The Daily Alaska Empire

PUTTING GARDEN
TO BED; HOW TO
DO IT PROPERLY

Closing the summer gardening season, the educational committee of the Juneau Garden Club resumes its series of weekly articles with suggestions on putting the garden to bed for the winter.

During the earlier part of the summer, the Garden Club gave a series of articles on preparing and planting the garden. Now the fruits have been enjoyed, and many of the plants are past their blooming. Others are still going strong, but before the heavy frosts, the work must be finished for the winter months.

This is the time to plan the garden for next year. If the gardener has kept a list of suggested changes as they occurred to him throughout the summer, his work will be simplified. It also aids changing if he makes a paper plan of his garden and marks changes in planting.

Hardy perennials can be moved to their new spots now, thinning those that need it as they are moved.

The bulb beds should be prepared as soon as the annuals are through blooming. Any new garden spot and beds should also be dug and prepared and allowed to lie over the winter before spring planting. The bulbs probably should not be put in, however, for several more weeks, or they get too much growth before spring.

If well decayed manure is available, it may be put over the perennial beds now for a winter mulch. Another good mulch for shrubs or raspberry bushes are grass clippings from the lawn.

Shrubbery may now be fed a slow fertilizer like bone meal for the winter.

"A hint on lilacs that don't bloom well is to cut the roots to keep them from getting too bound together."

The lawn should now be getting its final weeding--those small ones that will be large next spring and make weeding more difficult. A bone meal feeding can be put on the lawn for a winter fertilizer.