Historic Paxton, her days and her ways, 1722-1913

The secret of a good garden, big or small, is to always have something in bloom, so plant for succession. Any good book on gardening will give you times of blooms for each plant, but I shall tell just the things I have tested and found successful. The Spring Bulbs The first plants to flower in the spring are the bulbs and they must be planted in the fall by early November, preferably in mid-October. Certain bulbs, like some of the lilies which cannot be obtained until December, must have the ground kept soft for them by covering with litter. I spade the ground each fall, before planting, to the depth of eighteen inches, throwing out the earth and mixing it with fertilizer. Last year this was bone meal. Remember: No fresh manure for bulbs. I use chiefly tulips and narcissi. I have some hyacinths, but they are expensive and peter out in a few years. Even the tulips are more trouble than the narcissi. These vary in cost. The mixed bulbs are always cheaper, and, if bought from a good firm, very reliable; they cost often as little as twenty-five cents a dozen. For some of the fine-named hyacinths I paid $1.50 a dozen, and then lost them after one year's bloom. Good narcissi can be had for thirty-five cents a dozen and tulips for thirty cents. Planting Tulips, 5 inches deep, 5 inches apart. Lift every four years. Hyacinths, 6 inches deep, 6 inches apart. Lift each year. Narcissi, 6 inches deep, 6 inches apart. Lift every six years, if crowded. Before hard freezing cover the bulb beds with old manure or litter for winter protection. Lift the bulbs after the foliage has yellowed after bloom and spread on a floor on newspapers. Let the top dry off. I put my bulbs in a dry attic for the summer. Do not use the cellar if damp. I put each variety in a paper bag, marking plainly its name and color. Here are some varieties I have found good : Tulips Early. — Kaiser Kroon — ^yellow and red, very showy. May flowering. — Darwins : Clara Butt, mixed. Cottage. — Gesneriana Major, scarlet; Golden Beauty, yellow, very good; Bouton d'Or, yellow, especially lovely; Inglescomb, pink; Isabella, white shaded with pink; Pico tee, pure white, margin of rose pink. Narcissi Emperor, yellow and primrose; Empress, white and yellow ; Golden Spur, rich deep yellow, very handsome and free bloomer ; Poeticus, snow white, with orange red cup. Hyacinths Mixed varieties, single and double. Iris Among the next flowers to bloom are the iris; from early May into June. There are various kinds of iris, but I use the German types almost entirely, though I have a few Spanish ones, which grow from bulbs, not roots, and are treated like tulips. German iris is an excellent flower for the novice, as it thrives in almost any ordinary soil and needs little care. It likes sun and not too much moisture, as it rots where water stands. The iris is so easy to grow that I have thrown roots out, let them lie on the ground several days before replanting, and they did splendidly that same season. The iris makes a fine hedge. We have one between the house and barn, just by the road, to which nothing is done, not even watered, yet it is a mass of bloom each spring.