Gardening for Little Girls — Context and Discussion

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GARDENING FOR LITTLE GIRLS

PRACTICAL ARTS FOR LITTLE GIRLS

A Series Uniform with this Volume

_Each book, illustrated, 75 cents net_

COOKERY FOR LITTLE GIRLS SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS WORK AND PLAY FOR LITTLE GIRLS HOUSEKEEPING FOR LITTLE GIRLS GARDENING FOR LITTLE GIRLS

GARDENING FOR LITTLE GIRLS

AUTHOR OF "COOKERY FOR LITTLE GIRLS" "SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS" "HOUSEKEEPING FOR LITTLE GIRLS"

NEW YORK DUFFIELD & COMPANY 1917

Copyright, 1916 by HOUSE AND GARDEN

Copyright, 1916, by HOUSEWIVES MAGAZINE

Copyright, 1917, by ST. NICHOLAS The Century Co.

Copyright, 1917, by COUNTRYSIDE MAGAZINE The Independent Co.

Copyright, 1917, by OLIVE HYDE FOSTER

_DEDICATED TO Junior and Allan, Two of the dearest children that ever showed love for the soil._

Children take naturally to gardening, and few occupations count so much for their development,--mental, moral and physical.

Where children's garden clubs and community gardens have been tried, the little folks have shown an aptitude surprising to their elders, and under exactly the same natural, climatic conditions, the children have often obtained astonishingly greater results. Moreover, in the poor districts many a family table, previously unattractive and lacking in nourishment, has been made attractive as well as nutritious, with their fresh green vegetables and flowers.

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.

The love of nature, whether inborn or acquired, is one of the greatest sources of pleasure, and any scientific knowledge connected with it of inestimable satisfaction. Carlyle's lament was, "Would that some one had taught me in childhood the names of the stars and the grasses."

It is with the hope of helping both mothers and children that this little book has been most lovingly prepared.

CHAPTER PAGE I FIRST STEPS TOWARD A GARDEN 1 II PLANNING AND PLANTING THE FLOWER BEDS 9 III FLOWERS THAT MUST BE RENEWED EVERY YEAR (ANNUALS) 19 IV FLOWERS THAT LIVE THROUGH TWO YEARS 30 V FLOWERS THAT COME UP EVERY YEAR BY THEMSELVES (PERENNIALS) 37 VI FLOWERS THAT SPRING FROM A STOREHOUSE (BULBS AND TUBERS) 48 VII THAT QUEEN--THE ROSE 58 VIII VINES, TENDER AND HARDY 71 IX SHRUBS WE LOVE TO SEE 78 X VEGETABLE GROWING FOR THE HOME TABLE 82 XI YOUR GARDEN'S FRIENDS AND FOES 94 XII A MORNING-GLORY PLAYHOUSE 102 XIII THE WORK OF A CHILDREN'S GARDEN CLUB 107 XIV THE CARE OF HOUSE PLANTS 115 XV GIFTS THAT WILL PLEASE A FLOWER LOVER 130 XVI THE GENTLEWOMAN'S ART--ARRANGING FLOWERS 137

PUZZLE PICTURE,--FIND THE LITTLE GIRL, _Frontispiece_ FACING PAGE FIRST WORK IN THE SPRING 14 KIM AND COLUMBINE 40 TAKING CARE OF TABLE FERNS 56 CLEANING UP AROUND THE SHRUBS 78 ALL READY TO HOE 90 AN OUTGROWN PLAYHOUSE 112 SPRING BEAUTIES 126

LINE DRAWINGS IN TEXT

PAGE PLAN FOR A SMALL BACK YARD 12 AN ARTISTIC ARRANGEMENT OF A NARROW CITY LOT 14 FLOWERS THAT WILL BLOOM FROM EARLY SUMMER UNTIL FROST 16 BLOSSOMS IN JAPANESE ARRANGEMENT 138

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!

GARDENING FOR LITTLE GIRLS

A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! Rose plot, Fringed pool, Fern'd grot-- The veriest school Of peace; and yet the fool Contends that God is not-- Not God! in gardens! when the eve is cool? Nay but I have a sign: 'Tis very sure God walks in mine. --_Thomas Edward Brown._

GARDENING FOR LITTLE GIRLS

First Steps Toward a Garden

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. --_Bacon._

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 starting actual work:

_First._--Find out what space you can have for your garden.

