MANUAL OF GARDENING
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE MAKING OF HOME GROUNDS AND THE GROWING
OF FLOWERS, FRUITS, AND VEGETABLES FOR HOME USE
BY
L. H. BAILEY
SECOND EDITION
1910
EXPLANATION
It has been my desire to reconstruct the two books, "Garden-Making" and
"Practical Garden-Book"; but inasmuch as these books have found a
constituency in their present form, it has seemed best to let them stand
as they are and to continue their publication as long as the demand
maintains itself, and to prepare a new work on gardening. This new work
I now offer as "A Manual of Gardening." It is a combination and revision
of the main parts of the other two books, together with much new
material and the results of the experience of ten added years.
A book of this kind cannot be drawn wholly from one's own practice,
unless it is designed to have a very restricted and local application.
Many of the best suggestions in such a book will have come from
correspondents, questioners, and those who enjoy talking about gardens;
and my situation has been such that these communications have come to me
freely. I have always tried, however, to test all such suggestions by
experience and to make them my own before offering them to my reader. I
must express my special obligation to those persons who collaborated in
the preparation of the other two books, and whose contributions have
been freely used in this one: to C.E. Hunn, a gardener of long
experience; Professor Ernest Walker, reared as a commercial florist;
Professor L.R. Taft and Professor F.A. Waugh, well known for their
studies and writings in horticultural subjects.
In making this book, I have had constantly in mind the home-maker
himself or herself rather than the professional gardener. It is of the
greatest importance that we attach many persons to the land; and I am
convinced that an interest in gardening will naturally take the place of
many desires that are much more difficult to gratify, and that lie
beyond the reach of the average man or woman.
It has been my good fortune to have seen amateur and commercial
gardening in all parts of the United States, and I have tried to express
something of this generality in the book; yet my experience, as well as
that of my original collaborators, is of the northeastern states, and
the book is therefore necessarily written from this region as a base.
One gardening book cannot be made to apply in its practice in all parts
of the United States and Canada unless its instructions are so general
as to be practically useless; but the principles and points of view may
have wider application. While I have tried to give only the soundest and
most tested advice, I cannot hope to have escaped errors and
shortcomings, and I shall be grateful to my reader if he will advise me
of mistakes or faults that he may discover. I shall expect to use such
information in the making of subsequent editions.
Of course an author cannot hold himself responsible for failures that
his reader may suffer. The statements in a book of this kind are in the
nature of advice, and it may or it may not apply in particular
conditions, and the success or failure is the result mostly of the
judgment and carefulness of the operator. I hope that no reader of a
gardening book will ever conceive the idea that reading a book and
following it literally will make him a gardener. He must always assume
his own risks, and this will be the first step in his personal progress.
I should explain that the botanical nomenclature of this book is that of
the "Cyclopedia of American Horticulture," unless otherwise stated. The
exceptions are the "trade names," or those used by nurserymen and
seedsmen in the sale of their stock.
I should further explain the reason for omitting ligatures and using
such words as peony, spirea, dracena, cobea. As technical Latin
formularies, the compounds must of course be retained, as in Pæonia
officinalis, Spiræa Thunbergi, Dracæna fragrans, Cobœa
scandens; but as Anglicized words of common speech it is time to follow
the custom of general literature, in which the combinations æ and œ
have disappeared. This simplification was begun in the "Cyclopedia of
American Horticulture" and has been continued in other writings.
L. H. BAILEY.
ITHACA, NEW YORK, January 20, 1910.
