CHAPTER V
Gardens for Little Folks

“HOW would you like another lesson on gardening to-day, Mary Frances?” asked Billy the next morning as he appeared at the door of the play house.

“Oh, Billy, you know I’d just love to have one!” said Mary Frances, getting the desk ready.

“This time we are to make a list of what to plant, if I remember correctly,” said Billy, taking a seat.

“Let me see: we will try to plant the garden so that we will have flowers in bloom from early Spring till late Fall.

In order to have flowering plants continuously in the garden, we must use the class of flowers called Per-en-ni-als,[A] the roots of which live from year to year.

If we depend on An-nu-als,[B] the seeds of which must be planted every Spring, we will not have blooms until Summer or early Fall.

So you see, in order to plan wisely, our next lesson is very important, and it is our—

GARDEN LESSON No. 2
What to Plant

Now, Mary Frances, I have really planned a delightful landscape flower garden for you to plant in front of your play house, and a wonderfully useful vegetable garden for the back of the play house; but before I give you that outline, I am going to pretend that you are a very little girl, and I will give you a list, just as our teacher handed it to us. I have it here:

Garden for Little Folks

1. Plan out the garden; that is, make a list of what you wish to plant.

2. Draw a picture map of your garden, marking the space where each different kind of flower or vegetable is to be planted.

3. Remember that low-growing plants should be placed in the foreground (front part) of the garden, and tall-growing plants in the background.

4. Order the plants or seeds.

5. Get the ground ready. (See Chapter XIV.)

6. Now begin to plant, following instructions in Chapter XV.

If space for your garden is about 10 x 15 ft. it would be delightful to plant it as shown by the picture-map drawn here.

Garden for Little Folks—10x15 Feet

garden diagram
(.) Bulbs. 2. Iris (blue). 3. Bleeding Hearts. 4. Pyrethrums. 5. Sweet William. 6. Phlox. 7. Eupatorium. 8. Coreopsis. 9. Gaillardia. 10. Chrysanthemums. 11A, 11B, 11C. Roses. 12. Hardy Asters. 13. Iceland Poppies. 14. Cosmos (not to be given a permanent place in garden; it may be used, however, as a filler between Hardy Perennials). 15. Alyssum. 16. Nasturtiums.

Plant Daffodils and Tulips between Hardy Perennials as indicated on plan with dots.

Now, for an—

Explanation
OF
THE LITTLE FOLKS FLOWER GARDEN

Four Hardy Bulbs for Little Folks Garden

These bulbs should be planted in late October or early November. They bloom in the early Spring and then die down, to come up the next Spring.

No. on Map. No. of Flowers
to Plant.		 How Deep
to Plant.		 Color. Average
Price.
(.) 6 Emperor Daffodils. 4 inches. Yellow.
25c for ½ doz.
(.)
6 Cottage Garden Tulips, called also May-flowering Tulips.
 4 inches. All colors.
15c for ½ doz.
(.)
6 Darwin Tulips. Bloom later than “Cottage Garden” Tulips; grow taller.
 4 inches. All colors.
15c for ½ doz.
(2)
6 German Iris roots, called also “Blue Flags.”
 4 inches.
Blue, purple, and yellow.
50c for ½ doz.

Hardy Perennials

The plants whose roots live on from season to season, or “winter over,” and come up every Spring, are called Hardy Perennials.

The plants whose roots die in the Fall, and do not “winter over,” are called Annuals.

When a boy or a girl undertakes to start a flower garden, how much more desirable it seems to plant, for the most part, Hardy Perennials, which will “come up” the next Summer and the next, and so on for years; instead of Annuals, the seeds of which must be sowed every Spring.

Of course, the seeds of Hardy Perennials may be sowed in the Spring, but Hardy Perennial plants raised from seeds, seldom bloom until the next year after the seeds are planted.

hand pointing right Therefore, it is best for the beginner, in most cases, to buy plants of Hardy Perennials.

If you wish to start seeds, however, see Chapter LI on “Perennials.”