_Second._--Consider the soil, situation, surroundings.

_Third._--Make a list of seeds, bulbs, etc., desired.

_Fourth._--Decide on planting with view to height and color.

As to the first step, find out positively where you can have your garden. It makes considerable difference whether you can have the whole back yard, a plot along the walk, a round bed in the center of the lawn (only worse than none at all!), or a window-box. You can not very well decide on a single plant until this is settled.

As to the second step, learn all you can about the soil, situation, surroundings. Is your ground rich or poor? If light and sandy, you can grow such flowers as nasturtiums and mignonette. By adding fertilizer you can have poppies, roses, and dahlias. If the ground is heavy and stiff with clay, you can still have your roses and dahlias if you will add both manure and sand. So find out what kind of earth you are going to work with. Quite poor soil will grow sweet alyssum, California poppies, coreopsis and geraniums, while rich soil is needed for asters, larkspur, zinnias and marigolds. And think about your location (a dry spot being necessary for portulaca, and a cool, moist place for lily-of-the-valley), as well as bear in mind whether your garden is sheltered and warm or exposed to the chilly winds. Any desert can be made to blossom as the rose,--if you only know how.

As to the third step, make the list of the seeds, bulbs, etc., that you would like, with the idea of having some flowers in bloom the whole summer long. If you are lucky enough to have a kind friend or neighbor give you of her store, they will probably be good and come up as they should. If you have to buy, though, be sure to go to a first-class, reliable dealer, for you don't want to waste your time and money on old things that won't grow.

Then last of all, decide on your planting from this list with a view to height and color, so that you will arrange to the best advantage,--the nasturtiums which climb, for instance, going to the back of the bed against wall or trellis, while the dwarf variety should be at the front.

BIG WORDS FOR COMMON THINGS

To select your flowers intelligently, though, you must know something about their nature, habits, and tendencies, and certain words always found in seed catalogues and garden books may be puzzling to a beginner.

a. _Annuals_, for example, are the plants that live but a year or a single season.

b. _Biennials_, however, continue for two years before they perish, making roots and leaves the first year and usually flowering the second.

c. _Perennials_ are the kind that continue for more than two years.

d. _Deciduous_ refers to the shrubs and trees that lose their leaves in the fall.

e. _Evergreens_ are those that keep their verdure the whole year round.

f. _Herbaceous_ plants may be annual, biennial or perennial, but they have a stem that does not become woody, and that dies down after flowering.

g. _Hybrids_ are plants produced by "crossing," or mixing two distinct varieties.

All plant life, you must understand, requires five things,--WARMTH, LIGHT, AIR, WATER and FOOD. But plants differ as much as people, and some need more of one thing than they do of another. Some grow best in sunlight, others in the shade; some in sand, others in rich soil. You will have to find out what each kind requires. The food properties needed in the soil have some big names, too,--_nitrogen_, _potash_, and _phosphoric acid_, all of which are found in farm manures. If you can not conveniently get these, however, florists and seed-men can supply you with other fertilizers more easily handled.

If you are just getting ready to start your garden, the annuals,--the plants that flower from seed the first season though they do not come up again,--will probably interest you most as they give the quickest returns. Many kinds can be started in the house in March, and for this purpose any kind of a shallow box will answer. Bore holes in the bottom and put in a layer of broken pottery or stones, to permit drainage, so the roots will not rot. Fill three or four inches deep with good soil, after pulverizing and taking out all sticks and stones.

RULES FOR INDOOR PLANTING

Mark grooves in seed boxes (or "flats") with a stick, in parallel lines.

Plant seeds only about their own depth.

Scatter thinly to avoid crowding.

Press soil down firmly after seeds have been covered.

Keep the earth moist by means of a fine spray, or sprinkle with a whisk broom. The ordinary sprinkler lets out the water with such force as to wash the seeds clear out of the ground.

The very finest seeds should be _sprinkled_ lightly--and thinly--over the pulverized soil and then pressed into the earth with a small board.