CONTENTS
THE POINT OF VIEW
What a garden is
THE GENERAL PLAN OR THEORY OF THE PLACE
The plan of the grounds
The picture in the landscape
Birds; and cats
The planting is part of the design or picture
The flower-growing should be part of the design
Defects in flower-growing
Lawn flower-beds
Flower-borders
The old-fashioned garden
Contents of the flower-borders
The value of plants may lie in foliage and form rather than in bloom
Odd and formal trees
Poplars and the like
Plant-forms
Various specific examples
An example
Another example
A third example
A small back yard
A city lot
General remarks
Review
EXECUTION OF SOME OF THE LANDSCAPE FEATURES
The grading
The terrace
The bounding lines
Walks and drives
The question of drainage, curbing, and gutters
The materials
Making the borders
Making the lawn
Preparing the ground
The kind of grass
When and how to sow the seed
Securing a firm sod
The mowing
Fall treatment
Spring treatment
Watering lawns
Sodding the lawn
A combination of sodding and seeding
Sowing with sod
Other ground covers
THE HANDLING OF THE LAND
The draining of the land
Trenching and subsoiling
Preparation of the surface
The saving of moisture
Hand tools for weeding and subsequent tillage and other hand work
The hoe
Scarifiers
Hand-weeders
Trowels and their kind
Rollers
Markers
Enriching the land
THE HANDLING OF THE PLANTS
Sowing the seeds
Propagating by cuttings
Dormant stem-cuttings
Cuttings of roots
Green cuttings
Cuttings of leaves
General treatment
Transplanting young seedlings
Transplanting established plants and trees
Tub-plants
When to transplant
Depth to transplant
Making the rows straight
Cutting-back; filling
Removing very large trees
Winter protection of plants
Pruning
Tree surgery and protection
Tree guards
Mice and rabbits
Girdled trees
Repairing street trees
The grafting of plants
Keeping records of the plantation
The storing of fruits and vegetables
The forcing of plants
Coldframes
Hotbeds
Management of hotbeds
PROTECTING PLANTS FROM THINGS THAT PREY ON THEM
Screens and covers
Fumigating
Soaking tubers and seeds
Spraying
Insecticide spraying formulas
Fungicide spraying formulas
Treatment for some of the common insects
Treatment for some of the common plant diseases
THE GROWING OF THE ORNAMENTAL PLANTS--THE CLASSES OF PLANTS, AND LISTS
Planting for immediate effect
The use of "foliage" trees and shrubs
Windbreaks and screens
The making of hedges
The borders
The flower-beds
Bedding effects
Plants for subtropical effects
Aquatic and bog plants
Rockeries and alpine plants
1. PLANTS FOR CARPET-BEDS
Lists for carpet-beds
2. THE ANNUAL PLANTS
List of annuals by color of flowers
Useful annuals for edgings of beds and walks, and for
ribbon-beds
Annuals that continue to bloom after frost
List of annuals suitable for bedding (that is, for "mass-effects" of color)
List of annuals by height
Distances for planting annuals
3. HARDY HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS
Perennial herbs suitable for lawn and "planting" effects
A brief seasonal flower-garden or border list of herbaceous perennials
One hundred extra-hardy perennial herbs
4. BULBS AND TUBERS
Fall-planted bulbs
List of outdoor fall-planted bulbs for the North
Winter bulbs
Summer bulbs
5. THE SHRUBBERY
List of shrubbery plants for the North
Shrubs for the South
6. CLIMBING PLANTS
Annual herbaceous climbers
Perennial herbaceous climbers
Woody perennial climbers
Climbing roses
7. TREES FOR LAWNS AND STREETS
List of hardy deciduous trees for the North
Non-coniferous trees for the South
8. CONIFEROUS EVERGREEN SHRUBS AND TREES
List of shrubby conifers
Arboreous conifers
Conifers for the South
9. WINDOW-GARDENS
The window-box for outside effect
The inside window-garden, or "house plants"
Bulbs in the window-garden
Watering house plants
Hanging baskets
Aquarium
THE GROWING OF THE ORNAMENTAL PLANTS--INSTRUCTIONS OF PARTICULAR KINDS
Abutilons;
agapanthus;
alstremeria;
amaryllis;
anemone;
aralia;
araucaria;
auricula;
azaleas;
begonias;
cactus;
caladium;
calceolaria;
calla;
camellias;
cannas;
carnations;
century plants;
chrysanthemums;
cineraria;
clematis;
coleus;
crocus;
croton;
cyclamen;
dahlia;
ferns;
freesia;
fuchsia;
geranium;
gladiolus;
gloxinia;
grevillea;
hollyhocks;
hyacinths;
iris; lily;
lily-of-the-valley;
mignonette;
moon-flowers;
narcissus;
oleander;
oxalis;
palms;
pandanus;
pansy;
pelargonium;
peony;
phlox;
primulas;
rhododendrons;
rose;
smilax;
stocks;
sweet pea;
swainsona;
tuberose;
tulips;
violet;
wax plant.
