the hoe so as to keep the earth well loos- 
 ened around the plant, but not so near as to 
 disturb the roots. 
 
 Be sure and include them in your list of 
 perennials. They are not expensive; and in 
 buying select good sized plants, as it will take 
 three years to form perfect flowers from young 
 plants. Do not divide your plants often. 
 Peonies object to being moved. 
 
 Blooming almost at the same time as the 
 peony is the red lily commonly called the 
 ^^Candlestick Lily." It grows about fifteen inch- 
 es high, and the flowers form at the top of a 
 single stem and probably average from four 
 to five inches across. They are of a bright red 
 color and most effective. I have seen as many 
 as five flowers on a single stalk. I am ex- 
 ceedingly fond of this hardy plant. It re- 
 quires little attention. It thrives in a coarse 
 soil of clay and sand and some black loam. 
 In planting the bulbs, place a handful of good 
 clean dry sand around the bulbs before cover- 
 
32 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 ing them on account of drainage. Any water 
 standing on lily bulbs is ruinous to the plant. 
 In partial shade they are at their best. Try 
 them in your border. They add a bit of 
 bright color very pleasing to the eye. The 
 pure white Madonna lily is easily grown, and 
 it is so seldom we see it in the average garden. 
 The fragrance is delightful. It flowers in 
 June and July. Cultivation is the same as the 
 Red lily. 
 
 Now folds the lily all her sweetness up 
 And slips into the bosom of the lake; 
 So fold thyself, my dearest, thou, and slip 
 Into my bosom, and be lost in me. 
 
 — Tennyson, The Princess 
 
 Few hardy plants have grown more rapidly 
 in importance during recent years than the 
 gaillardia. Indeed, they have almost risen to 
 the rank of florist flowers; at all events, there 
 are now named varieties available. They are 
 easily raised from seed, and bloom the second 
 year. The lovely copper reds, together with 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 33 
 
 the almost bright lemon colors, are perhaps 
 the most popular flowers for cutting in my 
 garden. They are not a successful border 
 flower as the habit of the plant is of too ramb- 
 ling a nature. They bloom almost continu- 
 ously from July through to September, and 
 are likely to have flowers when every other 
 occupant of the garden has given up blooming. 
 Among the loveliest and most useful of yel- 
 low flowers are the perennial coreopsis. 
 Their color is very pure and fine and runs the 
 scale from mild lemon yellow color to almost 
 deep orange. The flowering period extends 
 from the latter part of June through to about 
 August 15, if the flowers are well picked so 
 as not to allow seed pods to form. Few plants 
 grow with such hearty good will in all sorts 
 of positions, while none known to me are so 
 free from disabilities of any kind, or the attack 
 of insects. There are yellow flowers a-plenty 
 for all the gardening seasons, but I find none 
 more pleasing both for borders or single plants 
 than this same yellow coreopsis. For bou- 
 
34 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 quets this dainty little flower cannot be sur- 
 passed. Used with the blue corn flowers and 
 a bit of rue for table decoration, it is most 
 fascinating. 
 
 The Shasta daisy, coming into flower about 
 July 7, is another hardy July flower. Plant 
 it where it has an abundance of room, for it 
 spreads, seemingly overnight. Full sun and 
 a little cultivation is all that is necessary. In 
 size and color, it resembles the June mar- 
 guerite, only it is of a coarser quality. 
 
 We have in Sweet William, the old fash- 
 ioned garden favorite, a new plant — the Scar- 
 let Beauty. This new plant is a very dark 
 red with blackish stems. It makes a stunning 
 border for early blooming. Sweet Williams 
 I think are best treated as biennials, the young 
 plants started in a nursery bed, set in the gar- 
 den in the fall, and pulled up after the first 
 flowering as the seeds are so easily raised and 
 the second flowering is a poor effort at its best. 
 
 What a chaos of beauty there is in a flower 
 garden upon a July morning! Standing in 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 35 
 
 the midst of the garden, one experiences a sort 
 of breathlessness of soul and sends forth little 
 subconscious pleas to the Powers for more 
 capacity to enjoy the bounty of this glowing, 
 exuberant month — for this is the month of the 
 hollyhock, the worst flirt out. One never 
 knows what to expect of it, except that it is 
 always bright and smiling. It is a stately co- 
 quette, pretty and wilful. It casts its seed in 
 the most undesirable places and flourishes its 
 coarse green leaves from the most impossible 
 locations. With all its wilful mannerisms 
 it is the glorious favorite of my entire garden. 
 When all my hollyhocks are in full flower 
 my impulse is to jump up and down and clap 
 my hands — they are so wickedly alluring. I 
 find them easy to raise. Seeds sown in June 
 will transplant in early spring the following 
 year and be in full flower by July 15. Give 
 the hollyhocks deep, rich soil with a bit of 
 sand, but never allow them to be planted 
 where water can stand on them through the 
 winter. They rot and die. I lost three hun- 
 dred young plants in one winter on account 
 
36 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 of bad drainage. I rarely, or never transplant 
 young hollyhocks in the fall. My success has 
 always been in early spring transplanting. 
 The single hollyhock, which is an annual (tho 
 there is also a single perennial) will flower 
 the first year. The hollyhock is at its best 
 when forming bold clumps near the back of 
 an herbaceous border. Here the plants may 
 be put a yard apart in clumps of three or 
 more. Do not plant hollyhocks where they 
 will be shut in by spreading clumps of large 
 herbaceous plants in full growth; for when 
 the hollyhocks are shut in, the bottom leaves 
 soon begin to lose their color, and once decay 
 starts in it will soon destroy the plant. It 
 will be found that the catalogs make cheap 
 offers of seedlings, single and double, and 
 these well grown will do good service. Hol- 
 lyhocks are seldom true to their seeds. After 
 you have carefully selected and saved the seeds 
 from the most promising double blossoms and 
 sowed them in fear and trembling — after you 
 have watched and protected them for a year 
 — they will calmly and unblushingly display 
 
HOLLYHOCKS IN FULL BLOOM 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 37 
 
 a single-petaled bloom. Of all the beautiful, 
 tantalizing coquettes, the double hollyhock is 
 queen. 
 
 In one familiar garden let me grow 
 Amid the sweetness of the things I love. 
 Here for me, are all my joys, my loves. 
 Transplant me not, lest spite of warmer soil 
 
 and sunnier sky 
 In my great loneliness I pine and die. 
 
 How well I remember a sad, sad day in 
 July when I dropped my doll on the stone 
 pavement. The fright of that terrible mo- 
 ment when I saw my beautiful doll, crushed 
 and broken at my feet, brought forth a scream 
 from my husky little lungs. It had its effect, 
 for the entire family were immediately on the 
 scene. After being assured by my darling 
 mother that the doll's head could be mended, 
 but with skepticism in my heart, I slowly stole 
 away and found myself in the midst of the 
 friendly larkspur bed. Here I threw myself 
 down upon the ground and in my childish way 
 
38 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 sobbed my poor little aching heart out into the 
 ears of these stately flowers. Larkspurs were 
 to me like wonderful fairies, who had the 
 power to transform bad into good; and, sad of 
 heart, I fell asleep. I dreamed of my beau- 
 tiful doll, of its poor little broken neck, and 
 in my sleep I sobbed aloud. My nurse maid 
 wakened me, and in her arms carried me back 
 to the nursery, and there in my little willow 
 rocking chair sat my doll, all whole and per- 
 fect again. Of course, these wonderful lark- 
 spur fairies had made my doll all new. July 
 is the month of the larkspur. This noble plant 
 is one of the greatest assets of the herbaceous 
 border. It sends up its tall columns of blue 
 in thousands of gardens, assertive, compelling, 
 triumphant. It comes on with a rush; it suc- 
 ceeds the peony and precedes the phlox. In 
 color, it is a radiant blue — blue in all shades. 
 It requires a deep, rich soil and some clay, 
 and must be manured generously. 
 
 Larkspurs do not spread to any great extent, 
 but when planted in deep, rich soil you should 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 39 
 
 plant them about a yard apart. Divide them 
 about every three years, preferably in the 
 spring. Those who have to look closely at the 
 cost of their plants should consider the ad- 
 visability of raising a stock from seeds. The 
 mixed seeds yield beautiful varieties, light 
 and dark, single and double. The seeds can 
 be sown in drills of prepared soil in open 
 ground in early summer, and the plants set out 
 in the following autumn or the early summer 
 of the next year where they are to remain. 
 Some will flower the first season. It may be 
 added that small plants of the beautiful and 
 popular variety, known as the Bella-donna, 
 one of the best larkspurs ever raised, is found 
 for sale by our market gardeners in good, 
 strong, sturdy plants at a very low price. I 
 have purchased many of these small plants and 
 have always found them satisfactory. 
 
 The perennial larkspur rarely suffers from 
 enemies, unless it be from slugs in spring. 
 Free dustings of lime at night will greatly 
 reduce this pest. Blue is not a common color 
 
40 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 in the garden, still less so among tall, strong 
 plants. Consequently, I find the larkspur one 
 of greatest charm. Its wonderful shadings of 
 light and dark and even lavender blue is truly 
 a glorious picture. There is something par- 
 ticularly appealing about a blue flower. "This 
 seems always to have been the case for there is 
 hardly a flower of this hue but has won for it- 
 self several intimate and affectionate pet 
 names, showing the closeness of its life, wheth- 
 er in the garden or the open, with the lives of 
 flower-loving humanity." Today there is a 
 craze for blue borders and even entire blue 
 gardens. 
 
 You seldom see larkspurs poorly placed. 
 They seem to lend themselves so gracefully to 
 every situation, and yet, even with these de- 
 lightful flowers, one must strive for effective 
 arrangement. 
 
 Planting back of, or among, my larkspurs, 
 I use the anchusa. It may be said the anchusa 
 has taken the eye of the gardening public and 
 bids fair to be as popular as the phlox or del- 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 41 
 
 phinium. This is not surprising, for though 
 we are puzzled by its capricious biennial-pe- 
 rennial tricks, the anchusa faces our frigid 
 climate with supreme complaisance for which 
 alone we owe it a debt of gratitude. The 
 Dropmore variety is perhaps the most popu- 
 lar. A small root planted in the spring may 
 by August 15th produce a plant with strong 
 stem three or four feet high, all clothed with 
 flowers of a rich gentian blue. An old plant 
 may come into bloom in June, and still be in 
 flower in September. It is one of the very 
 finest of herbaceous plants. It will thrive in 
 almost any soil and in a dry sunny spot. It 
 grows in a small bushy shape. Its foliage is 
 undeniably coarse, and has a laxness of car- 
 riage, with a tendency to flop on its neighbors ; 
 but there can be no fault found with the tints 
 in which it decks itself. 
 
