Children take naturally to gardening, and few occupations count so much for their development,—mental, moral and physical. Ideas of industry and thrift, too, are at the same time inculcated without words, and habits formed that affect their character for life. A well-known New York City Public School superintendent once said to me that she had a flower bed every year in the children's gardens, where a troublesome boy could always be controlled by giving to him the honor of its care and keeping.

As the desire is to give the widest possible range of information about the plants and flowers mentioned herein, and space forbids going into details in each case, the writer has endeavored to mention all the colors, extremes of height, and entire season of bloom of each kind. But the grower must find out the particular variety obtained, and NOT expect a shrubby clematis to climb, or a fall rose to blossom in the spring!...

And because the breath of flowers is far sweeter in the air (where it comes and goes, like the warbling of music) than in the hand, therefore nothing is more fit for that delight than to know what be the flowers and plants that do best perfume the air. If you want a flower garden, you can begin work as early as March. Does that sound strange,—with cold winds and occasional snow? Ah, but the plans should all be laid then, and many things started in the house. Four steps must be taken before start

While the snow is on the ground, you can be deciding on the best place for your garden, and finding out the kind of flowers and vegetables best suited to your soil and locality. Write to your Representative at Washington, requesting the seeds he may have to give away. Write to two or three prominent seed firms for catalogues, and look over the garden books at your Public Library. Then if you do not quickly find yourself suffering from a violent attack of Garden Fever, you might as well give up,

And 'tis my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes. "Plant thickly," says one writer. "It is easier and more profitable to grow flowers than weeds." The following annuals can be sown outdoors late in April, as far North as New York, in ordinary seasons,—only remember that those marked with a * do not like to be transplanted:— Have the soil in your flower bed made fine and light with sand and fertilizer, and entirely free from sticks and stones. If it should happen to be already too s

Between the flowers that we have to plant every year,—the annuals,—and those that after once being started continue to greet us summer after summer,—the perennials,—comes a little group of old favorites that has to be planted one summer (and then generally protected from the cold), in order to bring them to their full beauty the second year. And as few of them self-sow, it is necessary to plant and carry over every season. The biennial seeds are best sown in the seed nursery, where they can be w

That big word ARISTOCRACY simply means "those who rise above the rest of the community in any important respect,"—and rightly, indeed, are the perennials called "the aristocrats of the garden." They are strong and sturdy (good points in both people and flowers), and can be depended on to appear about a certain time, make us a nice visit with all their loveliest clothes, and show their appreciation of our attention and care by returning every season with increased beauty and grace. A few of the p

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If you are going to be a really-truly gardener, you will want to know something about the plants and flowers that you try to grow, so let's have a few words right here about the difference between the bulb and tuber families. They can be classed together because they both spring from what is in fact a storehouse filled

Every one longs for roses, the most highly prized of all the flowers; and roses today can be grown almost anywhere. Rose growers have finally succeeded in budding the tender tea rose on to the hardy briar and also on to the more recent Manetti stock, and in crossing the teas with the hybrid perpetuals,—developed from the old June favorites. The result is ideal roses, that are hardy and bloom all season, with the desired lovely coloring and fragrance. Many of the so-called June roses also have be

They shall sit every man under his vine and under his figtree. Everybody likes a pretty vine, and there is sure to be some place where you will want to plant at least one. Where? Why, at one corner of the porch where you like to play; round the pillar at the front door, where you read, or by the window where you sit to sew; in the backyard to cover the clothespoles, hide the chicken fence, or screen some old, ugly building. The common annual vines you probably know pretty well,—the climbing nast

"Every yard should be a picture. The observer should catch the entire effect and purpose, without analyzing its parts." Of course you want to know something about shrubs. For what? Possibly just to make a tiny hedge around your garden, or a taller one to shut out the view of some neighbor's untidy backyard. More likely for a lovely specimen plant for your own grounds. In that case, don't, oh, don't! set it out in the middle of the lawn! And two or three thus dotted around (in "spotty planting,"

The life of the husbandman,—a life fed by the bounty of earth, and sweetened by the airs of heaven. It is predicted that this year,—1917,—will be the greatest year for gardening that the country ever has known! The high cost of living first stimulated interest. Then after war was declared, the slogan, "Food as important as men or munitions," stirred young and old. Garden clubs sprang up everywhere, and in free lectures people were instructed how to prepare, plant and cultivate whatever ground th

A cow is a very good animal in the field; but we turn her out of a garden. Your garden's friends and foes,—have you ever thought about them as such? You go to a lot of trouble to raise fine flowers and vegetables, and then, if you are not on the lookout, before you know it something has happened! Your rose leaves are discovered full of holes, and your potato vines almost destroyed; your tomato plants are being eaten up by the big, ugly "tomato worm," while your choicest flowers are dying from th

You children love a playhouse, don't you? Yet it isn't always easy to get one. A morning glory bower, however, is a perfect delight, and very easy to make. Persuade some big brother to drive a few long stakes in the ground so as to mark out either a square or a circle, as you prefer. Then ask him to fasten some heavy cord from the bottom of one stake to the top of the next nearest, and then across the top, leaving only a place at one side for an entrance. Soak your morning glory seeds over night

I am ever being taught new lessons in my garden: patience and industry by my friends the birds, humility by the great trees that will long outlive me, and vigilance by the little flowers that need my constant care. Did you ever see the boy or girl that did not want to get up a club? I never did; and the reason is that people, young and old, like to both work and play together. Now a garden club is really worth while, and although I might simply TELL you how to proceed after getting your friends

" If you are one of those people who love flowers and can make them grow," said a Fifth Avenue florist to me recently, "you can do almost anything you please with them, and they will thrive." "So, then," I laughed, "you think love has a great deal to do with the matter?" And he replied, "I most certainly do!" Therefore, if you love to see "the green things growing," enough to give them the least bit of intelligent care, you can reasonably hope to raise all you have room for. The main points to b

Christmas giving to the flower lover is a matter of delight, for if you stop to think you will know what the recipient will be sure to appreciate. Cut flowers always afford joy, from an inexpensive bunch of carnations to the choicest American Beauties. The Christmas blooming plants, however, last much longer, and the rich scarlet berries of the ardesia will survive the holiday season by several months. Poinsettia has been steadily increasing in popularity, and can be surrounded by ferns that wil

The above is almost literally true! You may be surprised to know that the arranging of flowers has not only long been considered an art, but that for centuries it has been closely connected with the whole life of a nation. Away back in 1400, a certain ruler of Japan became so interested in this fascinating subject that he resigned his throne in order to study that and the other fine arts! One of his friends,—a great painter,—worked out the scientific rules which are still generally accepted, and