THE GROWING OF THE FRUIT PLANTS
Dwarf fruit-trees
Age and size of trees
Pruning
Thinning the fruit
Washing and scrubbing the trees
Gathering and keeping fruit
Almond;
apples;
apricot;
blackberry;
cherry;
cranberry;
currant;
dewberry;
fig;
gooseberry;
grape;
mulberry;
nuts;
orange;
peach;
pear;
plum;
quince;
raspberry;
strawberry;
THE GROWING OF THE VEGETABLE PLANTS
Vegetables for six
The classes of vegetables
The culture of the leading vegetables
Asparagus;
artichoke;
artichoke;
Jerusalem;
bean;
beet;
broccoli;
brussels sprouts;
cabbage;
carrot;
cauliflower;
celeriac;
celery;
chard;
chicory;
chervil;
chives;
collards;
corn salad;
corn;
cress;
cucumber;
dandelion;
egg-plant;
endive;
garlic;
horseradish;
kale;
kohlrabi;
leek;
lettuce;
mushroom;
mustard;
muskmelon;
okra;
onion;
parsley;
parsnip;
pea;
pepper;
potato;
radish;
rhubarb;
salsify;
sea-kale;
sorrel;
spearmint;
spinach;
squash;
sweet-potato;
tomato;
turnips and rutabagas;
watermelon.
SEASONAL REMINDERS For the North For the South
LIST OF PLATES
PLATE
I. The open center.
II. The plan of the place.
III. Open-center treatment in a semi-tropical country.
IV. Subtropical bedding against a building. Caladiums, cannas,
abutilons, permanent rhododendrons, and other large stuff, with tuberous
begonias and balsams between.
V. A subtropical bed. Center of cannas, with border of Pennisetum
longistylum (a grass) started in late February or early March.
VI. A tree that gives character to a place.
VII. Bedding with palms. If a bricked-up pit is made about the porch,
pot palms may be plunged in it in spring and tub conifers in winter; and
fall bulbs in tin cans (so that the receptacles will not split with
frost) may be plunged among the evergreens.
VIII. A well-planted entrance. Common trees and bushes, with Boston ivy.
on the post, and Berberis Thunbergii in front.
IX. A rocky bank covered with permanent informal planting.
X. A shallow lawn pond, containing water-lilies, variegated sweet flag,
iris, and subtropical bedding at the rear; fountain covered with
parrot's feather (Myriophyllum proserpinacoides).
XI. A back yard with summer house, and gardens beyond.
XII. A back yard with heavy flower-garden planting.
XIII. The pageant of summer. Gardens of C.W. Dowdeswell, England, from a
painting by Miss Parsons.
XIV. Virginia creeper screen, on an old fence, with wall-flowers and
hollyhocks in front.
XV. Scuppernong grape, the arbor vine of the South. This plate shows the
noted scuppernongs on Roanoke Island, of which the origin is unknown,
but which were of great size more than one hundred years ago.
XVI. A flower-garden of China asters, with border of one of the dusty
millers (Centaurea).
XVII. The peony. One of the most steadfast of garden flowers.
XVIII. Cornflower or bachelor's button. Centaurea Cyanus.
XIX. Pyracantha in fruit. One of the best ornamental-fruited plants for
the middle and milder latitudes.
XX. A simple but effective window-box, containing geraniums, petunias,
verbenas, heliotrope, and vines.
XXI. The king of fruits. Newtown as grown in the Pacific country.
XXII. Wall-training of a pear tree.
XXIII. Cherry currant.
XXIV. Golden Bantam sweet corn.
XXV. The garden radish, grown in fall, of the usual spring sorts.