 August is the month of the phlox. This 
 great and noble plant plays an important part 
 in the herbaceous border. The phlox is the 
 
42 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 indisputable queen of late summer. Its vigor- 
 ous, immense panicles of brilliant flowers, and 
 its long period of beauty, combine to render 
 it supreme in its season. The colors com- 
 prise a long and beautiful range — there are 
 pure white, pale pink, rose, salmon, orange, 
 scarlet, lilac, lavender, purple, and violet. In 
 good soil the flower heads are of immense 
 proportions, and what is more, they remain 
 fresh and lovely for many weeks. The phloxes 
 are among the hardiest denizens of the garden. 
 No extreme of cold seems to affect them, and 
 they will thrive in almost any soil. The up- 
 right and compact habit of the phlox is one 
 of its strongest assets. It will thrive in a 
 heavy damp soil, or in a common garden soil. 
 A light sandy soil seems to be its only enemy. 
 Owners of large and small gardens alike 
 should grow phloxes. There is no flower in 
 the garden that produces a more stunning 
 effect than an immense bed of perennial phlox. 
 I grow them most successfully in a partially 
 shaded glen where they seem to retain their 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 43 
 
 colors longer than on the higher ground. A 
 hedge of perennial phlox in full flower in the 
 middle of August is a marvelous climax, in 
 August's robust symphony. 
 
 Planting may be done in autumn or in 
 spring. Frequent division is good, and there 
 is no reason why this should not be done in 
 autumn. 
 
 The phlox has such inherent vigor that it 
 may be propagated with ease — by division 
 or by cuttings in spring. Seedlings may flow- 
 er the year after the seeds are sown. There 
 are early growing varieties coming into bloom 
 as early as the latter part of June. Miss 
 Lingard perhaps is the favorite — being a 
 beautiful pure white, hardy and strong and 
 never disappointing. In considering the 
 question of varieties, it is worth while to 
 choose a few early bloomers, as well as late, 
 thereby securing a long succession of flowers. 
 No other flower gives such vivid breaks of 
 color in proportion to the room that the plants 
 occupy. Their habit renders them most suit- 
 
44 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 able for grouping. Plants may be set two feet 
 apart without suffering from overcrowding. 
 They will give brilliant floral beauty for many 
 weeks. 
 
 The tiger lily is, next to the phlox, the most 
 important plant in the late August garden. 
 The peculiar orange brown colors of the tiger 
 lily cannot be trusted to stand amiably in the 
 vicinity of any of the innumerable pink 
 phloxes, tho with some of the sharp scarlet 
 sorts and a few of the coolest lavenders, it does 
 well enough. The only effective way to plant 
 tiger lilies is in hugh masses, nearby some pale 
 flowering phlox, or even by themselves. The 
 tiger lily grows like any other plant under 
 ordinary garden conditions. It seeds itself 
 prolifically. 
 
 What is a prettier picture than the stately 
 yellow golden glow nodding its fluffy blossom 
 in the August sunlight? I love golden glow. 
 Masses banked against a white frame cottage, 
 with dainty pink and white phloxes at their 
 base is as pretty a picture as one may care to 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 45 
 
 see. It is so easily grown and takes such ex- 
 cellent care of itself and produces such won- 
 derful results, one could scarcely pass it by. 
 In August the sunflowers all thrive and are at 
 their best. I use sunflowers for cutting, and 
 in tall brass vases they are very stunning with 
 bunches of wild purple asters by their side; 
 and for a week by changing the water they will 
 continue fresh and sweet. One more August 
 and September perennial that is quite the 
 best of them all is the boltonia. This fuzzy 
 little flower which exactly resembles the daisy, 
 grows to six and sometimes eight feet high, 
 and forms huge clumps of flowers. In the 
 shrubbery bed, well to the front, it is at its 
 best. It comes in both white and pink and is 
 in flower from late August until frost. 
 
 The acquilegia, or columbine, is the dainti- 
 est of them all ; in fact, almost too delicate for 
 the perennial borders unless on the outside 
 edge. The new columbine, that is, the long 
 stemmed flowers that are so much in favor 
 now, throw their flower spikes sometimes a 
 
46 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 yard high. They bloom early, but do not last 
 long. Beautiful as the columbine is, it is not 
 one of the best plants for color grouping, but 
 in a bed by itself is of much interest. The best 
 of columbines have large flowers with long 
 spurs. They come in wonderful colorings — 
 lavenders, pinks, yellow, pure white, and pur- 
 ple. They seed easily and soon grow to flow- 
 ering size. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Color and Grouping of Perennials 
 
 Color — glowing, brilliant, and inspiring — 
 marks the modern flower garden, in which the 
 best hardy perennials are grown liberally and 
 arranged skilfully. 
 
 Perennials form pictures of remarkable 
 beauty when used with judgment, and artistic 
 people delight in working out charming ef- 
 fects with them. Those who would realize 
 in full the joys of flower gardening should 
 make themselves familiar with the best peren- 
 nials. The dominating thought of the flower 
 lover must be how to make a flower garden; 
 to that end we must consider all plants. In 
 selecting my list of perennials, I have named 
 only those which are the easiest of culture, and 
 which will bring color to your garden each 
 month of the summer. 
 
48 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 The iris, peony, and lily for May and June, 
 the larkspurs and hollyhocks for July and the 
 wonderful phlox family for August and Sep- 
 tember. These flowers alone afford deep in- 
 terest and delight to thousands, and let us en- 
 thusiastically acknowledge their power, but 
 not to the extent of neglecting other beautiful 
 flowers. The wise gardener will refuse to 
 become absorbed in any one plant, however 
 beautiful. 
 
 In the garden of today hardy herbaceous 
 perennial plants play so great a part that we 
 almost speak of them as the backbone of the 
 garden. 
 
 Annuals, and even shrubs, are less important 
 than this great class, and to the bulk of flower 
 lovers, a summer garden without perennials 
 would be of little interest. Flower-lovers 
 strive, and rightly so, to get harmonious 
 groups of color in their gardens. In these 
 days, color grouping with herbaceous peren- 
 nials is one of the features of flower gardening 
 and by practice one finds that he gets the best 
 results by restricting himself to a few. 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 49 
 
 The plants should not be crowded. In large 
 beds there may be groups of three or more of 
 each kind instead of single plants. 
 
 The routine of culture keeps the flower lov- 
 er who devotes himself to hardy perennials in 
 the open air, which brings health and happi- 
 ness to the gardener. 
 
 There is a short season in the spring in 
 which to uncover your plants, hoeing and rak- 
 ing around the roots to keep the soil loose, thus 
 preparing for early rains. In autumn the old 
 growth is cleared away and bulbs are planted; 
 staking of the plants is done in summer. This 
 is a great advantage for the amateur whose 
 time is not his own. 
 
 The owner of a large garden should go in 
 for bold herbaceous borders in front of shrub- 
 bery, along margins of lawns, by the sides of 
 drives and walks, and in front of hedges. 
 
 The owner of a small garden may have beds 
 and borders along his dividing lines or fences, 
 and along his principal paths. 
 
 The cost of plants varies, to a considerable 
 extent, with the age of the varieties chosen ; but 
 
50 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 good plants of all the principal kinds are avail- 
 able at low rates. 
 
 The standard variety may be capable of pro- 
 ducing exactly the same effect in the garden 
 as a novelty. 
 
 From a purely garden point of view, her- 
 baceous plants are not expensive. There is 
 no system of flower gardening that can be car- 
 ried out so economically as the culture of 
 hardy perennials. This is an important fact 
 that the flower lover must keep in mind if 
 economy is his master. 
 
 The best way of buying for a beginner is to 
 get collections w^hich every dealer in hardy 
 plants offers at special rates. At the end of a 
 year, or certainly two years, if the culture has 
 been good and the season wet, these plants can 
 be multiplied by dividing them, and the col- 
 lection thus enlarged at no extra expense. 
 
 The area of an herbaceous border depends 
 to some extent on the size of the garden. The 
 small garden can have its borders five or six 
 feet wide, and one can get an enormous amount 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 51 
 
 of pleasure out of it. These borders should 
 be made in the fall, as the spring work is often 
 hampered by heavy rains lasting well into the 
 planting time. The florist is very glad to do 
 business in the fall, and will supply liberal 
 clumps to his early customers, therefore, buy 
 them at this time and do autumn planting 
 when there is plenty of time to do it well. 
 Plant your clumps twelve to eighteen inches 
 apart, with three to four plants to a clump, 
 thus insuring bold masses of color, and allow- 
 ing good distancing for cultivation. 
 
 Let me once more refer to the use of peren- 
 nials for the purpose of emphasizing my good 
 opinion of their many merits. They have a 
 dignity not possessed by the annuals; they are 
 rich in color effects, they are easily grown, 
 their value is becoming more fully understood 
 each year, and the amateur gardener makes a 
 serious mistake if he refuses to avail himself 
 of their assistance in making the home grounds 
 attractive. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 Vines and Shrubs 
 
 My great desire was to have a vine-covered 
 fence as an enclosure for my summer home. 
 With this idea in mind, I immediately set out 
 to produce it. I purchased a six-foot heavy 
 wire fencing; this I had set on a 400-foot lot 
 line, being the only level line surrounding my 
 home. I had a deep trench two feet deep dug 
 along the fence. This I filled with a bit of 
 sand, rotted manure, and rich black dirt. The 
 Virginia creeper, perhaps the hardiest vine 
 we have, grows in quantities on the river bank 
 below us. My gardener and I spent many 
 days collecting these young vines and planting 
 them one foot apart along this fence. The 
 task finally completed, we reveled in the 
 thought of its promised beauty. The vines 
 made a marvelous growth, far beyond our 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 53 
 
 wildest hope, for the first summer. In the 
 fall we threw a banking of old dry leaves over 
 the roots, which is not at all necessary even in 
 our frigid climate. But the vines were such 
 enthusiastic little climbers that I was anxious 
 to give them every care and protection. In 
 the spring, we nourished and cultivated them 
 with great zest, so that at the end of the second 
 summer, my vine-covered fence was a reality 
 and I was floating on the crest of a silver cloud. 
 We closed our summer home early that fall 
 and moved into town. 
 
 Two weeks later I had occasion to go to the 
 country, as usual, for forgotten necessities. 
 On entering the driveway, my eye rested on a 
 long black row of smoldering ashes. Just how 
 I made my exit from my motor, I do not re- 
 member, though I believe, I took door glass 
 and all with me. My home is situated at the 
 entrance of the park system, and every year 
 the park gardeners burn the old leaves and 
 grasses. It happened that the fire got beyond 
 their control, and the flames leaped across the 
 
54 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 street into my vine-covered fence, burning 
 every vine to the ground. I have always 
 tried to forget just what I said. However, the 
 following spring we replaced our vines, and 
 the fall found them struggling to reach the top 
 of the fence. At just this time we were in- 
 formed that the survey of our lot on this one 
 particular northwest corner was from one to 
 two feet off the correct line, and the city had 
 advised us to move our fence from one to two 
 feet in. After numerous controversies, we 
 agreed to abide by their decision and reset 
 our fence in the early spring. 
 
 We came north later than usual that year, 
 and on my arrival at my country home I 
 found that the city, in the hope of doing me a 
 favor, had already moved my fence, pulled 
 up my vines, trampled the roots and entirely 
 destroyed every vestige of any ambitious little 
 verdure that might have pushed itself through 
 the earth in the early spring. 
 
 I sat down in dejection and soliloquy. Just 
 why had fate played a part in the beautifying 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 55 
 
 of that fence? After many an hour of serious 
 thought, my final decision was to bank it with 
 shrubs. 
 
