Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-08-19
Autumn Work in the Garden,

| garden. Our Indian summer weather, the
mellow haze of autumn, is not equaled by
anything we ever experienced in any part
OF the world. Our springs are short and
unpleasant; cold, rain and mud, with an
occasional fine day to remind us OF what
spring might be, is our usual fare. All
important changes in the garden should,
| therefore, be made in the dry, pleasant
weather of autumn, as work can then be
done better and cheaper than at any other
time. Dig up and put IN order every va
cant bed, as it will not only facilitate
spring work but do the soil good and give
the garden a neat and tidy appearance.
Early autumn is the best possible time
for rearranging beds of herbaceous plants,
such as hollyhocks, delphiniums, pseonies,
etc Roots can be divided without injury
and generally with great benefit to the
health of the plants. Lilies and all hardy
bulbs can also De removed and replanted
| as soon as the leaves begin to ripen. All
| beds Of hardy bulbs, such as hyacinths,
| tulips, ETC., should be made as early as
the bulbs can be procured which is gen
orally about the latter part Of September.
| Plants that are tender in the North such
as tritomas, pampas grass, and anything
not quite hardy that it would be desirable
to save over the winter may be secured in
pits dug in the soil, say three feet deep,
and covered with sash. A great portion
| could be covered with boards and mats,
with just enough sash for moderate
| light. Of course the drainage must be
such that water will not enter the pit, and
| air should be given on fine days. Holly
hooks will winter in such pit and SO will
pansies and almost any halfhardy plant.
All draining and the making Of walks
should be done in the fall, if possible. If
| lawns are prepared and the seed sOwn be
fore the middle of September, by the first
| of June the lawn will be perfect If the
lawn is prepared in the spring the work
should be done very early, for it is of the
utmost Importance to give grass seed the
benefit Of autumn ard spring rains. Many
persons neglect making lawns until late in
the spring, and then resort to sodding,
while if they had sown seed in the autumn,
or even early in the spring, they would
have secured better lawn, almostor quite
as early, and at less than quarter the eX-
pense. AS a lawn will last lifetime if
properly made, let the work be done thor
oughly. The ground must be well pull
verified to good depth, and care must be
had in leveling, so that the surface will be
entirely even, and remain so. Sometimes
when the surface is raised by using heavy
material in one place and light in another,
in a year or two it is much disfgured by
unequal settling. Never streW over the
lawn for dressing 1t is alike foolish
and disagreeable There are some seeds
that do much better if sOwn in the autumn
than with spring sowing. They require a
moist, cool soil for termination, and if
| sown in the spring the warm, dry weather
sets in before they have acquired much
strength, and they suffer in consequence.
The NemophiIas and Clarkias are exam
pies. They grow naturally in cool, shady
wales, Or in mountain regions, and if sown
in autumn start very early in the spring,
and in May or early in June are in per-
lection, and charming. If sown in the
spring they are apt to perish or suffer with
the drought and heat before they
reach perfection. There are also several
hardy ANIMALS that do very we'll when
sown in the spring, but will bear autumn
sowing, and reward us with early spring
| flowers in consequence of this treatment
I no, hoo # o1,l Il
that wintered safely. The seed was sown
late in the autumn, and the bed covered
with manure after sowing, which was al
lowed TO remain until quite late in the
! spring. Sweet alyssum and white candy
tuft will give an abundance Of white for
early cutting, if sown in the autumn. In
a sandy soil the pOrtulaca may be sown in
| the autumn with good success. Seeds of
biennials and perennials, if soon early
enough to produce strong little plants be-
fore frost, Will flower the next summer,
and pansies and Chinese pinks, though
they bloom the first summer if sOwn in the
spring, will make much stronger plants
ana flower more freely and earlier if
young plants are grown in the autumn.
The pansy sometimes suffers in the win
ter, but if the young plants are put in a
frame and covered with afew loose boards,
or little mating, being always sure to
give air, they will pass the winter safely.
All bulbs and plants that die down to
the ground in the autumn may be pro-
tected by covering the surface of the earth
| with loarnC or IN arnra CtraJ1- lint ~
that retain their leaves during winter will
not bear this kind of protection. A few
evergreen boughs thrown over a bed, lit
tie straw between the plants, or some light,
open covering of this kind, is all they
will bear without injury. We have seen
more plants smothered and rotted than
saved by heavy covering Fick's Floral
Guide.