Your Garden at the Start of Summer

Summer has come! The flowers of spring have begun to bid the season farewell, and you must replace them with the green plants that give your house freshness and life and soften the dryness and heat of summer.

And if you have no garden, your pots on the balcony, or in the corners of the house, have room for these green blooms, and most of them are planted in the soil like onions...

Some of these plants open white or colored flowers, and others content themselves with their lush green leaves — but all of them are worthy of our care, especially on the threshold of summer. And so "The Woman's Voice" will show you the way to plant these growing things and care for them.

To obtain the best results without toil, you must know a few simple basic conditions. Most of these summer plants and flowers love abundant water, and love light; if they stay long in the shade, they grow spindly and yellowness creeps into their leaves...

The dahlia: Plant the bulbs four inches deep in rich soil, and leave half of each showing above the earth until the leaves sprout and reach eight inches in length; then cover the bulbs with earth and water them generously.

Elephant's ears: Plant it first in the shade, and move it outdoors when its roots grow strong, keeping it away from gusts of wind lest its leaves be snapped; and it is essential to give this plant plenty of room.

The gladiolus: This flower loves the sun. Plant its bulbs three or four inches deep, and plant them in stages — every two weeks — so that you get a longer season and enjoy its blooms all through the summer months. And when its leaves turn yellow just before autumn, lift the bulbs from the soil, dry them, and keep them in a bag for the start of next summer.

The caladium: We know it by its green leaves, mottled and tending toward red. Plant it in small pots, as in the picture, first in the shade; and when it grows strong and its leaves enlarge, it becomes better able to endure sun and wind. In hot weather water it every day, and when its season ends with winter, lift the bulbs from the soil and keep them until summer.

The daffodil: This is a kind of yellow narcissus that loves life in the sun more than in the shade. Plant its bulbs in the soil up to the top of the neck. If you do this at the beginning of June, expect its flowers to open in midsummer; and when its blooming is over, lift the bulbs from the soil and keep them in a cool place, wrapped in waxed paper lest they dry out.