In every garden the matter of soil is of first importance. In case of an outdoor garden the existing conditions will largely determine the class of plants to be grown.

A good loam—that is a non-coherent mixture of clay and sand with a proportion of such decayed vegetable matter as leaves and the fibrous roots of grasses—is the best garden soil, being what is termed warm and early. Soil containing a good proportion of sand is warm, while a preponderance of clay makes what is known as cold or wet soil.

If there is good drainage, cold soil can be rendered lighter, sandier and more friable by the liberal application of manure, which in two or three years will quite change its character. But this is a long time to wait, and to get quick results it will be necessary, after laying out the garden and outlining the beds, to remove the earth to a depth of twenty inches or more, filling in with soil suitable for the class of plants to be grown in each bed. In the beds intended for Roses, however, the clay may be left, as Roses require this soil. Where it is not present it should be supplied and added to each year, as the heavy manuring which Roses require constantly reduces the relative proportion of clay. For the Pansy bed nothing better than leaf-mould from the woods can be procured. For this bed remove six or eight inches of earth, spade in a good supply of old, well-rotted manure from the cow-stable, top-dress with several inches of leaf-mould. You will have a bed that will give magnificent Pansies and few weeds. For the Salvia, Canna, Ricinus, Caladium and other strong-growing plants no soil is better than the muck or peat of swamps—soil composed of partly carbonised vegetable matter decomposed by the action of water. Leaf-mould consists of vegetable matter which has decayed without being submerged, and it usually contains a liberal quantity of sharp, white sand, to which it owes its friable, non-adhesive character. Leaf-mould is commonly found around decayed stumps and in hollow places in the woods, where the leaves have drifted and decayed. It is ready for immediate use. Muck or peat, however, which is found in bogs and swamps, is unfit for garden use when freshly dug—except for aquatic plants—being tough and fibrous. It should therefore be dug during the summer, thrown in a heap and left for the winter frost to rot and render tractable. For immediate use the best method is to place it in a deep hole in the bed and cover with several inches of loam, or old muck. If this is kept worked or mulched to exclude air and retain the moisture in the muck, excellent results may be secured. The bed may also be partly filled with muck and covered with loam, the whole object being to prevent the muck drying out into hard lumps, as it will, when green, on exposure to sun and air. The following spring the loam may be spaded into the muck, giving a warm, mellow, exceedingly rich soil that will grow anything. The importance of starting out with good soil cannot be too strongly urged. It seems at first sight to call for a considerable expenditure of time and money—especially where the earth must be purchased and the labour paid for—but in the long run it is a decided saving.

With unsuitable soil there must be many failures, resulting in loss of both plants and seeds, and this in itself is no small expense. The labour of caring for such a garden is many times greater, for the top-dressing of manure required produces an incessant crop of weeds, which must be removed, not once, but many times during the summer, while beds filled with leaf-mould or muck need but one or two weedings. The weeds which grow naturally in these soils do not flourish in the open ground. A few Smartweeds and Nettles may be expected in the one case, and Violets and Spring-beauties in the other. In the manured garden soil an endless procession of Purslane, Malice, Ragweed and the like must be constantly watched for. The presence of clay and gravel in the soil always renders it hard and given to caking, necessitating frequent cultivation; while muck-beds, after the preliminary spading in the spring, remain free and mellow throughout the season.

Replacing soil presents more difficulties to city dwellers than to those living in the country, or in small towns, but, as there are in the vicinity of most of our cities rich peat lands, it ought not to be difficult to obtain one or two loads of this useful material. Near the small towns are always to be found farmers who own or live near marsh-land, and can supply muck, especially where they have been ditching. A good waggon-load may be had at prices ranging from fifty cents to two dollars, according to the distance to be hauled. The cost in the city would, of course, be much greater.

It is well for the amateur gardener to learn early in her experience to keep her eyes open to all things pertaining to the success of the garden. When driving, note the marsh-lands easily accessible from the highway, especially where they have been ditched or partially reclaimed, and interview the owner or tenant. In the dull season on the farm the owner of such soil may be glad to earn an extra dollar or two, and it may also be suggested to the farmers’ boys, who have marsh-and wood-lands, that they may earn pocket-money by calling on people known to be cultivating flowers or building new homes, to solicit their orders. Many people who grow flowers do not know where to apply for earth, and an advertisement in a local paper would, doubtless, prove advantageous to customer and purveyor. On hillsides along the road, and places which the rain has washed, one may gather quantities of pure white or grey sand for potting. Yellow sand is not suitable for such use, as it contains much clay and cakes badly after watering, while the white or grey sand remains line and loose.

Leaf-mould is not so readily procurable, as it must be gathered from suitable patches through the woods, and the farmers do not like to bother with it. Besides, they are likely to dig up much undesirable under-soil. It is better to go one’s self for this. A still better way is to make your own leaf-mould. Thus: when sod is removed from the ground for any purpose, shake out the fine soil that adheres to it for future use; or slice off the fine roots with a sharp knife just below the crown of the grass. This is known as fibrous loam, and, in combination with leaf-mould, old manure and fine, sharp sand, makes the very finest potting soil. Throw the tops of the sods in a heap in some out-of-the-way corner and add the rakings of the yard in fall and spring, all weeds pulled during the summer, all vegetable refuse, potato-parings, apple-peelings, corn-husks, and berry-hulls—anything that has vegetable matter and will decay. All dish-water and slops that are not needed on the garden may be thrown on the pile, which should be turned over occasionally during the winter. By the following spring you will have the finest kind of leaf-mould. Not all of the pile will have decayed, but along the sides and underneath it will be found ready for use. Add to it every bit of available vegetable matter during the year, including the annual flowers pulled up after their season of bloom, the tops of such root-plants as Cannas, Caladiums, Gladioli, etc., and you will soon have a supply quite adequate to the needs of an ordinary garden. Where there are water-works the hose may be turned on frequently to hasten decomposition. If it is impossible to replace all poor soil in the garden with better, by the addition of leaf-mould and manure, much may be accomplished in the way of building up the old and rendering it suitable.

If the plot to be used can be ploughed up, well manured, and sown to clover, the clover turned under in the fall, a good top-dressing of manure given, and the whole turned again in the spring, the soil should be in good garden condition.

Where the soil is a good, warm loam the addition of fertilisers will always give excellent results, though there is the disadvantage of weeds and extra cultivation to consider. The first cost of suitable earth is great, but it pays in the end in the saving of fertilisers, labour, expensive seeds and flowers.