Evening star., 1927-05-27
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

ever, need mitigate in no way against
, the desirability of gardens and their
building up. Gardens are too old to
| need bolstering arguments at this late
day and age.
What remains to be done Is to i'm
press the average citizen with their
necessity in his own individual case.
Garden books, magazines and articles
in newspapers are doing much. Flower
| shows play their part. The example
of amateur gardeners perhaps does
more than all else put together. A
good garden in a community is con-
tagious. The desire to plant is
catching.
There will yet remain, despite all
these factors. hundreds of persons
who do not see the necessity for main
tanning well kept grounds, literally
planted with shrubs, bushes and
perennials. 1t is here that the mis-
sionary work remains to be done.
No doubt one of the factors making
for hesitation on the part Of hun
dreds of home owners Is their lack Of
knowledge on the subject. Faced with
yard with nothing in it, they find
themselves terribly "at sea" in their
own back yard!
Where to plant and what to plant
ah, there are the questions! This gets
us back to the personal motivation for
deeds. without which nothing much
can be done in life. After all, we
or it Is not often done, is it? This is
where schools and teachers and all of
us fall down. A man is, as Henley
said, master of his own fate-and
garden.
X X X X
Even so little as $25 a year. the
price of four trips to four good shows,
would show amazing results in the
space Of five years. Fifty dollars per
annum ought to show results twice
as good, but might not, of course.
There is one seed house advertising
a perennial border of a certain width
and length for $25. Five OF these
buys" ought to give a wonderful re.
suit in five years time.
An intelligent plan would have to
be pursued, it goes without saying. in
a set expenditure for a garden. The
budget would have to be apportioned
to the plan. Several rules might be
laid down to start with:
1. Nothing but the best PANTS be
purchased. This would mean. in most
cases, the largest and Oldest fNe
nurseries offered.
2. Immediate results would be de-
sired. The average householder has
neither the room nor inclination to
grow on" plants. 1t is better to pay
a higher price and get large plants,
than to fool around with year-old spec
linens, which take garden skill and
experience to grow to maturity.
3. Proper backgrounds be dster.
mined upon. The first Of these is
the grass. Without good grass there
can be no garden worth considering
from the home standpoint. 1t is the
frame of the picture. Paintings of
shrubs and bushes of various. sorts
come next in Importance. TO secure
good specimens of these is important.
A good little shrub may cost $40
and be worth it.
4. Proper proportion of perennials
and ANIMALS, and SO on, to be de.
termined in advance if possible. If
you do not like garden work go in for
perennials. 1t would, be better to pay
nursery to plant them for you prop.
erly If you do not like the work, or
are not willing to dig holes deeply and
evenly. =,
These are few of the garden con.
siderations, in relation to the garden
budget. After all, most of us spend
far too little upon yards, priding our.
selves upon buying one rosebush
where we ought to buy a dozen. We
have niggardly ideas about gardens
and ought to increase our horizons.