The different seeds should be sown in separate rows, and the names plainly marked on the edge of the box, so you will not become confused, or forget what you are growing.

Cover the boxes with glass or a newspaper for the first week, to keep the earth moist and warm until the seeds sprout.

Even as early as March you can start in the boxes in this way any of the following annuals, which will bloom at the time mentioned or even earlier:--

Ageratum, blue, good for edging; blooms for three months during summer. Asters, white, pink, red, purple; early in the fall. Alyssum, sweet, white; from May to November. Amethyst, blue, violet, white; flowers all summer. Balsam, white, red, yellow; from July to middle of September. Chrysanthemum, tricolor; August to middle of October. Cosmos, white, pink, crimson; August to November. Cypress vine, red, and white starry blossoms; June and July. Godetia, red, white; July to October. Moonflower (Japanese morning-glory), white, a vine; August to September. Pansy, all shades and combinations, of white, yellow, purple; July on. Chinese pink, white, rose, maroon; May to August. Salvia, red; August to frost. Ten Weeks' Stock, white, pink, purple; June and July. Zinnia, red, yellow, magenta; July to November.

EASILY GROWN PERENNIALS

Both the perennials and the biennials following should all blossom the first year if started in the house in March:--

Gaillardia, red, yellow. Forget-me-not, lovely blue. Larkspur, blue. Snapdragon, white, red, purple, yellow, pink. Sweet William, white, pink, red, maroon, plain, varigated. Coreopsis, yellow. Cupid's Dart, blue. Iceland Poppy, yellow, white, scarlet.

Get as many as you can--and your space will permit,--of all the lovely old perennials and the bulbs that come up every season with little or no care. One of the oldest,--now deserted--farmhouses on Long Island, still carries in its dooryard the impress of some gentle flower-lover long since passed away, in its annual spring beauty of daffodils and lilies-of-the-valley. And the few bulbs and pips transplanted from there to my own garden, have thrived and spread so profusely that I, too, can pass them on to others.

HARDY FLOWERS ALL SUMMER

With carefully chosen bulbs and perennials alone, it is possible to have a succession of lovely blooms. In March your heart will be made happy with snowdrop and crocus; in April with violet, daffodil, narcissus, hyacinth and tulip; in May and June with spirea, peony, iris, forget-me-not, columbine, baby's breath, bleeding heart, mountain pink, candytuft, Chinese pink; in July and August, golden glow, hollyhock, larkspur, hardy phlox, snap-dragon; September and October, sunflower, dahlia, gladiolus and aster, with November closing the season with all kinds of beautiful chrysanthemums. And many of these often come earlier than expected, or stay later. How easily raised are they by the person with little time!

Planning and Planting the Flower Beds

God the first garden made.--_Cowley._

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 not attempt to have a garden, for you will be lacking the real love and enthusiasm that count for success.

Did you ever realize that gardens differ as much as people? "No two gardens, no two human faces, were ever quite alike," says one writer, and you want to make yours expressive of yourself. So before taking another step, study your grounds, large and small,--for if you can have only part of a tiny plot, you still have many possibilities of expressing your own ideas and taste.

The garden is for the personal pleasure of the family, so DON'T put it out in front, for the careless passerby. Choose a more secluded spot where, if you wish, you can train a vine to shade your seat when you want to sit down and enjoy the birds, butterflies and flowers.

EASY RULES FOR ARTISTIC PLANTING

Right here is the place to stop and draw a map of your proposed garden, and mark off the spaces for your chosen plants. You might draw half a dozen plans, and then choose the most suitable. Only never forget the simple rules of a famous landscape gardener:--

1. Plant in masses, not isolated. 2. Avoid straight lines. 3. Preserve open lawn centers.

When you have decided on the location of your garden, coax some one stronger than yourself to dig up the ground thoroughly, and spade in some fertilizer,--preferably farmyard manure. Plants live on the tonic salts they draw out of the soil through their roots, as much as they do on the carbonic acid gas which they take out of the air through their leaves. So have the ground nourishing, and also nicely pulverized and free from sticks and stone, that the little rootlets can easily work their way through and find their needed nutriment.

Never forget that third rule before mentioned,--"Preserve open lawn centers." A beautiful lawn is as satisfying to the eye as flowers, so never spoil one by cutting it up with beds. They can be put along the sides, used for bordering walks, and nestled close to the house.