 In this I was persuaded by my faithful old 
 gardener to use spirea Von Houttei. The long 
 slender sprays of this spirea, with their tiny 
 white blossoms draping to the ground when in 
 full flower, are so full of grace and gracious 
 sweetness. In front of them I mixed enorm- 
 ous clumps of all colors of hollyhocks, peonies, 
 foxglove, delphiniums, and phloxes (Miss 
 Lingard — pure white, commences to flower 
 in July), old pink, lavender and purple; and 
 at one end an enormous bed of pure yellow 
 coreopsis, in front of which I placed the long 
 stemmed columbine — masses of them, in pink, 
 lavender, and creamy yellow. It is an herba- 
 ceous border, quite worthy of my greatest ef- 
 forts. Do you know that I placed between 
 my shrubs young trees of the very common 
 Norwegian poplar, which, by the way, came 
 very nearly causing a break in the entire fam- 
 ily? However, I bought and planted the pop- 
 
56 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 lar trees. About this time I was forced to 
 allow my gardener to take an entire day off 
 in order to control his temper. ^'Mrs." was 
 going to ruin her grounds and take all the 
 moisture from the plants, caused by the heavy 
 roots of the trees. In this he was quite right; 
 however, this being the north line, and having 
 all of the sun in front, I considered the trees 
 a good wind break from the cold north winds, 
 and with much nourishment in the line of good 
 fertilizers and plenty of cultivation, I was 
 quite satisfied I was not making a mistake. I 
 prune my trees round at the top, and never 
 allow them to grow coarse and ungainly. I 
 made no mistake. The dainty little leaves of 
 the poplars are like hundreds of silver- 
 winged fairies, always dancing in the sun- 
 shine, never still. I love this tree. It is awake 
 to the duties of life, never shirking, never fail- 
 ing you in time of need. 
 
 And now after all my trials and disappoint- 
 ments with vine covered fences I am still an 
 enthusiastic proclaimer of their value. I am 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 57 
 
 listing below the hardy vines, all easy of cul- 
 ture and from which you may expect good re- 
 sults: 
 
 Dutchman's Pipe, Trumpet Vine, Wild 
 White Clematis, Wild Grape, Virginia Creep- 
 er, and Engleman Vine. 
 
 The hardy shrubs which are the background 
 of all good borders, or are used individually 
 against our houses or in corners of our lawns, 
 are as indispensable as our best perennials for 
 making true and fascinating effects. The 
 most popular are: 
 
 Flowering Almond Pink, flowering in April 
 and May. 
 
 Lilac or Syringa varieties, flowering in 
 May. 
 
 Mock Orange or Philadelphus, flowering 
 in June. 
 
 Weigelia Pink blooms in June. 
 
 Rosa Rugosa blooms in June. 
 
 Spirea Von Houttei blooms in June. 
 
 Japanese Snowball blooms in June — no dis- 
 sease. 
 
58 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 Hydrangias bloom in August. 
 
 The mock orange is the most beautiful of all 
 shrubs. In June it is a mass of waxy white 
 flowers with the sweetness and perfume of the 
 orange blossoms. If only one shrub can be 
 purchased, buy this and put it in the broad 
 sunlight and watch results. 
 
 The rosa rugosa has a dark pink rose, both 
 single and double, rather coarse foliage, but 
 attractive in coloring, and grows from four to 
 five feet in height. 
 
 Japanese snowball is far preferable to the 
 old fashioned snowball, as it is free from dis- 
 ease and its period of flowering usually con- 
 tinues through June and July. 
 
 Hydrangias, both high bush and low bush, 
 are very showy shrubs. They stand very se- 
 vere trimming. All of the flowers are formed 
 on new growth and the more severely pruned 
 the larger the panicles. I cut my hydrangias 
 back very closely late in the fall and again 
 early in the spring as I feel too severe pruning 
 in the fall is apt to take too much nourishment 
 
VINE-CCVERED FENCE AT ENTRANCE TO MY GARDEN 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 59 
 
 from the shrub. The tree hydrangia is attrac- 
 tive as a single shrub standing alone and prop- 
 erly placed either on the lawn at the entrance 
 of the drive or in the garden. The flowers 
 may be picked and dried and will last through 
 the winter. 
 
 The flowering almond is perhaps one of the 
 most attractive of all shrubs. It grows to a 
 height of five or six feet, and late in April and 
 early May it covers itself with the very daint- 
 iest of pink, ball-like flowers long before the 
 leaves are out. Perhaps because it is almost 
 the first shrub to bloom is why it has become 
 such a favorite. All shrubs should be careful- 
 ly planted in good deep soil, plenty of fertiliz- 
 er and good care for the first two years, after 
 which time they are quite apt to care for them- 
 selves but should be well cultivated at least 
 twice during the season and fertilized in the 
 fall or in the spring. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 Annuals 
 
 ^^ Little gold bud in a bronze gold vase 
 With your green leaves drooping over, 
 
 Half hiding the lines of your pretty face, 
 Are you dreaming of your lover?'* 
 
 Your lover s a bee in a velvet robe 
 
 A careless and gay young rover. 
 Fll open the window and let him in 
 
 This wanton gay young lover, 
 
 July finds mid-summer floral loveliness at 
 its height. The carnival of flowers is cele- 
 brated by the arrival of the annuals in bloom; 
 though they cannot in any way compete with 
 perennials, still they fill the gardens and bor- 
 ders with color and fragrance for many weeks 
 to come. 
 
 The beauty of annual flowers is the ease and 
 rapidity with which the seed can be grown, 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 6i 
 
 and the cheapness and simplicity of their cul- 
 ture commend them to flower-lovers. 
 
 July is the Queen month for annuals. June's 
 later blossoms linger to bloom in the July 
 garden, perfumes that belong to July com- 
 mingle and follow the winds, even through 
 open windows, coming as fragrant messengers 
 from old time garden heliotrope, clove pinks, 
 dainty little sweet alyssum and a belated yel- 
 low rose. 
 
 "It is the bumble-bees' season of revelry 
 when thousands of them hover amid the blos- 
 soms in a grand droning chorus and sip from 
 perfumed chalices." The gardener's reward 
 is sweet indeed when midsummer smiles upon 
 a garden over-flowing with brightest bloom, 
 for then and there he finds a spot that makes 
 the world more beautiful. 
 
 There is a feeling of well earned rest, for 
 July has few demands upon a gardener's time. 
 One loves to linger among the flowers and 
 scent the perfume of those loved best. Each 
 flower retains a memory of some past day, some 
 
62 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 with happiness filled, some with sadness 
 chilled. All combine to make one's garden 
 spot a place of rest for soul and mind. 
 
 The dainty little annuals, with their bright 
 snappy colors, lend a cheerfulness to any gar- 
 den, though their lives are short one could not 
 do without them. We need bright sunshine 
 in our lives; we need bright sunshine in our 
 gardens; and therefore, for such efifects we 
 may depend upon our annuals. 
 
 ^'There is a class of plants in the garden to- 
 ward which one feels a peculiar tendernes, they 
 are the butterflies of the flower world, careless, 
 gay, full of whimsical charm, and without 
 their fluttering life the garden would be bereft 
 indeed." There is room for many of these 
 flowers of grace even in small gardens, for 
 they add a bit of witchery to the garden spot. 
 One of these is the dainty little California 
 poppy. It is fit to be brought into the garden 
 and shine among the best; it seems pleased to 
 come, for it seeds itself about most graciously 
 and scatters its flowers with a freedom of 
 ownership. 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 63 
 
 My garden was aglow with this golden yel- 
 low flower. It was my first effort at flower 
 raising; so happy was I at my phenomenal 
 success that to celebrate my tiny sister's birth- 
 day I decided on a yellow poppy dinner. I 
 gathered all the poppies my garden possessed 
 and used them in dainty vases with sprays of 
 larkspurs and meadow rue. The combination 
 to me was quite the daintiest and prettiest I 
 might select. I placed them on my table in 
 positions I thought most effective. At the 
 dinner hour my bubble had burst; all the little 
 golden blossoms had folded their leaves and 
 were sound asleep, nestling close to the pro- 
 tecting larkspurs. 
 
 The Yellow Poppy sleeps so tight 
 
 Throughout the peaceful summer night 
 
 But when sunbeams frolic by its side 
 It opens its eyes so wide, wide, wide. 
 
 The poppy to me is the most transparent 
 and delicate of all the blossoms of the garden. 
 It is sad they so soon drop their silken petals, 
 
64 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 for in borders or in the garden there is no 
 flower that would be lovelier in masses. The 
 entrancing shades and tints and exquisitely 
 poised grace of the great poppy flower, sway- 
 ing upon its delicate slender stem, is worthy 
 of an artist's brush. 
 
 The Shirley poppies, perhaps the most pop- 
 ular, are of such delightful shades of pink. 
 They run from the faintest blush to the stun- 
 ning rose-scarlet, their blossoms swinging on 
 their slender stems, so frail, seem to be ^'ever 
 balancing to keep from tipping over." 
 
 The annual Delphinium Blue Butterfly 
 should not be overlooked. Sown in the spring 
 it will flower the same summer. It is an ob- 
 ject of great beauty with its bright blue flow- 
 ers. 
 
 The Calliopas gives us some pretty flowers 
 of slender growth, running from bright yellow 
 to a red brown, and flowering continuously 
 until frost. 
 
 The Candytufts have been greatly improved. 
 The large white variety should be grown, 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 65 
 
 whatever else is omitted; the spikes of bloom 
 are almost as large as the hyacinth, very showy 
 and attractive. 
 
 The Cosmos, running from white to pink, 
 and almost a blue lavender, has grown rapid- 
 ly in favor during the past few years. They 
 bloom on long stems late in the summer, and 
 for cutting flowers are unexcelled. 
 
 The Cornflowers, oh! the lovely, blue fairy- 
 like cornflowers! They bring to my memory 
 a friend of mine who declared he fell in love 
 with his wife because she wore a wreath of 
 cornflowers on her hat. I agree with this 
 man thoroughly. What is more fascinating, 
 sweeter, prettier than a lovely girl in a summer 
 frock and a wreath of cornflowers on her hat? 
 I am not in sympathy with the man who re- 
 fused to have them in his garden because they 
 were Germany's national flower. 
 
 Sow them by all means in your garden, if 
 not for yourself, for the bumble bees. If you 
 pick them the bees will go with you through 
 your garden. 
 
66 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 In olden times maidens tested the faithful- 
 ness of their lovers by saying rhymes as they 
 pulled the petals from these flowers just as 
 they do with the daisies now. 
 
 ^^Now gentle flower I pray thee tell 
 
 Ifi my lover loves me and loves me well; 
 
 So may the fall of the morning dew 
 
 Keep the sun from fading thy tender blue, 
 
 Now I number the leaves for my lot, 
 
 He loves not, he loves me, he loves me not, 
 
 He loves me. Yes/ Thou last leaf, yes! 
 
 I'll pluck thee not for the last sweet guess/' 
 
 Love-in-the-mist is grown for late blooms. 
 Sown in April, it flowers in August and Sep- 
 tember. It makes dense bushes of a fuzzy 
 foliage in which the flower nestles. It is of a 
 fine dark blue and very attractive. 
 
 Petunias are double, single, fragrant, and 
 easily raised. The dainty single pink one, 
 known as Rosy Morn, is the most attractive. 
 Used in masses nothing can surpass their use- 
 fulness for color, fragrance, and effect. I mass 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 67 
 
 four hundred to five hundred plants each year 
 in a south exposure, by July they are a solid 
 bloom of pink. The soil should not be over 
 rich, in fact, almost a poor soil gives best re- 
 sults. They bloom long after the first frost. 
 Petunias sewn in hotbeds or in boxes in the 
 house in February flower freely in July. 
 
