Your Backyard Garden Information Source
The truth is that a gardener thinks of very material things in December. He is thinking of what he wants to give some good gardener for Christmas or else what he wishes he had himself. But when anyone asks him, “What do you want for Christmas?” he blinks his eyes and says, “Well, I don’t want a thing, just a […]
These are the days when the gardens are ready for a nap when the air is brisk when we are pleased with our homes. The gardener has faith in the rhythm of the seasons, in the succession of seedtime and harvest. The North More shade trees are severely injured and killed by sunscald than any other one factor and yet […]
Autumn is in the air. Clouds succeed each ray of sunshine. This is the season of fulfillment. Seeds and fruits are ripening. Buds are being covered by fur coats. The wild beasts are storing food. Man is changing his summer habits. It is time for contemplation. It is not on New Year’s day that the gardener makes his resolutions, but […]
SEPTEMBER is the wise uncle of the months. He seems to look at us and say: “Now I don’t want to preach, but you can see for yourself. You did not plan to plant enough flowers that bloom late, and last spring everyone had glorious beds of bulbs, but you neglected to order yours. Last year you said you were […]
Then comes summer, real summer in our garden. Flowers bloom and our friends tell us they are lovely. But we see the flaws and errors. We feel almost guilty to have our garden praised, so many glaring faults and shortcomings have it. The color scheme is wrong, there are false notes here and there. There are tall plants where short […]
Of all the fragrant annuals, the petunia is the best known and the most profuse flowering. At the time we buy plants in the spring, the moonvine is a poor-appearing plant; otherwise more persons would buy them. How delicately fragrant they are, how fragile! Have you sown seeds of them? They are hard and need to be soaked in water […]
The North Annual flowers that come into bloom quickly may still be sown and give excellent results. Calliopsis, candytuft, cape-marigold, Gypsophila, cornflower, and love-in-a-mist are a few dependable ones. Hot, dry places may be planted with Dwarf Morning-glories, portulaca, California-poppy, calliopsis, and annual phlox. Spring-blooming shrubs, such as the Vanhoutte Spirea and Forsythia, should be pruned now. Paper mulch is […]
MAY is the joyous month of the year, when old and young are working in their gardens. Perennials are now coming into bloom, but the various bulbous flowers are putting forth every effort to distract our attention from their fair sisters. The unwise annuals are growing, preparing for their profusion of bloom, overlooking the fact that other plants are conserving […]
The North Paper Mulch, For home gardeners with limited space to devote to vegetables, paper mulch offers the following advantages: increase yield, earlier harvest, and elimination of hard cultivating work. The most satisfactory paper mulch fastening for small gardens has been found to be placing stove wire, binder twine, or laths_ along each edge of the paper strip, tying it […]
The North Shrub-cuttings taken last fall and buried in the ground during winter should be planted 6 inches apart in the row and 2 feet between rows as soon as possible. Allow an inch or two of the cuttings to project above the ground. Never allow them to dry before planting. Dormant sprays of oil and lime-sulphur must be applied […]