PLAN FOR SMALL BACK YARD

One of the loveliest gardens I know is at the back end of a city lot, not more than thirty feet square, with a plot of velvety grass in the center. The irregular border surrounding this bit of lawn is a mass of flowers from earliest spring until black frost,--from March until December,--and delights the whole neighborhood. The secret lies in the fact that the owner knows how to plant for succession of bloom. The ground is laid out this way.

If you can have only a single flower bed, however, try to get it in a sunny, protected spot, preferably facing south, where the cold winds of early spring and late fall will do the least damage. Make a list of the flowers that like such conditions,--and most of them do,--and then pick out those you prefer, writing after each name the time that it blooms. Be sure to select some of each of the early spring, late spring, summer, early fall, and late fall, so that you will have flowers to enjoy the whole season through.

For example, you can choose first from the crocus, snowdrop, scilla, the hardy candytuft that rivals the snow for whiteness, and the tiny creeping phlox that will carpet your bed with pink; next, from the daffodil, narcissus and jonquil groups, with the tulips,--all of which must be set out in the fall for bloom in April and May: then the iris in May and June. Sweet alyssum, nasturtiums, corn flowers, Shirley poppies and cosmos (all annuals), you can count on blooming around New York from July to black frost; dahlias from August to black frost, and monthly roses the entire summer,--with a tidal wave in June. (I know, for I have seen them all, over and over again.)

Many of the annuals can be started indoors, or in a glass-covered box outside. Then when the early flowering bulbs have faded, you can turn their green tops under the ground, first to allow the sap to run back into the bulb (the storehouse for next year), and next to decay and fertilize the soil. The annual seedlings can then be placed right on top! You thus avoid bare, ugly spots, and keep your garden lovely.

Dahlias planted out about the first of June will bloom from early fall until cold weather sets in; and certain roses, like the Mrs. John Laing and all of the hybrid teas, will flower nearly as late. In fact, in the famous rose garden of Jackson Park, Chicago, as well as in private grounds around New York, I have seen roses blooming in December.

You hardly need be afraid of crowding, either, if you will be particular to keep out the weeds, and occasionally work into the soil some bone-meal for fertilizer. Water in dry weather. This does not mean top sprinkling, for that is decidedly injurious. When the ground is dry, soak it thoroughly.

If you live in a city, you may be interested in a garden I have seen, which ran along the side and rear end of a long, narrow lot. The tallest flowers,--dahlias and hollyhocks,--were at the back of the bed, at the extreme end, and although late in flowering, formed a beautiful green background for the rest all summer. The first irregular section was given up to the blues, and--planted with both annual and perennial larkspur, and cornflowers,--kept the dining-table supplied with blossoms to match the old blue china until the frost came.

Frost, by the way, you will find of two kinds,--hoar frost, which the Psalmist so vividly described when he said, "He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes," and which injures only the tenderest flowers; and black frost, which is of intense enough cold to freeze the sap within the plant cells, so that when the sun's heat melts this frozen sap the plant--leaf and stalk--wilts down and turns black. Therefore, both in the early spring and the late fall, you must watch out for Jack, whichever garb he dons, and give your tender plants some nighty covering.

A LITTLE BED FOR A LITTLE GIRL

If you can have only one small bed, however, you can get a lot of pleasure out of it most of the season if you will carefully choose your plants. Pansies set along the outer edge will blossom until mid-summer if you keep them picked and watered every day; and verbenas, which have the same harmonizing shades, you can count on blooming until late in the fall. They would be attractive in either of the following simple designs:

Candytuft for a border, with petunias in the center, is another combination that should blossom from June until frost. Poppies and cornflowers would also last all summer if you would keep out part of the seed and sow a couple of times at intervals of several weeks. The combinations of red and blue is very pretty, too. Sweet alyssum, with red or pink geraniums, would be lovely all season. For an all yellow bed, plant California poppies to bloom early in the border, and African marigolds, or Tom Thumb nasturtiums to bloom in the center from July on late into the fall. With any of the combinations suggested you could gather flowers almost any time you pleased, for they are all profuse bloomers.