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Manual of GardeningTHE HANDLING OF THE PLANTSThere is a knack in the successful handling of plants that it is impossible to describe in print. All persons can improve their practice through diligent reading of useful gardening literature, but no amount of reading and advice will make a good gardener of a person who does not love to dig in a garden or who does not have a care for plants just because they are plants. To grow a plant well, one must learn its natural habits. Some persons learn this as if by intuition, acquiring the knowledge from close discrimination of the behavior of the plant. Often they are themselves unconscious of this knack of knowing what will make the plant to thrive; but it is not at all necessary to have such an intuitive judgment to enable one to be even more than a fairly good gardener. Diligent attention to the plant's habits and requirements, and a real regard for the plant's welfare, will make any person a successful plant-grower. Some of the things that a person should know about any plant he would grow are these:-- Whether the plant matures in the first, second, third, or subsequent years; and when it naturally begins to fail. The time of the year or season in which it normally grows, blooms, or fruits; and whether it can be forced at other seasons. Whether it prefers a situation dry or moist or wet, hot or cool, sunny or shady. Its preferences as to soil, whether very rich or only moderately rich, Next Page |
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