 Portulaca or Sun Rose is a dear little border 
 plant, it thrives in hot dry locations, spreads 
 and runs along the borders showing its varied 
 colors only when the sunbeams fall upon it. 
 
 Stocks are always popular with their large, 
 dense spikes of delicious fragrance. They 
 thrive best raised under glass and set out as 
 soon as weather permits. They come both in 
 single and double flowers though the single 
 flower has no beauty. There is a new species 
 called the ^'Carmen." The flower is stunning 
 — rather a heavy pink in color, and its rich 
 fragrance and lasting qualities make it a prime 
 favorite with flower-lovers. 
 
 Sweet peas of course have a tremendous fol- 
 lowing. Personally, I cannot raise them. 
 
68 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 There is a something about the soil in my gar- 
 den that will not produce sweet peas success- 
 fully, nor am I alone in this difficulty. I be- 
 lieve sweet peas require a something in the 
 soil that is not found in all gardens. The suc- 
 cessful producer of sweet peas makes it a study 
 by itself, and the markets are filled with the 
 most gorgeous of blossoms selling at a trifling. 
 I should of course advise all true garden lov- 
 ers to grow them. They must be sown in deep 
 trenches in full sun and never allowed to dry 
 out. To keep the plants in beauty a long time 
 regular gathering must be practiced. Water 
 and liquid manure should be frequently used 
 to insure bright healthy flowers. 
 
 The Sweet Sultans should not be overlooked ; 
 they may be sown in the ground in early spring 
 and thinned out to a foot apart. They come 
 in lilac, pink, rose, lavender, and purple. 
 
 The white form of Gypsophila elegans 
 makes an excellent annual. It is a spreading 
 grower. Allow this plant plenty of space, it 
 is a tiny white branching flower w^onderful for 
 bouquets. 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 69 
 
 Golden yellow annuals are many — lemon 
 yellow and burnt orange zinnias, and oh! the 
 lovely marigolds. 
 
 ^'Yellow Marigold this bright and cheerful 
 
 thing 
 Makes glad the days we are living in. 
 It sprinkles gold stars one by one 
 That look like bits chipped from the sun/' 
 
 For stately effects, use should be made of 
 the many lovely gladioli, they are so bright 
 and graceful and exhibit such wonderful rose 
 and copper, white, yellow, and red shades. 
 
 Of Mignonette we now have fine strains both 
 in giant and dwarf varieties. One of the 
 sweetest is Golden Queen, which grows six 
 inches high. 
 
 The delicate odor of Mignonette 
 
 The ghost of a dead and gone bouquet 
 
 Is all that tells her story; yet, 
 
 Could she think of a sweeter way? 
 
70 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 But whether she came as a sweet perfume, 
 Or whether a spirit in stole of white, 
 
 I feel as I pass from the darkened room. 
 She has been with my soul to-night, 
 
 — Bret HarTE, Romance of Newport 
 
 Nasturtiums, both dwarf, and the large 
 climbing varieties are easily the standard of 
 the garden. They thrive in most any soil and 
 come in both light and dark shades. I have 
 raised them from a silvery cream color down 
 to the richest shades of copper reds. They 
 bloom from June to frost and I have often 
 found stray little flowers poking up their bril- 
 liant heads after Jack Frost has taken all their 
 foliage. 
 
 Nicotianas (tobacco plant) is sometimes 
 of perennial duration. The Nicotiana affinis 
 is the well known pure white tobacco plant 
 with wonderful fragrance. I raise this in 
 large quanities. They grow two feet high and 
 open their flowers soon after the sun goes 
 down. In twilight they look like so many 
 pure white stars. I sometimes feel they are 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 71 
 
 fastened on their slender stems so that the 
 humble things of earth, which couldn't look 
 as high as heaven, could see the stars below. 
 
 The Salpiglosis, is one of the most interest- 
 ing, distinct, and graceful annuals, with large 
 bell-shaped flowers in shaded pinks, creams, 
 and lavenders. The flowers are distinctly 
 veined, which makes them especially and sin- 
 gularly effective. They should be thinned 
 out to eighteen inches apart and are consid- 
 ered almost a half hardy annual. 
 
 Verbenas must be sown in the house under 
 glass to insure flowers early the first season. 
 They may be seeded in small boxes and trans- 
 planted to the ground when the weather is 
 warm and no danger of frost. Though a tre- 
 mendously hardy plant they are a bit difficult 
 to start but they self sow occasionally with con- 
 siderable success the second year. They come 
 in all colors. There is a new very hardy tall 
 growing verbena called the ''Venosa." It 
 comes in dark purple and thrives well in half 
 shade. Planted in large quantities and bor- 
 
72 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 dered by white sweet alyssum it makes a stun- 
 ning effect for the herbaceous border. 
 
 The old fashioned balsams I find to be of 
 great value in August for transplanting into 
 barren spots of the border. Whole plants in 
 full flower can, with care, be transplanted 
 with ease and successfully so by freely water- 
 ing and shading from the sun for a day or two 
 and they continue to thrive and bloom as lux- 
 uriantly as before. Pink and lavender colors 
 are perhaps the most attractive. 
 
 Pansies can be raised from seed, though I 
 advise buying the plants at any local market. 
 They can be had at almost any time at not 
 more than twenty cents a dozen and are always 
 found hardy and productive. 
 
 ^'The dear little pansies are lifting their heads 
 
 All purple, and blue and gold; 
 They're covering with beauty the garden beds 
 
 And hiding from sight the dead mould/' 
 
 Snapdragons are to be had in the most fas- 
 cinating shades of pink, white, cream, yellow. 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 73 
 
 and red, and are raised every year from seeds 
 very quickly and cheaply. This flower comes 
 in various types — dwarf, intermediate, and 
 tall. The seeds may be bought in separate 
 colors and sown in masses of one color, mak- 
 ing a brilliant display. 
 
 The aster lover finds almost an embarrassing 
 supply of beautiful colorings awaiting him 
 when he comes to the raising of this late au- 
 tumn flower. The seeds are sown early in 
 open ground, or you can buy the plants from 
 your local nursery or market place and put 
 out after all danger of frost is passed. A sift- 
 ing of wood ashes closely around the plants 
 will help in part to destroy the tiny insect that 
 is almost sure to attack this lovely flower. 
 Allow asters plenty of water and keep them 
 well picked, for in so doing you greatly pro- 
 long the flowering period. 
 
 Pages have been written about the cultiva- 
 tion of the ever popular dahlia. I know a 
 man who plants his dahlia roots late in May 
 in soil so rich that he says they cannot help but 
 
74 MY LITTLE GARDEOSF 
 
 grow and produce wonderful flowers, both in 
 color and size. They bloom freely in August 
 all through the golden autumn until heavy 
 frost nips them down. He tells me if he sees 
 his dahlias fading he immediately fertilizes 
 them in tremendous quantities and they almost 
 at once show the effect of this nourishment. 
 Other producers have told me they plant their 
 roots in almost a solid wet clay with marvelous 
 results. Personally, I do not raise them as I 
 devote almost my entire garden to perennials 
 and a very few easily cared for annuals. 
 
 Sweet alyssum is a most satisfactory white, 
 very fragrant little flower. It grows perhaps 
 five or six inches high, and is used for edgings 
 of walks or borders, flowers profusely from 
 June to August — again late in September. 
 The "Little Gem" is perhaps most used, 
 though the large variety is fully as successful. 
 Dimorphotheca amantiaca is a yellow South 
 African daisy, a lovely annual easily raised in 
 sunny, rather sheltered locations; it blooms 
 profusely all summer and has a marvelous 
 yellow and orange coloring. 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 75 
 
 Dianthus pinks come in varied colorings; 
 they are sweet, attractive, and easily grown. 
 They are an old fashioned flower but ever pop- 
 ular in a garden. 
 
 There are a few annual vines growing 
 quickly and most satisfactorily if one has a 
 few bare spots needing immediate decoration. 
 These vines live but one summer: 
 
 Cobaea scandens — flower very indifferent- 
 ly in August. 
 
 Crawling nasturtium — flower all summer. 
 
 Wild cucumber — flowers in August. 
 
 Japanese hop — most satisfactory of them 
 all, is a wonderful climber, has a thick and 
 thrifty foliage, is most attractive and self sows 
 in great quantities. 
 
 This short list of annuals shows that in this 
 class, the flower lover has a considerable choice 
 of beautiful material to choose from. I lay 
 out a certain section which I use as a picking 
 garden; into this go most of my annuals, for 
 this class of flowers, unless steadily and prop- 
 erly picked, soon die out, but when well cared 
 for, watered systematically, and well culti- 
 
76 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 vated, they will produce flowers through the 
 summer well into the early fall. 
 
 Just a word about the seeding of annuals. I 
 truly believe more flowers and plants are lost 
 by careless seeding than in most any other way. 
 The soil must be well cultivated and fertilized 
 and raked down to as fine a powdered condi- 
 tion as possible before your seeds are planted. 
 Small seeds like poppies, petunias, in fact all 
 tiny seeds should be carefully thrown upon the 
 top of the soil and firmly pressed down with a 
 flat smooth board, then gently watered with 
 a fine sprinkling can. Never use a garden hose 
 on newly seeded beds nor on young plants as 
 they are easily washed out and permanently 
 lost. Larger seeds may be sown in small 
 drills or trenches. Do not treat flower seeds 
 as you would coarse vegetable seeds. Keep 
 your weeds out and with plenty of sunshine 
 you can scarcely fail to produce bright and 
 beautiful flowers. The annuals are a delight- 
 ful class of flowers and cannot be recommend- 
 ed too highly. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 Arrangement of Cut Flowers 
 
 A few trifling suggestions as to the arrange- 
 ment of cut flowers for home decoration. 
 
 How often one sees dozens of gorgeous 
 roses massed together and literally jammed 
 into a vase or bowl too small for even half the 
 amount. Few people realize the exquisite 
 beauty of a single rose. Were I to choose the 
 one from the other I should choose such a rose 
 placed in a dainty vase for simple beauty and 
 loveliness. 
 
 Take the garden annual, or perennial, yel- 
 low coreopsis, placed in a small individual 
 silver or glass vase with four or five blue corn- 
 flowers and a spray of meadow rue. A small 
 number of these vases placed on the average 
 size dining table is much more effective than 
 the single center bouquet. 
 
 White shasta daisies with a bit of rue and 
 
78 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 two or three tall slender spikes of scarlet sal- 
 via in these same individual vases is another 
 charming table decoration. 
 
 In arranging bouquets the use of fewer 
 flowers, more green, and plenty of white pro- 
 duce much better effect, as the green and white 
 have a tendency to throw out the colorings of 
 the flowers. 
 
 A large brass bowl filled with the yellow 
 California poppy, edged with rue, is most 
 attractive, but remember the poppy grows 
 weary after four o'clock and folds its little 
 flowers to rest until the sunbeams kiss it into 
 life. 
 
 Sprays of larkspur with pink snapdragons 
 and soft lavender blue cosmos, a yellow nas- 
 turtium, and a spray of rue with a bit of white 
 feverfew makes a Dresden effect quite entranc- 
 ing. 
 
