A Book of Simple Gardening
Especially Adapted for Schools

Originally published in 1914, this book was intended for school teachers to use as a reference guide in teaching their classes how to build and maintain a school garden. The book details the different types of garden to build, such as rock garden, rosary and wild gardens, and provides weekly and monthly task instructions for classes to maintain the garden all year round. The author discusses the subject comprehensively, explaining the names of plants, tools and pests, aiming to equip school children and beginners with the principles of gardening. The book also contains a variety of illustrations and photographs to assist with teaching. This is a highly informative book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in horticulture and early twentieth-century education.

Introduction; 1. Soil. Manure. The situation of the garden. Laying it out. The paths. Laying out a rose garden; 2. Selection of tools. Spade. Fork. Hoes. Trowel. Dibbler. Hand-fork. Rake. Mattock. Forked hoe. Shears. Half-moon. Pruning scissors. Sieves; 3. Sowing seeds. Weeding. Mulching. Cuttings. Runners and layers. Potting. Syringing. Pruning fruit trees and shrubs; 4. Work for each month. Suggestions for weekly classes; 5. Vegetables. Rotation of crops. List of useful varieties. Sticking peas, etc. Potatoes. Green vegetables. Root crops. Protection from birds and slugs. Lettuce. Celery. Aspargus. Globe and Jerusalem artichokes. Mustard and cress. Seakale. Carrots and beetroot. Leeks. When vegetables should be gathered. Dates for sowing; 6. Fruit trees. Planting. Pruning. Plums. Pears. Apples. Currants. Peaches. Gooseberries. Black currants. Raspberries. Thinning fruit. Mulching. Summer pruning. Strawberries; 7. Roses. Situation. Soil. Planting. Pruning. Green fly. List of roses; 8. Flowering shrubs. Planting. Pruning. Mock orange. Rhodedendrons and azaleas. Spireas. Brooms and gorse. Ayrshire roses. Clematis. Climbing shrubs. Evergreens; 9. Preparation for the rock garden. Type of rockery. Stone. Laying it out. Paths. Soils. Shrubs. Planting. Seeds. Water plants; 10. Insect pests and diseases. Grubs, caterpillars, etc. Mildew, potato disease, etc. A few common remedies; 11. List of annuals, biennials, perennials, rock plants, plants for shade and semi-shade. Flowers for each month in a perennial border; Index.