Evening star., 1943-11-21
THE SUNDAY STAR, November 81, 1s4s
Now for a Long Winters Nap

In closing the garden activities
for the year. the gardener should
see that everything is left ship
shape. Tools and garden equipment
need especial care this winter If
they are to be made to last. The
plants and shrubs should be given
adequate protection against frost,
wind and water and spring prep
arations should be carried along
as far as possible. Fall planting,
of course, can be carried on for
some time longer, whenever there
Is a mild day and the soil is dry
enough to be worked.
Most gardeners feel that their
chores are done when they have
raked and burned the leaves and
picked up and put away the tools.
This is hardly in accord with ac-
cepted garden practice. Leaves,
weeds, dead grass and all other
plant material should be put into
a compost pile where it will rot
down and make material suitable
for enrlching the soil or for mulch
ing plant beds. 1t is not only one
way OF accumulating valuable ma
terlal for enriching the soil-espe-
cially when it is difficult and costly
to obtain manure, but it also aids in
controlling insects and diseases by
destroying their wintering- over
places. Some authorities suggest that
this removal and composing of
weeds and dead plant material is the
most important step in garden sani-
tatlon-the control of insects and
diseases. Regardless of the gains to
be received, it gives the garden a
much neater and more businesslike
appearance.
However, the removal of all dead
plant material has its drawbacks.
The dead leaves of day lily pro-
vide an effective covering for the
crown of the plant. The same is
true of many other perennials. The
shalloW-rooted azaleas, dogwoods
and many other shrubs need this
protection during the winter. and so
the lover of wild flowers will insist
that modern gardening may be all
right for looks but it lacks a lot of
being natures way of caring for
her children. There seems to be
happy medium of looking at this
problem and one can be safely rec
commended as meeting the argu-
mentS of the pest control and the
nature-gardener We may remove
the tops of garden flowers, pull the
weeds and the dead grass as they
recommend and then scatter pine
boughS or brush through the flower
borders to catch and hold the leaves
so as to provide the desired protec-
ton
This matter of protection needs a
bit of explanation. Most of our
plants do not need protection from
the cold, but they do need safe
guarding from the alternate freezing
and thaWing which breaks the roots
and oftentimes pushes poorly rooted
plants out of the ground. "Heav-
ing" as it is commonly called, is a
common garden problem in this
area. One of the best ways of meet
ing it is to wait until the ground
has frozen and then to apply some
mulching material which will help
to keep the ground frozen. Pine
bOughS are good and SO is partially
rotted compost. Straw is suggested
by many but it oftentimes contains
many weed seeds. Peat moss is eX-
cellent in appearance, but it tends
to blow away in exposed situations
Standing water is another serious
problem on our heavy clay soils. Es-
peclally is this true of perennial and
bulb beds. Some sort of ditch to
carry the water away is essential
where the beds cannot be filled with
top soil and raised to a safe level
Saturated soils are fully as injurious
as Sunken beds. Where the soil is
so lmpervious as to be soggy and |
wet the only cure seems to be to |
install tile drains which may be |
connected with a sewer or some |
other outlet. Plants and bulbs
should not rot in a we'll drained soil |
Winter protection of the rose beds |
Is a problem that is widely debated |
and over which many conflicting |
views are aired. Protection against
injury such as we had last winter
would prescribe pine boughs or some
other material that permits air to
circulate but at the same time re-
strlctS the sunlight from reaching
the bushes. Mounding with earth .
11- InJ
was not of especial value last winter.
although neWly-planted roses that |
were well mounded seemed to have
come through the winter in better
condition than the established plants
IN the same bed. It is admitted that
last winters damage was the most
severe in many years The only
rose beds that seemed to have es-
capped were those that were shaded T!
by trees. This would seem to point
out the value of pine boUghs.
EVergreens, except the newly
planted ones, do not need protec-
ton. The soil is wet enough so
that they are going into the winter
IN good condition and moisture will
.'N" Do 440eN'cQ ulileSS Idlllldll Is De
low normal for the remainder of the .
winter. Newly planted evergreens-
conlferous and broad-leaved, need |
protection from sun and wind. This
may be provided by tying pine
boughS around them, or by making
a shelter OF burlap or laths The
shelter should not touch the ever
greens and only needs to be placed |
to the south and west sides.
1t is we'll to tie up evergreens such !
as the globe arborvitae and Irish +.
juniper to prevent heavy SHOWS from
tearing them apart. Wind heavy
cord about them. During the winter
if we should have heavy snow it /
is we'll to brush the snow off the