Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/707

 6.Si WOMAN IN HER GARDEN This section will give information on gardening topics which will l)e of value to all women — ihc woman who lives in town, the woman who lives in the country, irrespective of whether she has a large or small purse at her disposal. The range of subjects will be very wide and will include : Practical Articles on Horticul- ture Flower Growing for Profit Violet Farms French Gardetis The Vegetable Garden Nature Gardens Water Gardens The Window Garden Famous Gardens of England Conservatories Frames Bell Glassez Greenhouses Vineries, etc., etr JANUARY WORK IBJ TME GARDEN By HELEN COLT, F.R.H.S. "Work in the Shrubbery — Making Gravel Walks — Planting, Pruning, and Spraying — Flowers for the Conservatory — Forcing Fruit and Vegetables The Flower Garden HThe possibilities of outdoor work this month will depend laigely on weather conditions. Ground operations cannot, of course, be carried out during hard frost, but where digging, etc., is in arrears, this must be done in all open weather. Lawns should be rolled from time to time, when they are not frosty or too wet. It is an excellent time for digging over shrubberies, burying all dead leaves which remain on the surface. Shrubs make great demands upon the soil they grow in, and a dressing of lime, or, better still, of basic slag, is beneficial in the case of sour or exhausted ground. Lime must never be allowed to come near the roots of rho- dodendrons, however, as it acts as poison to them. Thinning Out Dead wood should at the same time be cut out of all shrubs and trees, using secateurs for the purpose if quicker work can be done than with the knife. Regu- RhcdDdend'on intricatum in bloom. late the growth at the same time by judicious knife-pruning, and do not be afraid to cut away plenty of wood from evergreens. Shrubberies often become over-crowded, and some specimens of shrubs may be found only worthless. In this case remove them, and the remaining trees will do much better. Some flowering shrubs flower on the old, some on the new wood, and the time of year for pruning also varies. Therefore care must be taken to find out the different treatment needed to insure the proper result — i.e., strong and floriferous growth the following season. Any climb- ing plants on walls or fences, such as vines, Virginia creeper, pas- sion flower, and honey- suckle, may be pruned and neatly trained, also species oi c 1 e m a t is which flower on the young wood. WTien mild weather pre- vails, planting may be done, including that _. . ^^ ^t t u o* deciduous Th I J plane IS eminently juited tor forcing in ■treenhouse. w j cotyk'ht: /V.A* shrubs, and