Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-17
THE SPRING GARDEN.
DRAWS ATTENTION

Just because You cannot spend a for
tune on garden fittings is no reason you
should not have as convenient and in
tefesting a garden kit. as You please.
The woman who makes her garden with
an old iron spoon may be successful, but
the woman who has a generous array
of implements at command is more likely
to have a garden that is worth while.
A big packing box at the entrance to
the cellar or a smaller one painted to
match the house and provided with a
paddock, standing just outside the door,
makes a convenient receptacle for the
smaller garden tools. The long rakes
and hoes and spades can be hung on
the inside cellar wall but the smaller
rakes and spades and hoes, the weeder
and watering can. the trowel. ball of
Irvine, knife, pencil and notebook can
all be kept conveniently in the box. So
can dozens of other things which every
gardener accumulates and wants to have
close at hand as the season advances.
A garden notebook Of some sort is OF
interest and help. Enter in it carefully
everything planted this year. with dates
of planting, Of first appearance above
the ground. of blossoming and of num-
Give location of each crop and descrip-
ton of fertilizers and method of cultiva-
ton employed. Next year such book
carefully kept, will prove invaluable in
the planning and planting Of the garden.
If you cannot afford one OF the lovely
garden baskets sold to hold freshly
gathered flowers and vegetables buy a
small clothes basket or strong market
basket and stain it. 1t will prove quite
as useful for holding the crops as one
that costs three times as much.
Homemade baskets of willow are ideal
for garden baskets. The willow can be
woven in nat trays with high, looping
handles to hold roses Or chrysanthemums,
or it can be woven in shallow bowl
shaped baskets for flowers with short
stems. Deeper baskets can be made for
holding freshly gathered vegetables. The
best part of the willow baskets is that
they can be washed without harm The
vegetable baskets had best be left un-
stained, as they will need frequent wash
ing; the flower baskets can be shellacked
or vanished or stained green or brown
A kneeling board for the garden is a
boon to the knees. 1t can be used wher
you are wedding. planting and cultivatine
the flowers. Make it from a square piece
of wood, perhaps twelve by twenty-foul
inches. Under one long edge nail -four
supports three or four inches high to keeI
the board at comfortable angle. PaC
the upper surface OF the DOaru WIN sew
eral layers of carpet. A cotton stuffed
cushion can be used instead of carpet il
very soft rest for the knees is wanted
! If every amateur gardener should in
| best in garden fittings worth two or three
| or four or five dollars each year he OIL
| she would have a store worth while be
! fore many gardens have bloomed ant
| faded. The four-dollar limit would max,
| it possible to purchase this year one o
the small hand cultivators which have
different hoe and rake attachments. Thu
cultivator will do all but the deepest ant
heaviest digging in a garden. which Needs
| to be done only once-in the spring. 1t il
pushed along by two strong handles. ant
| a wheel at the front of the cultivato
makes pushing it easy. Four dollar
would pay for a simpler long handled
garden cultivator and weeder which costs
a dollar, a fruit picker for about thu
same price-a long handle with littl'
! wire cage on the end and some stronc
wire fingers which push the fruit into thu
cage-a bulb planter for dollar and {
| watering can which has two differen
! noZzes.