 For bold effects in screened porches or large 
 hall entrances use tall brass floor vases filled 
 with small tender sprouts found at the bottom 
 of the black oak tree. Their green leaves are 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 79 
 
 edged with just a bit of red, and with these use 
 orange and red June lilies and a long stiff 
 spike of delphinium. 
 
 Young sumac branches make a delightful 
 background for tall stocky phloxes in all col- 
 orings. 
 
 Two large canna plants cut the entire length 
 of the plant, with the brilliant coloring of 
 their wonderful flowers, placed in tall brass 
 porch vases, wqth the long stems of white bol- 
 tonia, in late September is wonderfully at- 
 tractive. 
 
 Big bowls of pink and yellow zinnias mixed 
 with mignonette or candytuft are always good. 
 
 Hollyhock stalks cut to the ground if not too 
 high and placed in tall floor vases are marvel- 
 ous. 
 
 I am a great lover of the dainty little 
 meadow rue. It grows in almost any shaded 
 woods and is easily transplanted into a shady 
 nook of your garden to live and to live. It 
 seems to live on forever. I have transplanted 
 dozens of such roots and much prefer it to the 
 
8o MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 different ferns, as it is almost as lacy as the 
 maidenhair fern and for mixing with dainty 
 flowers for table decoration it has no equal. 
 
 Single and double hollyhock blossoms 
 picked off their stocks and placed around ices 
 and ice cream and used as salad decoration are 
 the prettiest and most effective of almost any 
 flower. Dainty rose-buds with a single spray 
 of leaves across an ice cream brick, or on the 
 top of a highly frosted pie, is truly decorative. 
 
 Big masses of copper yellow gaillardia in 
 dark brown baskets are harmonious to a de- 
 gree, the copper yellow of the flowers in true 
 contrast to the dark brown of the basket, is 
 most satisfactory. 
 
 Gypsophilia or baby's breath with blue for- 
 get-me-nots is like a breath of sunshine. 
 
 Bowls or vases of pink snapdragons with 
 just a touch of yellow or blue enhances the 
 beauty of the snapdragon. 
 
 All my annual flowers have their season in 
 my kitchen. There is nothing more satisfac- 
 tory for food and table decoration than these 
 dear dainty little butterfly flowers. 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 8i 
 
 One could go on forever with the marvelous 
 colorings nature has given us. It seems with 
 so much wonderful material we should know 
 no such word as failure! Dainty effects with 
 dainty flowers, and bold masses with stocky 
 flowers. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 Bulbs 
 
 ^^Ifs rather dark in the earth to-day 
 Said one little bulb to his brother 
 But I thought that I felt a sunbeam ray 
 We must strive and grow 'til we find the way. 
 
 And they nestled close to each other. 
 There they struggled and toiled by day and 
 
 by night 
 'Til two little snow-drops in green and white 
 Rose out of the darkness and into the light 
 And softly kissed one another.'' 
 
 — Unknown 
 
 Oh! the happiness of early spring! The 
 rough March winds have died to gentle 
 breezes that softly caress the swelling 
 buds and early bursting blossoms. The early 
 spring days awaken a restless longing to work 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 83 
 
 in the moist black soil almost before the frost 
 is out of the ground. I smell the smoke of 
 burning leaves from someone's bonfire. Oh! 
 the cool of an April evening is the very breath 
 of spring incarnate. The bluebirds and robins 
 are singing and twittering their love songs to 
 each other, and fussily hopping from limb to 
 bough, selecting a love spot for their nesting 
 place. Back on the hillside where twilight is 
 falling the pink and green buds are waiting to 
 expand with the dawn of the sunshine. All 
 our weariness is lost in the joy of a bright 
 spring morning followed by a tender caprici- 
 ous day with clouds and sunshine and occasion- 
 al raindrops. Out of doors a few snowdrops 
 and early tulips and daffodils are making a 
 brave display. The spring bulbs are brilliant 
 and sparkling, and when they are in full bloom 
 a warm glow pervades the garden. April 
 brings the early daffodils. May and early June 
 are rich with tulips. For two months there 
 is bright and cheerful bloom where, without 
 the bulbs, there would be few flowers to 
 
84 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 brighten our gardens. The tulip is unques- 
 tionably the greatest of all garden bulbs, not 
 merely because of its brilliancy, though that is 
 great, but because a selection can be made 
 which will bring flowers for six weeks at least. 
 The early single and double tulips will be in 
 full beauty early in May, then later come the 
 Darwin tulips with their lovely tall stems and 
 larger flowers, which will last far into June. 
 
 The daffodils will also prove their value. 
 The flower-lover with limited means may re- 
 strict himself to cheap but good forms. There 
 is much comment made as to the advisability 
 of allowing bulbs to remain in the ground 
 through the summer months. This has been 
 and is successfully done every year, especially 
 with daffodils, allowing them to remain in 
 spots not used for other flowers. The bulbs 
 may be placed in the ground in October and 
 left there. Tulips are also successfully left 
 from year to year, but the space in a small gar- 
 den is so limited and cultivation so necessary 
 to our perennial and annual class which must 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 85 
 
 occupy the same borders or beds used by the 
 tulips, that it is hardly practical to allow them 
 to remain. Better take the bulbs up after they 
 have thoroughly dried out and place them in 
 cool, dark rooms until early fall. 
 
 Daffodils may be planted among grasses 
 and successfully left year after year, as mow- 
 ing over the plants after the drying out period 
 does not seem to damage them. Daffodils are 
 cheery bright little yellow stars shooting sky- 
 ward, almost before the snow has left us, 
 one can scarcely help loving them, for their 
 ambition alone. Bulbs are successfully raised 
 if one has the time to devote to them. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 Sunshine, Cultivation, and Fertilizing 
 
 Sunshine, cultivation, and fertilizing are the 
 three most necessary requisites in successful 
 gardens. Without them flowers will refuse to 
 grow, and seeds will dry out and die. All 
 good garden lovers will see first that the soil 
 is properly nourished ; by that it must be made 
 sweet by the scattering of small quantities of 
 fresh slacked lime over the top in early spring, 
 then a goodly supply of decayed barnyard 
 manure or the manufactured bone meal spaded 
 in. The ground must be well raked and re- 
 fined, all small stones or coarse materials, liv- 
 ing roots of trees, all these must be carefully 
 removed so as to leave a good clean bed with 
 a depth of at least eighteen inches to allow 
 the roots of the plant to become well nour- 
 ished. When this is successfully accomplished 
 then the soil is ready for the plants. 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 87 
 
 Small annual seeds and young plants must 
 necessarily be watered, and one must continue 
 to do so, and not at any time must they be al- 
 lowed to dry out, rather go without water from 
 the start then to commence and discontinue. 
 All annual plants will produce much lovelier 
 bloom when systematically and conscientious- 
 ly watered. 
 
 Weeding must be done as weeds spread so 
 rapidly they soon overgrow your garden and 
 you are hopelessly lost. 
 
 Cultivation for perennial plants is far more 
 necessary than water. The ground must be 
 kept stirred frequently, not allowing it to dry 
 and become a hard crusty surface. In case of 
 extremely dry weather place the garden hose 
 on the perennial bed or border and allow it to 
 run through the day by moving it occasionally; 
 the entire bed will receive a good and complete 
 soaking, which will mean more to the plants 
 and shrubs than a surface watering every day. 
 
 All perennial plants have deep, feeding 
 roots, and their nature is to grow down for 
 
88 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 their nourishment, but with light watering, 
 the roots have a tendency to come to the top 
 which means undernourished roots and under- 
 nourished plants. I sincerely believe this 
 method of caring for perennial plants insures 
 an abundance of growth and successful flow- 
 ering. 
 
 The last and perhaps the most necessary 
 requisite is the warmth of the sunshine. My 
 entire garden was for years handicapped for 
 the want of the life-giving sunshine. I strug- 
 gled along season after season with apparently 
 little success, when a dear old friend of mine 
 after hearing my complaints remarked, "Well, 
 my little lady, flowers w^ant sunshine; that tree 
 must go, this tree must go. You know you 
 can't grow trees and flowers on the same spot." 
 So I followed his advice and lo! and behold! a 
 true garden of loveliness burst forth, which 
 was a sure proof that flowers, like little chil- 
 dren, must have the bright and beautiful sun- 
 beams for their playmates. 
 
 There are some few plants that thrive best 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 89 
 
 in partial shade, but the list is so limited 'tis 
 scarcely necessary to mention them. So when 
 you start your little garden always keep fresh 
 in your memory cultivation, fertilizing, and 
 sunshine. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 General Floral and Color Arrangement 
 
 There is no occupation known to me that is 
 so absorbing as the distributing and arranging 
 of flowers in a garden, with a view to creating 
 beautiful pictures. The flower-lover who at- 
 tempts it feels he is playing the part of a true 
 artist. He is doing with living things that 
 which a painter does with oils. The enjoy- 
 ment of color is, in the garden as elsewhere, 
 entirely a matter of individual feeling. The 
 flower-lover has such a sense of freedom in 
 expressing himself exactly as he, personally, 
 feels. One may set out to form striking blocks 
 of color, while another may turn to wistful 
 violets and tender blues. In all he is his own 
 master to work out effects most pleasing to 
 himself. The strongest colors may be grouped 
 together to produce great richness of effect, if 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 91 
 
 there be some intermediate tone or tones to 
 draw them together. Color can make or mar 
 a beautiful picture garden. There should be 
 some color in every month from May to Octo- 
 ber but the task of arranging a large border so 
 that all the plants shall be in harmony with 
 one another is a difficult problem and must be 
 handled with thought and care. A garden 
 planted for color effects may be very beautiful 
 or it may be an ugly conglomeration of foliage, 
 with tangled masses of flowers. 
 
 When a small border or garden is to be 
 planted with specially chosen things, the color 
 grouping may be done with individual plants 
 rather than large clumps as space in a small 
 garden is always limited. 
 
 I was diligently working one morning when 
 a dear old friend of mine came to the fence 
 and said, "Won't you please come over and 
 give me a few suggestions?" Poor dear soul, 
 he wore an air of absolute dejection. I dropped 
 my hoe and followed him across the street into 
 his garden beyond. Here my gaze met the 
 
92 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 most brilliantly gorgeous mass of scarlet salvia 
 I think I have ever seen in any one individual 
 grouping. The tall slender stocks raising 
 their scarlet heads up into the sunshine were 
 just giggling themselves into a bursting, flut- 
 tering, flame-like loveliness. Immediately 
 juxtaposed was the proud stately phlox stand- 
 ing supreme in its exquisite freshness, dozens 
 of them, pushing forth their buds into the most 
 dazzling magenta coloring. I held up my 
 hands and exclaimed, ^^Oh, what a fight!" The 
 pathetic appeal in his dear old face I shall 
 never forget. What could we do? 
 
 The season being too far advanced for trans- 
 planting, there was no flower in the garden 
 that could be brought forth to share with us 
 our misery or to help in any way to alleviate 
 the situation. 
 
 The strong reds being the colors most diffi- 
 cult to handle, there was but one alternative — 
 namely, that the stately phlox in all its pristine 
 loveliness should go; each and every stalk 
 must be cut to the ground. What a disap- 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 93 
 
 pointment to my dear old friend! He had 
 spent his best efforts the entire summer to 
 make this the show spot of his garden. What 
 a sorrow! His hopes, his house of dreams, 
 his sacrifice! 
 
