Amateur Gardencraft: A Book For The Home-Maker And Garden Lover - free ebook by Eben E. (Eben Eugene) Rexford

The Home-Maker and the Garden-Lover.

The Author....

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THE LAWN: HOW TO MAKE IT AND HOW TO TAKE CARE OF IT

HE owner of the average small home seldom goes to the expense of employing the professional gardener to do the work of lawn-making. Sometimes he cannot afford to do so. Sometimes skilled labor is not obtainable. The consequence is, in the majority of cases, the lawn,—or what, by courtesy, is called by that name,—is a sort of evolution which is an improvement on the original conditions surrounding the home, but which never reaches a satisfactory stage. We see such lawns everywhere—rough, uneven,

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PLANTING THE LAWN

HEN the lawn is made we begin to puzzle over the planting of trees and shrubbery. What shall we have? Where shall we have it? One of the commonest mistakes made by the man who is his own gardener is that of over-planting the home-grounds with trees and shrubs. This mistake is made because he does not look ahead and see, with the mind's eye, what the result will be, a few years from now, of the work he does to-day. The sapling of to-day will in a short time become a tree of good size, and the bus

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SHRUBS

VERY yard ought to have its quota of shrubs. They give to it a charm which nothing else in the plant-line can supply, because they have a greater dignity than the perennial and the annual plant, on account of size, and the fact that they are good for many years, with very little care, recommends them to the home-maker who cannot give a great deal of attention to the garden and the home-grounds. It hardly seems necessary to say anything about their beauty. That is one of the things that "goes wit

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VINES

HOME without vines is like a home without children—it lacks the very thing that ought to be there to make it most delightful and home-like. A good vine—and we have many such—soon becomes "like one of the family." Year after year it continues to develop, covering unsightly places with its beauty of leaf and bloom, and hiding defects that can be hidden satisfactorily in no other way. All of us have seen houses that were positively ugly in appearance before vines were planted about them, that becam

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THE HARDY BORDER

HE most satisfactory garden of flowering plants for small places, all things considered, is one composed of hardy herbaceous perennials and biennials. This for several reasons: 1st.—Once thoroughly established they are good for an indefinite period. 2d.—It is not necessary to "make garden" annually, as is the case where annuals are depended on. 3d.—They require less care than any other class of plants. 4th.—Requiring less care than other plants, they are admirably adapted to the needs of those w

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THE GARDEN OF ANNUALS

N preparing the garden for annuals, the first thing to do is to spade up the soil. This can be done shortly after the frost is out of the ground. This is about all that can be done to advantage, at this time, as the ground must be allowed to remain as it comes from the spade until the combined effect of sun and air has put it into a condition that will make it an easy matter to reduce it to proper mellowness with the hoe or iron rake. Right here let me say: Most of us, in the enthusiasm which ta

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THE BULB GARDEN

VERY lover of flowers should have a garden of bulbs, for three reasons: First, they bloom so early in the season that one can have flowers at least six weeks longer than it is possible to have them if only perennial and annual plants are depended on. Some bulbs come into bloom as soon as the snow is gone, at the north, to be followed by those of later habit, and a constant succession of bloom can be secured by a judicious selection of varieties, thus completely tiding over the usually flowerless

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THE ROSE: ITS GENERAL CARE AND CULTURE

HE owner of every garden tries to grow roses in it, but where one succeeds, ten fail. Perhaps I would be safe in saying that ninety-nine out of every hundred fail, for a few inferior blossoms from a plant, each season, do not constitute success, but that is what the majority of amateur Rose-growers have to be satisfied with, the country over, and so great is their admiration for this most beautiful of all flowers that these few blossoms encourage them to keep on, season after season, hoping for

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THE ROSE AS A SUMMER BEDDER

HE amateur gardener may enjoy Roses from June to November if he is willing to take a little trouble for them. Not, however, with the material treated of in the chapter on "The Rose"—though what is said in it relative to the culture of the Hybrid Perpetual class applies with considerable pertinence to the classes of which I shall make special mention in this chapter—but with the summer-blooming sorts, such as the Teas, the Bengals, the Bourbons, and the Noisettes. These are classed in the catalog

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THE DAHLIA

HIRTY or forty years ago the Dahlia was one of our popular flowers. That is, popular among those who aspired to "keep up with the times," and grow all the new plants that had real merit in them. At that time but one form of it was considered worth growing, and that was the very double, globular type of flower. The single varieties were looked upon as worthless. After a time the popularity of the flower waned for some reason hard to account for, except on the theory that there are fashions in flo

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THE GLADIOLUS

NE of the most popular flowers of the day is the Gladiolus. All things considered, it is our best summer bloomer. Nothing in the floral world exceeds it in variety and range of color. This color is in some varieties dark and rich in scarlets, crimsons, and purples, in others dainty and delicate in pink, pearly flesh, almost pure white, and softest rose, while the midway sorts are in brilliant carmines, cherry-reds, lilacs, and intermediate tones too numerous to mention. Nearly all varieties show

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LILIES

HE Rose, like the Lily, is a general favorite. It has more than once disputed the claim of its rival to the title of Queen of Flowers, and though it has never succeeded in taking the place of the latter in the estimation of the average flower-lover, it occupies a position in the floral world that no other flower dare aspire to. This plant does well only in soils that have the best of drainage. Water, if allowed to stand about its roots in spring, will soon be the death of it. Therefore, in plant

