Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-12


meals to all tastes like gardening. It
has been the pleasure of kings, the
choice of philosophers, the delight of
statesmen, the comfort of the colt ger
Why? Because the pre- es of plant
ing, sproutng, budding and blossom
ing are a never ceasing wonder ana
delight, furnishing a common grcu d
upon which all classes meet with sym
pathy and interest. Every d1y people
are discovering that in a garSen cared
for by their own intelligence and indus
try lies more concen rated essence OF
satisfaction than in anything else that
life offers.
A garden. To grow ones own flowers
and vegetables! Why. that is to be-
come personally acquainted with the
things of nature. The man who plants
is surely near to natures heart in seed
time when he consigns to her keeping
the germs of the glories to be.
1t need not be a large garden or
formal. pretentious garden. While we
admire great stretches of green, huge
masses of brilliant flowers, well KEEP
borders and trim paths, we find the
charm of the small garden lies in the
individual interest. The fam liar ac-
quaintanoe with each flower and vine
that grows How much joy there is in
even a wee bit garden only those who
grass, the soil. the trees do truly
"speak a various language"
In a climate like California, where
nature has done so much to give IN
spiration, there is no excuse for not
having some floral ornamentation'
some bit of vine and flower to please
the eye. The making of garden of
flowers and vegetables is not difficult
If undertaken in the right way and at
the right time. 1t requires interest and
thought common sense and some work.
But once the spell of the charm OF
your very own garden takes possession
of you, you find delight in the work.
Gardening. like other things of value,
is learned more thoroughly by expert
ence than by study, but we are always
grateful for aids and suggestions. 1t
is the purpose of this column to slim
ulate interest in the home garden ana
TO offer from week to week Suggestions
as to when to plant, how to plant ana
what to plant. No hard or fast rules
can be laid down, as a plant may act
differently in different gardens. the
soil NAV vary: it may be favorable in
one case and unfavorable in another.
Rut "begin with sense, of every art
the soul" as the poet ADVISED Two
centuries ago, and you cannot go Tar
wrong. ..,
our general suggestions are partle-
ularlv for the newcomer VINO hIus
that the ideas and traditions of MS
old home do not work in climate
where flowers are possible every month
in the wear. Think of having gar
den the year through garden IN
which there is ALWAYS something 10
hold your interest by succession ol
changes al the seasons pass. Ana TINS
is possible by rational planting as TO
time and soil. .a.o,,,
cultivation is absolutely necessary
to bring good results. In turning the
land over, we present new surface 10
the atmosphere-we do this to give II
more breathing power, an ahhpie
amount of air being as necessary 10
the life of a plant Is water Is. Inc
surface soil must be kept mellow ana
free from crust If it is not mellow, or
if it dries out quickly, frequent cult
walton puts il in better condition. The
soil should be worked over until 1t is
as fine as it can be made. The inner
a soil, the richer, because of the read
ier and greater access of air TO the
roots. In dry soils, the empty space,
usually amounting to from one-third
TO one-half of it's volume, is filled with
air. When soils are in best condition
for plant life, about one-half of these
spaces are filled with air, the othel
half with water. The maker OF
small garden need not know the tex
ture of soils, the specific gravity OF
soils, their classification and all th9t,
hut we have given the requirements OF
plant life to emphasize the necessity
for cultivation. The man with the