 The phlox was later relegated to another 
 part of the garden and masses of white put in 
 its place, but before another flowering season 
 had rolled around my dear old silver haired 
 friend was laid to rest, and now I am won- 
 dering if in his resting place he still has flow- 
 ers and sunshine — the two great passions of 
 his life. 
 
 My feeling in the matter of flower coloring 
 is that none is bad if given a happy association. 
 White used in broad masses has dignity and a 
 serene beauty. Massing the golden yellow 
 coreopsis with a lavish border of white sweet 
 alyssum, the giant variety, is pleasingly at- 
 tractive. Perhaps the most pretentious bed 
 of blue I have ever seen was a very large oval 
 bed built slightly higher toward the center 
 
94 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 and filled with masses of the very bluest for- 
 get-me-nots and encircled with a two-foot bor- 
 der of white June marguerites. The green 
 lawn, like the softest velvet, came to the edge 
 of the marguerites. This was truly a garden 
 picture. 
 
 A coloring perhaps a bit frenchy and odd 
 for the average garden, but to me so soft and 
 restful, is the old fragrant garden heliotrope 
 massed in front of the belladonna larkspur. 
 The soft light blue of the larkspurs and the 
 shadowy purple of the heliotrope as revealed 
 in the sky, and in the sea, glow with a soft 
 radiance almost startling to behold. 
 
 Tall flambuoyant hollyhocks in red, yellow, 
 pink, and almost black, standing alone in one 
 mass on a side hill and overlooking the gar- 
 den below, is the one grand pageant of my 
 garden. Under the hill in smaller quantities 
 the pale pink, cream, and white hollyhocks 
 are banked against a shrubbery bed of varied 
 colored leaves, and in between are pale pink 
 and lavender phloxes. They all seem so 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 95 
 
 supremely content resting there in the soft 
 sweet sunlight. 
 
 Opposite and along the vine covered fence 
 a hedge of spirea Von Houttei serves as a 
 background for the lily bed. Here hundreds 
 of bright red lilies create a gay and pleasing 
 picture. Below and on the banks of the little 
 bubbling stream the iris find their home and 
 here a few shafts of silver foliage pierce the 
 blue and lavender colorings of the iris. This 
 is among the loveliest of the early June pic- 
 tures. In whatever direction we choose to 
 turn our steps this picture of June's loveliness 
 awaits us. The soft clear shades of blue, vio- 
 let, mauve, pink, and white of the iris, with 
 its ever verdant foliage housed amicably with 
 the blue forget-me-nots, descend in a veritable 
 sheet of blue to the water's edge. Hardly 
 more than a step above may be seen the straight 
 and stately reeds of the cat-tails, on whose 
 topmost pinnacle Mr. Blackbird sways and 
 sings his merry little song to the sunbeams. 
 And just on beyond in the softening twilight 
 
96 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 the silver stars of the fragrant white tobacco 
 stand out as quiet signals of the night, and at 
 their signs the shadows seems to part and 
 close, then part again. They raise their pale 
 heads with assured grace and flood the dusk 
 with a sweetness at once delicate and intense. 
 
 Somewhere I have read of a combination 
 of gold yellow coreopsis bordered with scarlet 
 salvia, or as suggested by this same ''someone" 
 a mass of scarlet salvia bordered with a yel- 
 low gold. I will wager this ''someone" decks 
 himself in purple clothes and binds around 
 his neck a scarlet tie. This intense coloring 
 of red and yellow probably appeals tremend- 
 ously to this flower-lover. He should have 
 attended the flower battle in the garden of my 
 dear old friend, when the scarlet salvia and 
 stately magenta phlox drew swords, but, as I 
 have previously stated, one's garden is his own 
 individual spot of happiness. Therein of 
 course lies its charm. Garden planning and 
 color scheming are the most difficult phases 
 of gardening upon which to give advice, since, 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 97 
 
 to fulfill its destiny, each garden must reflect 
 the ideal, the fancies, and fads of its possessor. 
 The little fairyland of my garden is lying 
 quietly and serenely on the south hillside. It 
 is full of leaf and flower. The tall surround- 
 ing fence is vine-covered. Masses of wild 
 grape and sweet white clematis, the soft pur- 
 ple flower of the trailing morning glory, rival- 
 ing its sister flower the four o'clock, are grow- 
 ing in clumps below. And the beds and bor- 
 ders of this little garden? Why they are just 
 full to overflowing with the sweetest old fash- 
 ioned flowers. This is a garden where the lit- 
 tle plants are just as important as the big ones. 
 Here the tall bright tulips in all their dark 
 red beauty are tripping hand in hand with the 
 ^'dancing daffodils." The long fragrant stocks 
 of mignonette stand as guards over the dainty 
 little many colored sunroses that edge the 
 winding paths. Old sweet william is hobnob- 
 bing with the stately white lilies. The dainty 
 clove pinks in clumps by themselves are cast- 
 ing shy glances at the gorgeous silk poppies 
 
98 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 just over the way. All of these flowers carry 
 memories of the past. Perhaps the most ex- 
 quisite moments in this little garden come in 
 evening-time as one sits on the old rustic bench 
 under the great spreading Linden tree, that 
 for years has guarded this little garden, and 
 shielded it from the cold north winds. 
 
 The setting sun floods the garden with a 
 radiant glow. There you sit and there you 
 dream, until the sun sinks in the heavens and 
 the spell is broken. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 My Garden 
 
 '^Had I a garden, alleys green 
 
 Should lead where none would guess, 
 
 Save lovers to exchange unseen 
 Shy whispers and caress/^ 
 
 My garden is a place of winding walks, vine 
 covered arches, secret arbors, shady paths, fre- 
 quent surprises, and hidden beauties. The 
 winding paths lure us on to charms unknown 
 until they disappear in the glen below. 
 Through this glen runs the rippling brook, 
 and at the water's edge, banked with tall 
 orange and red lilies, rests in peaceful solitude 
 my ever famous Japanese tea house. 
 
 During a sojourn in Japan I became, as do 
 all Americans, desperately enamored of the 
 dear little Japanese tea houses. On my return 
 
loo MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 nothing would do but that I must have one. 
 I carefully selected the tree on which to place 
 it. I engaged my carpenter and after going 
 over every detail we commenced our opera- 
 tions. We cut the tree within, say, nine feet 
 of the ground. On the top we built our roof 
 umbrella shape. We worked hard, long, dili- 
 gently and finally produced a roof quite in 
 keeping with my every wish. We neatly 
 thatched the top, ceiled the inside, and all in 
 all it was quaint and attractive. We next 
 built a seat around the tree and the family 
 pronounced the undertaking quite a success. 
 I was jubilant with my Japanese tea house. 
 At the time I selected the tree but one thought 
 was in my mind — that I was to have a tea 
 house. After its completion I found it was a 
 block away from any possible or presentable 
 place to serve tea, but not daunted in the least 
 by its remote situation, I continued to walk 
 around it with a feeling of perfect success. 
 Fall crept on and time for closing and moving 
 into town was at hand. Many times during 
 
THE GLEN, THE FAIRY-LAND OF MY GARDEN 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN loi 
 
 the winter the thought of my tea house came 
 to my mind but with a strange feeling of 
 What was it doing so far away? However, 
 as no comment had been made, I continued to 
 satisfy myself that it was quite right. Spring 
 came bright and early that year and the coun- 
 try with all of its little green bursting buds 
 and singing of birds called me to come, so we 
 moved earlier than was our custom. Each 
 day I would wander down into the glen and 
 inspect my newly acquired tea house. On the 
 occasion of each visit I had a feeling of unrest, 
 of disappointment. I felt like saying: What 
 are you doing here? By the end of the first 
 week, it was apparent that the tea house must 
 go — ^must seek some congenial corner, some 
 spot that meant something. It must, if pos- 
 sible, be reached by a pretty little winding 
 path. I sauntered up and down the stream. 
 At last I came to a tall ash tree just at the 
 water's edge, at which point the bubbling 
 water dashing over a huge rock made a splash- 
 ing rainbow waterfall. Just here the golden 
 
I02 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 barked dogwood had spread its branches in a 
 tangled mass across the stream and the young 
 vines of the Virginia creeper had twined them- 
 selves in and out to form a canopy over the 
 waterfall. This was the bathing spot of the 
 bird family. Here Mr. Scarlet Tanager 
 dipped and preened his brilliant plumage to 
 make ready for some new conquest. Have 
 you ever watched this fickle little bird when 
 he is in a deep flirtation with Mrs. Goldfinch 
 or Miss Vireo? Oh, he is a wicked little gay- 
 ly plumed Knight, quite the Beau Brummel 
 of the bird family. The robins, the blue-birds 
 (dear little harbingers of Spring), the song 
 sparrow and ever brilliant Mr. Blue Jay 
 reveled in this waterfall in the bright sun- 
 shine. Down under the willows the sun- 
 kissed cowslips poke their tiny heads out of 
 the sand almost as soon as the snow is gone. 
 Nestling deep in the rich, black leafmold at 
 the foot of the linden tree a huge group of soft, 
 lavender pink, moccasin flowers make their 
 home. The fragrant breeze, as it comes fresh 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 103 
 
 from the caress of the white lily bed, awakens 
 a world of tender memories. In a moment 
 it lifts the veil of years while one lives again 
 the dreams of happy days. A magic door 
 closes upon the world of work and strife. Ev- 
 erywhere is peace. The rustling of the leaves, 
 the soft sighing of the wind, the gentle flutter 
 of some petal as it falls from a full blown 
 flower fills you with a contentment beyond 
 words to express. In such a spot one can 
 dream dreams, weave fancies, and revive sweet 
 memories. It ihelps one to live again the 
 summers that are past. So, then, in this spot 
 must my tea house reside. 
 
 Once more I engaged my carpenter and 
 made ready for a grand moving procession. 
 We cut the top off the ash tree in readiness 
 for the roof. Four husky men were comman- 
 deered to help lift it into place. Just as I 
 thought it was safely landed, it cracked, 
 slipped and fell flat on the ground. Oh! why 
 had I traveled in Japan? Meanwhile, my 
 four husky men were endeavoring to right the 
 
I04 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 floundering thing, but, owing to its size, four 
 men were insufficient to cope with it. Ac- 
 cordingly I enlisted the services of three more 
 stalwart chaps. The seven, puffing and snort- 
 ing like young sea lions, at last succeeded in 
 hitting the topmost pinnacle of the tree; it 
 shivered and shook and wavered a bit, but 
 good luck and a dexterous young carpenter 
 won the day and it was quickly nailed and se- 
 curely anchored. We built a floor and 
 screened it round, making a most complete 
 and, I now frankly admit, artistic, garden tea 
 house. 
 