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PLANTS FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES

MATEUR gardeners are always wanting plants for some special purpose, and, for their benefit, I propose to devote this chapter to "special-purpose" information. "What shall we grow to shade doors and windows? We want something that will grow rapidly. If a flowering vine, all the better, but shade is the all-important consideration." The best large-growing vine for this purpose, all things considered, is the Wild Cucumber. No other annual vine exceeds it in rapidity of growth. It will grow twenty

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ARBORS, SUMMER-HOUSES, PERGOLAS, AND OTHER GARDEN FEATURES

EW persons who daily pass attractive homes in the suburban districts of our large cities and the outlying country, realize that much of their charm is due to effects which require a comparatively small outlay in dollars and cents. Good taste, combined with a degree of skill that is within reach of most of us, represent the chief part of the investment. And yet—these little, inexpensive things are the very ones that produce the pleasing effects we are all striving after in our efforts to make hom

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CARPET-BEDDING

ARPET-BEDDING is not the most artistic phase of gardening, by any means, but it has a great attraction for many persons who admire masses of harmonious and contrasting colors more than the individual beauty of a flower. Therefore a chapter on this subject will no doubt be gladly welcomed by those who have seen the striking effects secured by the use of plants having ornamental or richly colored foliage, in our large public parks, and on the grounds of the wealthy. Let me say, just here, that the

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FLOWERING AND FOLIAGE PLANTS FOR EDGING BEDS AND WALKS

E do not lay as much stress on edging beds and walks with flowering plants as formerly, but the practice is a most pleasing one, and ought not to be neglected. It is one of the phases of gardening that has been allowed to fall into disuse, to a considerable extent, but there are already signs that show it is coming back to its old popularity, along with the old-fashioned flowers that are now more in favor than ever before. This is as it should be. A bed without a pretty border or edging always s

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PLANNING THE GARDEN

HE flower garden not being one of the necessities of life, in the usual sense of the term, people are likely to consider the making of it of so little importance that it is hardly worth while to give the matter much consideration. Consequently they simply dig up a bed here and there, sow whatever seed they happen to have, and call the thing done. A haphazard garden of that sort is never satisfactory. In order to make even the smallest garden what it ought to be it should be carefully planned, an

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THE BACK-YARD GARDEN

GREAT deal is written about the flower-garden that fronts the street, or is so located that it will attract the passer-by, but it is seldom that we see any mention made of the garden in the back-yard. One would naturally get the idea that the only garden worth having is the one that will attract the attention of the stranger, or the casual visitor. I believe in a flower-garden that will give more pleasure to the home and its inmates than to anyone else, and where can such a garden be located wit

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A PLEA FOR OUR NATIVE PLANTS

ANY persons, I find, are under the impression that we have few, if any, native flowering plants and shrubs that are worthy a place in the home-garden. They have been accustomed to consider them as "wild things," and "weeds," forgetting or overlooking the fact that all plants are wild things and weeds somewhere. So unfamiliar are they with many of our commonest plants that they fail to recognize them when they meet them outside their native haunts. Some years ago I transplanted a Solidago,—better

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THE WINTER GARDEN

OST persons who are the owners of gardens seem to be under the impression that we must close the summer volume of Nature's book at the end of the season, and that it must remain closed until the spring of another year invites us to a re-perusal of its attractive pages. In other words, that we are not expected to derive much pleasure from the garden for six months of the year. There is no good reason why the home-grounds should not be attractive the year round if we plant for winter as well as su

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WINDOW AND VERANDA BOXES

OMEBODY had a bright thought when the window-box came into existence. The only wonder is that persons who were obliged to forego the pleasure of a garden did not think it out long ago. It is one of the "institutions" that have come to stay. We see more of them every year. Those who have gardens—or could have them, if they wanted them—seem to have a decided preference for the window-box substitute. There is a good reason for this: The window-box brings the garden to one's room, while the garden o

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SPRING WORK IN THE GARDEN

OT much actual work can be done in the garden, at the north, before the middle of April. But a good deal can be done toward getting ready for active work as soon as conditions become favorable. Right here let me say that it is a most excellent plan to do all that can be done to advantage as early in the season as possible, for the reason that when the weather becomes warm, work will come with a rush, and in the hurry of it quite likely some of it will be slighted. Always aim to keep ahead of you

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SUMMER WORK IN THE GARDEN

F weeds are kept down through the early part of the season, there will not be a great deal of weeding to do in midsummer. Still, we cannot afford to take it for granted that they require no attention, for they are most aggressive things, and so persistent are they that they will take advantage of every opportunity for perpetuating themselves. Therefore be on the lookout for them, and as soon as you discover one that has thought to escape your notice by hiding behind some flowering plant, uproot

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A CHAPTER OF AFTERTHOUGHTS WHICH THE READER CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS

HINK things out for yourself. Do not try to copy anybody else's garden, as so many attempt to do. Be original. What you see on your neighbor's home grounds may suggest something similar for your own grounds, but be content with the idea suggested. He may not have a patent on his own working-out of the idea—indeed, the idea may not have been one of his originating—but the manner in which he has expressed it is his own and you should respect his right to it. Imitation of what others have done, or

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