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