 I had very accurately planned to enter the 
 tea house only by crossing the little stream on 
 what I thought to be attractive stepping stones. 
 To do this the tea house was supported by two 
 low cement pillars set in midstream. When 
 the pillars were complete and the cement soft, 
 I spent an entire day doing, as I told my little 
 sister, fancy inlay and rococo-work. I gath- 
 ered dozens of bright-colored stones and peb- 
 bles from the bed of the creek and carefully 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 105 
 
 pressed them into the soft cement, thus pro- 
 ducing a really attractive bit of underpinning. 
 The tea house now became a popular objec- 
 tive for members of the family — which proves 
 again that success brings popularity. My 
 dear old gardener worked faithfully in plant- 
 ing a four-foot border of red and orange June 
 lilies around one entire side. On the other 
 he planted dainty bits of maiden hair fern, 
 together with the blue-eyed soft purple violet, 
 chaperoned by the tall pink and yellow iris. 
 The task was finished. I had built success 
 out of the foundation stone of disappointment. 
 I served my first tea to the gardener, his as- 
 sistants, and my carpenter. The smile of hap- 
 piness that radiated their sunburnt faces 
 caused a feeling of serene contentment within 
 my soul. I was glad after all I had traveled 
 in Japan. 
 
 The day had been close and sultry. As 
 night came on heavy clouds banked the wes- 
 tern sky. Faint, gentle breezes sent tremors 
 
io6 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 through the leaves of the trees, and drifted 
 away over the hilltops beyond. The song of 
 a robin or the silver strain of a v^ood thrush 
 was wafted through the air. The pale gold 
 moon, breaking through the fleeting clouds, 
 sent silver streaks of moonbeams through the 
 branches of the old linden tree, to kiss the 
 dew drops on the lily pads below. All was 
 still. Night had unfolded her silken velvet 
 robe and spread it softly over the sleeping 
 world. 
 
 I was suddenly awakened by terrific light- 
 ning and thunder that seemed to shake the very 
 earth. The storm broke in all its fury. The 
 rain came in sheets. The swaying and creak- 
 ing of the branches of the trees and the rush 
 and roar of the wind were almost deafening in 
 their fierceness. The entire family, parading 
 in pajamas, with candles, made a weird pic- 
 ture, like so many ghosts that accompany. 
 Such storms! I so revel in a storm that 
 fear and I are strangers, but the rush of the 
 water in the stream below filled me with a 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 107 
 
 sense of alarm. In the glare of the lightning 
 I could see the glen flooded to the proportions 
 of a good sized lake. For almost two hours 
 the storm continued. Dawn at length broke 
 quietly and peacefully, and the bright, sweet 
 sunlight warmed the earth, quite oblivious of 
 the night before. 
 
 O, Nature/ With what majestic power 
 Dost thou command thy world! 
 
 I arose early, pulled on my rubber boots, 
 jumped into my raincoat, and flew for the 
 glen. Alas ! My tea house was in close com- 
 munion with the sandy bed of the bubbling 
 stream. Not content with rolling over once, 
 it had turned a double somersault and landed 
 flat on the other side of the stream with its face 
 buried deep in the sand. My wonderful- 
 ly inlaid rococo pillars were probably ten 
 miles down the great Mississippi, fastening 
 themselves as barnacles on the bottom of some 
 belated steamboat. 
 
 The lilies so carefully planted had followed 
 
io8 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 the procession. They, too, had gone over the 
 falls into the river below and, perchance, the 
 long slender leaves of the lily plants were 
 woven into an emerald barge as a home for the 
 water nymphs. 
 
 Despair filled my heart. As a garden dec- 
 orator I did not seem destined to be a success. 
 My mother had told me many times that as a 
 child my days were all laughter and sunshine. 
 I had always greeted her with a smile, never 
 cried when to laugh seemed best. This 
 thought came to my mind as I disconsolately 
 sat on a rock. Suddenly I burst into peals of 
 laughter. It all struck me as the funniest 
 thing that had happened yet. My garden 
 experiences had not only been funny and dis- 
 appointing, but were verging on the point of 
 financial distress. 
 
 However, the tea house was restored to its 
 foundation and securely anchored. And at 
 this moment I am sitting here in the little 
 house where it rests closely hugging the hill- 
 side that has shielded it from wind and storm. 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 109 
 
 Here the spirit of peace finds rest and in her 
 train come happy memories, chasing away the 
 trials, crowding out the troubles that beset the 
 daylight hours. Twilight falls like some 
 magic veil thrown from the lap of the gods; 
 it shrouds the builder's details while bringing 
 into fresh life the beauty of the whole. 
 
 A month rolled by. My enthusiasm for 
 garden beautifying was at its height. I want- 
 ed to originate, to produce. I wanted pretty 
 winding paths, quaint old rustic seats thought- 
 fully placed beneath the spreading linden 
 trees, where one could sit and watch the setting 
 sun as it flooded the garden with a radiant 
 glow. I wanted rustic bridges spanning the 
 sparkling little stream, moonlight waterfalls 
 that sparkled and shown when the pale moon 
 shed its silver beams. I wanted vine covered 
 arbors where one could sit and listen to the 
 singing of the birds and watch the mamma 
 birds teaching the baby birds the ways of life 
 and song. All this mad desire for construc- 
 tion burned within me until I fell victim to 
 
no MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 bridge building. My knowledge of rustic 
 bridge building at the outset was negligible. 
 However, it is well to be philosophic even in 
 the face of disappointment, so I plunged 
 ahead. In the fartherest end of the glen the 
 hillside was a steep, rolling incline. At this 
 point the little winding, graveled path was 
 constantly washing away, necessitating imme- 
 diate repair after every hard rain storm. I 
 had pictured to myself a prettily curving, 
 smoothly laid cement walk about eighteen 
 inches wide trailing over this hillside to the 
 stream below where it should be met by a 
 most attractive rustic foot bridge. Either 
 side of the walk I had hoped to plant deep 
 with forget-me-nots. Joyful visions of bud- 
 ding growth and shoots yielding up their blos- 
 soms thronged in upon me. It all looked like 
 some delightful picture book; the turning of 
 the first page is the most entrancing since all 
 the others lie hidden. 
 
 So I gathered together my forces and set to 
 work. My gardener assured me he could 
 

 
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YOUR LITTLE GARDEN iir 
 
 easily do the work if "Mrs." would lay the 
 plans. We decided on silver birch for our 
 material and spent a number of days selecting 
 the pieces, so as to make our bridge as artistic 
 and attractive as possible. I struggled and 
 worked with plans which grew more and more 
 complicated. My final decision was to throw 
 away my plans and build as I went. The 
 week I spent at my first bridge building was 
 the happiest of my entire garden experience. 
 Everything was all so novel, so thoroughly 
 engaging. The hours flew by like moments. 
 Even meal time would have passed unnoticed 
 had not my dear old gardener advised me it 
 was ^^time to eat." An entire week was con- 
 sumed. At the end of that time we had pro- 
 duced something, to me at least so wonderful 
 that I could not quite understand just how we 
 did it. When I first suggested to the house- 
 hold that I was contemplating bridge build- 
 ing they all wore an expression which plainly 
 said, "more trouble." This only caused me 
 to say to myself, "If I can't build a bridge, why 
 
112 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 can't I?" So in order to find the answer I 
 decided to build it. 
 
 After its completion I was so absolutely 
 thrilled with my success that I dashed into the 
 laying of a cement walk with all the nonchal- 
 ance of a veteran of sand and lime. But here 
 I received an awful bump. My gardener 
 knew nothing of walk-making nor mixing of 
 cement nor the thousand other little details 
 that went with it. No more did L My idea 
 of a cement walk was simply to mix the cement 
 and lay it in the path on the ground and smooth 
 ofif the sides. I had in my employ that sum- 
 mer a young German, as chauffeur, who as he 
 said had at one time been a high "Mucky 
 Muck" in the cement world but had given up 
 his trade for the more elevating and lucrative 
 position of chaufifeur. I immediately engaged 
 him in conversation only to learn that in order 
 to make our walk he would have to lay forms 
 made of lumber in which to put the cement. 
 After filling my head full of his superior 
 knowledge as to cement work, I gave my or- 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 113 
 
 ders for lumber, sand, and cement according 
 to his dictation. I was to draw the line of 
 march, as it were, down the hillside in and 
 out in symetrically curved lines until I met the 
 bridge at the stream below. Oh! the joy and 
 feverish excitement of this, my first real ce- 
 ment work. The delight of a garden is found 
 not so much in the work done, as in the work 
 doing. A true garden lover is always dream- 
 ing dreams, building castles in the air, dream- 
 castles that will lose none of their glamor 
 even though they may never materialize, and 
 so it was with me. About this little walk and 
 bridge I drew visions of creeping vines half 
 screening the nests of tiny birds, of stately 
 blue and pink iris nestling at the water's edge, 
 of masses of forget-me-nots as blue as the blue 
 of the heavens above. And so I worked on 
 with the exquisite delight of perfect content- 
 ment. 
 
 We graded here, filled in there, we meas- 
 ured and sifted and hoed and raked, until I felt 
 the responsibilities of the producers of the 
 
114 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 great Woolworth or Singer buildings, and the 
 wonderful knowledge that was forthcoming 
 from the stupendous brain of the high "Mucky 
 Muck of the cement world" would fill more 
 than a wee, wistful, garden book. Our work 
 was completed late one lovely summer after- 
 noon and I felt distressed at the refusal of the 
 '^Boss," as it were, to cover it with boards or 
 burlap, as I had seen street curbing done, but 
 his reply was, "In such a remote part of the 
 grounds nothing would mar it and 'twas much 
 better to leave it uncovered so as to dry out 
 more quickly," and as he was the "Authority" 
 and I only a lowly helper I refrained from 
 further suggesion. That night I retired on 
 my laurels, weary in body I can assure you, 
 but with a perfect happiness of success. Early 
 next morning even before having my coffee I 
 ran up to the glen to be sure everything was 
 just as we left it the night before. How well 
 I remember that morning! I can even now 
 see the dewdrops as they sparkled on the mil- 
 lion blades of grass. I stopped short on my 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 115 
 
 approach to the little walk. Little dogs, big 
 dogs, lady dogs, and gentleman dogs, yes, they 
 all had been there. Perhaps because of its 
 being in the remotest part of the grounds they 
 had chosen it for their moonlight rendezvous 
 and had made my cement walk a Midway 
 Plaisance. Their little foot prints were in- 
 ches deep and even a bird or two had drifted 
 in to make the maze more complicated. Oh! 
 my grief at that moment! I can feel it now. 
 I returned by the way of the garage where I 
 lingered only long enough to tell ''Mr. High 
 Mucky-Muck" that because of his superior 
 knowledge he would have the exquisite pleas- 
 ure of resurfacing the walk and to lose no time 
 in so doing. There w^as a still quiet in the 
 atmosphere that morning that caused a feeling 
 of unrest within me; a terribly depressing 
 humidity. I decided the climatic conditions 
 had got together and were gossiping about my 
 new bridge. I remarked to my gardener I 
 was fearful of a bad storm, to all of which he 
 frankly agreed. Even at that moment the 
 
ii6 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 silver leaves on the poplar trees were com- 
 mencing to dance their weird little dance as 
 the wind took them unawares. A half fright- 
 ened robin flew by us in haste to its little ones 
 alone in their nest in the top of the old apple 
 tree. The storm was upon us almost before 
 we could reach a place of shelter. The dark- 
 ness was so intense candles were resorted to. 
 It was perhaps the most terrifying wind and 
 rain storm I have ever known. In less than 
 thirty minutes the most horrible devastation 
 had taken place. I remember only once of 
 thinking or looking toward my bridge, at 
 which time I seemed to see a piece of silver 
 birch flying through the air. The entire 
 household was in a panic of fear. I hope I 
 may never again witness anything so stupend- 
 ously frightful. The loss of life that followed 
 in the wake of this giant of rain and wind was 
 terrific. The sorrows and misfortunes of peo- 
 ple who were caught unawares depressed me 
 so completely that it was two or three days 
 before I realized my own loss. Of course 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 117 
 
 there were only pieces of my beautiful bridge 
 and remnants of cement and sand lying on the 
 hillside, but. you know the little verse, 'Tf at 
 first you don't succeed — " Well, I tried 
 again. This time I securely anchored my 
 bridge and though it has been water-soaked 
 and wind-tried it still remains intact. At 
 times it had seemed to me that in planning 
 and constructing my garden my disappoint- 
 ments were more than average. Still it may 
 be that these very disappointments in the end 
 brought me the greatest happiness, and aided 
 me in developing the culture of flowers. 
 
