Evening star., 1940-08-10

and the japanese iris. This work c
we're through blooming, but we let it
wait until it was bit cooler Well,
we have waited just about as long
as we dare if they are to become
well established and in good condi-
tion before growth stops.
And there is the lawn. 1t looks
pretty much dried up and as though
it were ION its last legs" August
is the time to give it a good feeding
so that with cooler weather it will
make a quick recovery and look well
for the fall. On the other hand,
there is the ground to be made
ready for the sowing of a new lawn.
These jobs surely cannot very
well be postponed without delaying
growth more than is desirable. Oh,
of course, the grass will grow and
will make a showing, but it will not
do as well as it should, nor will it
come through the winter 100 per
cent. If we are going to do the job
this fall let's do it well, then if
things go wrong we will not be to
blame.
Don't Put Off
These Jobs.
One would hardly dare say that
the above are all of the August
''must" jobs, for every garden has
one or more little things that need
doing. August is a good month to
tackle them In September the work
of transplanting seedlings and of
planting bulbs and host of other
items will be upon us and we Will
find time is, indeed, too short to
make the rounds. So let's get off
to a good start and get as much
done in August as we can.
AS indicated above, the digging
and moving of Oriental poppies Is
one of the jobs that cannot very
we'll be postponed. Just as the buds
begin to swell on the crown is the
time at which poppieS are most
easily handled. Last season
gardener in lifting large poppy
plant left a number of roots be-
hind. A few weeks later he had
occasion to dig up that spot and
found nearly two dozen well-started
young poppy plants. Perhaps you
have no occasion to move poppy,
but would like several more plants
of the same variety. The easiest
way to get them is to move the old
plant to a new site and to fill the
hole thus left with good soil. Next
fall you will be able to dig a number
of husky young plants and plant
them as you wish.
The Oriental poppies are hardy,
worthwhile garden subjects and de-
serve to be widely planted. Order
few now and plant them at the
proper season. Late planting is
possible and oftenti;nes successful,
but it is hardly to be recommended.
Spring planting with potted plants
may be done if necessary, but my
experience with such plants is that
they are slower to recover.
Madonna lilies Uilium candidum),
a most attractive garden subject,
have been widely planted. They re-
uuire raised bed or situation with
perfect drainage. IN this section
a raised bed is in most cases de-
sirable. The bulbs should be covered
not more than 2 inches in heavy
soil or inches in light soil. They
do best in full sun or very light
shade. Protection from high winds
and driving rains is to be desired.
A soil that is not too acid and is
well enriched with leafmold or COM
post is to their liking. Madonna
lilies and delphinium make striking
combination and do well together.
Preparing Beds to
Last for Years.
In preparing beds for daffodils
and peonieS one should remember
that he is doing longtime job
not in the amount of time necessary
to do the job, but that it is to
serve the bulbs or peonies for many
years to come. incorporate deeply
into the soil generous quantities
OF well-rotted compost and bone
meal. Both the peonies and the
daffodils are planted in holes deeply
prepared. Their feeding roots
should go down to the food and
not up Thus the beds should be
carefully prepared for a depth of
is inches or more. This means that
we should dig two full spadings
deep. BY throwing the first spading
to one side one may mix the COM
post and the plant food into the
second spade depth by turning the
soil over two or three times. The
top spading can then be returned
to the bed and compost mixed with
1t. This should be allowed to settle
for two or three weeks before plant
ing time.
After the summers heat and the
usual wear and tear given to our
lawns they have, in most cases, a
moth-eaten appearance. Grab
grass has smothered out the blue
grass in many places If we are to
reiuvenate the lawn in short order,
we should reseed the bare spots
and give liberal top dressing of
good top soil mixed with fertilizer.
While this may sound all right to
the professional gardener. the
chances are that you and I will be
content to give the lawn light ap-
plication of fertilizer-2 to pounds
per 100 square feet, and call it quits.
Such a treatment will produce sur
prising results and give us fairly
good looking lawn as soon as the
days are cooler and we have our
usual fall rains.
Establishing
New Lawn.
The new lawn is a different prob
lem. Here again, we must do a
Job that should last for many years.
Once the grass is established there
Is very little that we can do to
change the tilth of the soil or to in
crease the hurnus content of the