Following is the list of—

Twelve Hardy Perennials for Little Folks Garden

No. on Map. Name and Number of Plants. Remarks. Average
Price.
(3) 2 Bleeding Hearts.
Pink heart-shaped flowers on graceful stems.
Buy the plants in clumps in the Fall.
 15c a plant.
(4) Hardy Py-re-thrums.
Red, pink, white daisy-like flowers.
When ordering, use the name: “Pyrethrum Hybridum.”
It is best to plant seeds in early Spring or August, to get plants which will “winter over” and bloom the next Summer.
Plants may be purchased if you wish blooms the first year.
 20c a plant.
10c a package.
(5) Sweet-Williams
(London Tufts).
“Biennials,” which means the plants “come up” the second year, but do not do well after that.
Plant every other year; preferably in August.
Order mixed seed.
Sweet-Williams often sow their own seed.
 10c a package.
(6) 3 Hardy Phlox.
1 Salmon Pink: order “Elizabeth Campbell,” or “Rheinlander.”
1 White: order “Mrs. Jenkins.”
1 Lavender: order “La Vague,” or “La Mahdi.”
Buy the plants of Hardy Phlox. The seeds are not generally satisfactory, because they should be sowed within a short time after ripening.
 20c a plant.
(7) Blue Thoroughwort
(“Eu-pa-to-ri-um”).
Order “Eupatorium Celestium.”
Blue misty flowers, sometimes called “Blue Mist,” pretty in mixed bouquet. Bloom late in season.
Buy the plant.
 15c a plant.
(8) 1 Co-re-op-sis.
Order “Coreopsis Lanceolata Grandiflora.” Yellow daisy-like flowers. A large, bushy plant.
Keep the flowers well picked, to get continuous bloom.
Easily raised from seed if planted early.
 15c a plant.
(9) 1 Blanket Flower
(Hardy “Gail-lard-i-a”).
Large reddish-brown flowers with yellow edges, etc.
It loves to bloom.
If sowed very early, it often blooms the first season.
Order mixed seed.
 10c a package.
(10) 3 Chrys-an-the-mums.
Order “Hardy Pompon” (1 yellow, 1 red, 1 bronze).
Bloom very late in the Fall.
Buy the plants.
3 for 45 cts.
(11) Roses (See Chapter XXXV).
Dwarf “Baby Ramblers”:
(a) 1 Fairy Rose—“Cecile Brunner.”Little double flowers of soft rosy pink on a creamy white ground.
(b) 1 Baby Tausendschön—“Louise Walter.” Larger flowers of a tender shade of pink.
Chinese Rose: “Hermosa”—pink.
 50c a plant.
(12) 3 Hardy Asters (“Mich-ael-mas Dai-sies”).
Lavender, pink, white and purple little daisy-like flowers, growing in clusters on large tall bushes.
Buy the plants.
 15c a plant.
(13) Iceland Poppies.
All colors.
Sow mixed seed in August to grow plants which will bloom the next Summer.
Cover with leaves in the Fall.
Order mixed seeds of “Papaver Nudicaule.”
 10c a package.

Annuals

Sow the seeds of Annuals early in the Spring. The roots of Annuals do not live over Winter, and seeds must be sowed every Spring.

Annuals for Little Folks Garden

No. on Map. Name and Number of Plants. Remarks. Average
Price.
(14) Cos´-mos.
Easily grown in poor soil. Grow over 4 feet tall. Flowers: pink,white, garnet, with yellow centers.
Buy mixed seed, “Summer or Early Flowering” Cosmos which will bloom early and continue until frost.
 10c a package.
(15) Sweet A-lys´-sum.
A charming edging plant. Order “Little Gem,” which grows 4 inches tall, and blooms like a snow carpet.
5c a package.

Vegetables for Little Folks Garden

Name. Remarks. Average Price per Package Seed.
Nasturtiums.
Buy “Tom Thumb” or Dwarf.
In the early Spring, sow seeds of dwarf nasturtiums for narrow border along the walk of the vegetable garden.
 5c.
Lettuce.
Buy “Early All-heart;” Early Cos; Late Lettuce.
Plant a small quantity of Early Lettuce seeds in the early Spring; when plants are two inches high, plant more seeds; thin plants out, that the ones left standing may grow large. Plant a few seeds every week until weather grows very warm.
Lettuce does not grow well in very warm weather.
Plant late variety in early Fall.
Cos or Romaine lettuce is easily grown, and stands the heat better than the other varieties. It has a very crisp fleshy rib in the leaf, but the leaf part is not so delicate as of the other varieties.
All lettuce needs very rich soil.
 5c.
Parsley.
Buy “Dwarf Curly.”
Plant in early Spring.
Soak seed overnight in warm water, mix sand in the water, and fling sand and seed over the prepared ground. Sometimes it takes six weeks for parsley seed to “come up.” Except far north, it lives over winter if well covered with leaves.
Plant some parsley every year, as what has “wintered over” goes to seed very easily.
 5c.
Onions.
Buy yellow “Onion sets.”
“Onion sets” are tiny little onions which are set out in early Spring, about 2 inches apart in rows. Usually when they are partially grown, they are pulled, and green tops and bulbs are used for salads and in soup.
 10c a pint.
Thyme.
A very pretty low-growing herb, used to flavor soup, and “stuffing” for meat. Grows easily from seed if sowed early. Lives over winter —except far north—if covered with leaves. Is, therefore, a “perennial.”
Plant in the Spring in the northern states.
Plant in the Fall in the southern states.
5c.
Radishes.
Buy Little Red Globe-shaped.
Sow a few radish seeds every week for four weeks, to have new young tender radishes ready for pulling each week.
Radishes do not do well in very hot weather.
The late or “winter” radish is planted in the early Fall.
5c.
Tomatoes.
Buy 2 plants early and 2 of of late varieties.
Tomato seeds may be sowed in a box placed in a sunny window or under glass in the hot bed in very early Spring, but unless a large number of plants is needed, it is better to buy the young plants.
A very interesting variety is “cherry tomatoes,” which grow in little clusters of red fruit resembling cherries in appearance. Buy 1 plant.
 2 for 5c.

The approximate cost of this garden for little folks is three dollars.

Seeds of all these vegetables may be started in the house. See Chapter XIV, page 81, “To Plant Seeds in Boxes.” The young plants may be put out in the garden when they are of some size, about which you will read later.