 And thus I turn the last page of my wee, 
 wistful garden book. When one is seized 
 with a spirit of unrest as incomprehensible as 
 its origin is obscure, then is the time to wander 
 in among your flowers with the blue canopy 
 of heaven above and the fresh black dirt be- 
 neath your feet. The red silken poppies peep 
 out and smile at you and the sunshine filters 
 through the treetops. Daylight fades, flushed 
 
ii8 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 rose and red and gold, by the borrowed radi- 
 ance of the sun-stained clouds. The garden 
 glows with the mystic light of the dying day. 
 Surely this is the gardener's supreme hour. 
 The fragrance of the night-scented stocks and 
 white tobacco steals o'er the still air, full and 
 fresh and sweet wafted from the wedding bou- 
 quet of Night and Twilight. 
 
 The world is hushed and only the breeze in 
 the trees above chants a lullaby to the dream- 
 ing flowers. 
 
 ''Good-night, little garden, sweet may thy 
 
 slumbers be! 
 I leave thee to the tender care, 
 Of the still earth and brooding air 
 As when the mother from her breast 
 Lays the sleeping child to rest. 
 And shades its eyes and waits to see 
 How sweet its waking smile will be/' 
 
ANNUALS AND PERENNIALS 
 
 Following is a list of annuals and perennials, giving date 
 of flowering, average height, color, length of bloom, and 
 hardiness. 
 
 h. a. — meaning hardy annual. 
 
 h. p. — meaning hardy perennial. 
 
 h. h. a. — meaning half hardy annual 
 
 h. h. p. — meaning half hardy perennial. 
 
 Annuals and Perennials 
 
 ist flow- 
 
 Average 
 
 Color 
 
 Bloom 
 
 Hard- 
 
 
 ering 
 
 Height 
 
 
 
 iness 
 
 Achillea Pearl 
 
 June 15 
 
 2 ft. 
 
 White 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Ageratum 
 
 July 15 
 
 ift. 
 
 Blue 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Balsam 
 
 July 15 
 
 2 ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 6 weeks 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Corn flowers 
 
 June 15 
 
 2 ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 8 weeks 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Candytuft 
 
 July 15 
 
 I ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 6 weeks 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Clove Pinks 
 
 June I 
 
 10 in. 
 
 White, pink 
 
 4 weeks 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Cosmos, early 
 
 July 15 
 
 4 ft. 
 
 V/hite, pink, red 
 
 8 weeks 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Cosmos, late 
 
 Aug. 15 
 
 4 ft. 
 
 White, pink, red 
 
 6 weeks 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Coreopsis, lanceolate 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 grande flora 
 
 July I 
 
 21/2 it. 
 
 Yellow 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Dahlia 
 
 July 15 
 
 4 ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 Until frost 
 
 tender 
 
 Daisy, yellow, Dimor- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 photheca Auraitiaca 
 
 July 15 
 
 I ft. 
 
 Bright yellow 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. h. a. 
 
 Dianthus Pinks 
 
 June 15 
 
 I ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. h. p. 
 
 Delphinium 
 
 July 15 
 
 3 ft. 
 
 Blue, white, etc. 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Forget-me-not 
 
 June I 
 
 8 in. 
 
 Blue 
 
 4 weeks 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Feverfew, double 
 
 July I 
 
 i^ft. 
 
 White 
 
 lo weeks 
 
 h. h. p. 
 
 Gaillardia 
 
 July I 
 
 2 ft. 
 
 Yellow, red 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. p. 
 
I20 
 
 MY LITTLE GARDEN 
 
 Annuals and Perennials 
 
 ist flow- 
 
 Average 
 Height 
 
 Color 
 
 Bloom 
 
 Hard- 
 
 
 ering 
 
 
 
 iness 
 
 Gladiolus bulb 
 
 Aug. I 
 
 iVzh. 
 
 Various 
 
 4 weeks 
 
 tender 
 
 Golden Glow 
 
 Aug. 15 
 
 6 ft. 
 
 Yellow 
 
 4 weeks 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Hollyhocks 
 
 July 15 
 
 5 ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 3 weeks 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Iris, Japanese 
 
 July 10 
 
 2 to 3 ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 3 weeks 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Iris, German 
 
 May 15 
 
 2 ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 3 weeks 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Larkspur 
 
 July 15 
 
 I^ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Love-in-the-Mist 
 
 Aug. I 
 
 I ft. 
 
 Blue 
 
 6 weeks 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Marigold 
 
 Sept. 15 
 
 2 to 4 ft 
 
 Yellow 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Nasturtium 
 
 July I 
 
 Climbine 
 
 Various 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Nicotina affinis 
 
 July 15 
 
 3 ft. 
 
 White 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Petunias, fringed 
 
 June 15 
 
 I ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Petunias, common 
 
 June 15 
 
 I ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Poppies, annual 
 
 July 10 
 
 1/2 ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 2 weeks 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Poppy, California 
 
 July I 
 
 I ft. 
 
 Yellow, etc. 
 
 8 weeks 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Peonies 
 
 June 10 
 
 3 ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 3 weeks 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Phlox Drummondi 
 
 July 12 
 
 I ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Portulaca 
 
 July 15 
 
 6 in. 
 
 Various 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Roses 
 
 June I 
 
 I to 6 ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 4 weeks 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Salpiglosis 
 
 July 15 
 
 ift. 
 
 Various 
 
 6 weeks 
 
 h. h. a. 
 
 Shasta Daisy 
 
 July I 
 
 i^ft. 
 
 White 
 
 4 weeks 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Snapdragon 
 
 June 15 
 
 iK^ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. h. p. 
 
 Stock 
 
 July 10 
 
 I'Ait. 
 
 Various 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. h. a. 
 
 Stokesia cyenea 
 
 July I 
 
 2 it. 
 
 Blue 
 
 10 weeks 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Sweet Alyssum 
 
 July I 
 
 6 in. 
 
 White 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Sweet William 
 
 June 12 
 
 i^ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 4 weeks 
 
 h. p. 
 
 Sweet Peas 
 
 June 15 
 
 5 ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 10 weeks 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Sweet Sultan 
 
 June 15 
 
 2 ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 8 weeks 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Verbena 
 
 July 15 
 
 I ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. a. 
 
 Zinnia 
 
 July 15 
 
 2 ft. 
 
 Various 
 
 Until frost 
 
 h. a. 
 
 I am giving below a list of hardiest, best known species 
 of peonies, phlox, and tulips, for this climate : 
 
 PEONIES 
 
 Festiva Maxinia — white, red center. 
 Due de Wellington — white. 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 121 
 
 Felix Crousse — red. 
 
 Louis Van Houtte — red. 
 
 Modeste — pink. 
 
 L'Esperance — red. 
 
 Prince de Felindyke — dark purple. 
 
 PERENNIAL PHLOX 
 
 Coquilizot — coral, red, dark red center. 
 
 Champignot — bright rose. 
 
 Esias Tegner — deep rose. 
 
 Miss Lingard — pure white. 
 
 Obergart Witteg — magenta with crimson eye. 
 
 Pantheon — pink rose. 
 
 R. B. Struthers — bright pink, salmon. 
 
 Sceleton — white, red eye. 
 
 TULIPS 
 
 Any of the Darwin Tulips you will find desirable, re- 
 quiring perhaps less care than any other. 
 Pride of Harlam — red and very desirable. 
 Gretchen — pink, very good. 
 
 In ordering your tulips you should not neglect to get 
 a few Jessneriana. 
 
 The advantage of the Darwin tulips is that they remain 
 with you longer than the common tulips. They do not 
 degenerate as quickly. In fact, many nurserymen claim 
 they are the only group of tulips that will successfully 
 endure this climate. 
 
GARDEN PESTS AND REMEDIES 
 
 The insect pests which afflict plants at times are most 
 troublesome and annoying. Plants seemingly affected 
 with disease may be sprayed weekly with Bordeaux mix- 
 ture and arsenate of lead combined, or alternate Bordeaux 
 with tobacco. If they do not improve dig them up, look 
 for worms, cleanse the roots with a weak solution of Bor- 
 deaux and reset in the fresh earth with Bordeaux dug in 
 about the crown. Bordeaux mixture is not strictly an 
 insecticide but most insects avoid it. Tobacco is one of 
 the most useful garden remedies. When it is not suffi- 
 ciently efficacious combine it with soap. 
 
 Keresene emulsion (or else whale-oil), Bordeaux mix- 
 ture, tobacco, and arsenate of lead, are sufficient for most 
 gardens. Some gardens do not need any treatment. 
 
 PROPORTIONS OF APPLICATIONS 
 
 Kerosene emulsion — Summer application for shrubs, 
 one part to fifteen parts pater, i.e., one pint of the emul- 
 sion to two gallons of w^ater. 
 
 Whale oil, soap, and tobacco — Use decoction of two 
 ounces of whale oil soap and one pound of ground to- 
 
YOUR LITTLE GARDEN 123 
 
 bacco in two gallons of boiling water, cooled before used 
 on summer plants. 
 
 Bordeaux dry — Can be dusted on wet leaves or dug 
 in about the crown of the plant. 
 
 Bordeaux mixture powdered — Four ounces of Bor- 
 deaux powder in two gallons of water. 
 
 Tobacco decoction — One pound ground tobacco steep- 
 ed m one gallon hot water, cooled and sprayed on. Be 
 careful not to inhale the spray. 
 
 Tobacco powder — Is sometimes dusted on plants, and 
 when dug in about the roots of trees or plants affected 
 with root lice it is beneficial ; it also acts as a fertilizer. 
 
 Bordeaux mixture and arsenate of lead — One pound 
 arsenate of lead to twenty- five gallons of diluted Bor- 
 deaux mixture, or for a small quantity mix four ounces 
 of Bordeaux powder in two gallons of water to which add 
 three drams of arsenate of lead. 
 
CUT WORMS AND WIRE WORMS 
 
 Signs of cut worms may be detected when the plant 
 withers and topples over and is partly cut in two just 
 below the surface. Find a worm about one-half inch 
 under the soil, probably near the injured stalk, and kill it. 
 Place around the plant fine coal ashes slightly dug under 
 the soil, not touching the plant, or place paper collars or 
 thin shingles around the base of the stem, two inches un- 
 der and one inch above the ground. For a bait to destroy 
 the cut worm use fresh clover dipped in arsenate and 
 syrup, and cover over with an inch of soil, or mix bran 
 with paris green and molasses into a paste thin enough 
 to be sprinkled over the ground among the plants. 
 
h 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 0D0DT1111S3 
 
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