he has no reason to be ashamed of it. It should be painted a dark
green or some other neutral color.

Rake the mulch away from the plants that were given protection in fall
as soon as the weather gets warm enough to start them to growing. Or it
can be dug into the soil about them to act as a fertilizer. Get it out
of sight, for it always gives the garden an untidy effect if left about
the plants.

Go over the border plants and uproot all grass that has secured a
foothold there. A space of a foot should be left about all shrubs and
perennials in which nothing should be allowed to grow.

If any plants seem out of place, take them up and put them where they
belong. If you cannot find a place where they seem to fit in, discard
them. The garden will be better off without them, no matter how
desirable they are, than with them if their presence creates
color-discord.

Peonies can be moved to advantage now. If you cut about the old clump
and lift a good deal of earth with it, and do not interfere with its
roots, no harm will be done. But if you mutilate its roots, or expose
them, you need not expect any flowers from the plant for a season or
two.

Get stakes ready for the Dahlias. These should be painted some
unobtrusive color. If this is done, and they are taken proper care of in
fall, they will last for years. This is true of racks and trellises.

Provide yourself with a hoe, an iron-toothed rake, a weeding-hook, a
trowel for transplanting, a wheel-barrow, a spade, and a watering-pot.
See that the latter is made from galvanized iron if you want it to last.
Tin pots will rust out in a short time.

Take your watering-pot to the tinsmith and have him fit it out with an
extension spout--one that can be slipped on to the end of the spout that
comes with the pot. Let this be at least two feet in length. This will
enable you to apply water to the roots of plants standing well back in
the border, or across beds, and get it just where it will do the most
good, but a short-spouted plant will not do this unless you take a good
many unnecessary steps in making the application.

Be sure to send in your orders for seed and plants early in the season.
Have everything on hand, ready for putting into the ground when the
proper time comes to do this.

SUMMER WORK IN THE GARDEN

If weeds are kept down through the early part of the season, there will
not be a great deal of weeding to do in midsummer. Still, we cannot
afford