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Planning Your Garden

The gardener with command of this class of material might use it in the form of stepping-stones, as the Japanese do, but the effect so obtained must not be overdone. Its legitimate place is on the grass.

NOTE — In the use of a non-binding material like blue stone it is well to screen out all fine stuff which otherwise would adhere to the boots in wet weather and be carried into the house. Shells form an almost hopeless material for the garden. Their innate friability precludes the separation of large from small, and renders them the most persistent material I know of for finding its way indoors.

Grass As A Foundation

THERE is something delightfully soothing in a well-kept stretch of verdant turf. It is nature's embodiment of the sense of repose, the mantle with which she covers the crudities of man's handiwork, the best background for our flowers, and, in most cases, the criterion by which we may judge the capabilities of the gardener. If turf we must have, let us have it green and fresh and innocent of spot or blemish. Secondary as it is to the flowers, yet it must receive the best attention we can give it. The picture loses much of its charm if the frame is unworthy of it.

We may obtain our grass in any of three ways: we may import turfs, sow seed, or be content with the old pasture grass as we find it. Just which we decide upon will be governed by circumstances.

Old pasture is not always a success, particularly upon heavy land. It may be growing upon too thin a soil, and we should find it wateriogged in winter and scorched in summer. Moreover, it may be full of undesirable weeds, and infested with insects ready to migrate to our beds and borders. On the other hand, we may be lucky in lighting upon some rich meadowland in which the conditions are favourable to the growth of good turf, and where thistles and other noxious weeds are conspicuous by their absence. In such case we may "leave well alone," and rejoice that we are saved the trouble and expense of further operations. Should we be driven back upon one of the other two expedients, we must make our choice according to the local conditions. Which is the more economical in cost, turf or seed? This problem we may work out for ourselves when we know the cost of turf in our district. We may be able to get it for the labour cost of cutting it, and, if it is near at hand, the total cost may be small. But we may have to pay for our turfs at current rates, which will vary according to the locality and the proximity to an available source of supply. About thirty-six hundred and thirty turfs would be required to cover a quarter of an acre, and here we are faced with a large outlay for material alone.