Along the Garden Path
JUNE days are flowery days-- days when Nature sends the rainbow to earth in the form of iris, when the soft loveliness of peonies unfold, when Canterbury-bells and foxgloves burst into bloom. But most of all, it is the month of roses.
Read ArticleThe Diary of a Plain Dirt Gardener
JUNE 1. Alas, I made a sad mistake this morning. I set the clock wrong last night, and blissfully ignorant of it, I arose just one hour ahead of the usual six this morning, and then marveled at the work I did in the garden before breakfast, as I pondered on the lateness of the breakfastbell. Besides spading, raking, and the doing of other odd jobs, I planted some more perennial seeds after I went forth at 4 o'clock this evening.
Read ArticleThe Nature Trail and Its Makers
"You paths worn in the irregular hollows by the roadsides!
Read ArticleMaking Cut flowers Last Longer
CUTFLOWERS in the home are a joy, a joy that is many times multiplied if they are cut from your own garden. There is nothing that can surpass the happy atmosphere of cheerfulness and optimism that fresh flowers, attractively arranged, bring into the home. A simple bouquet on the breakfast table may change the whole tenor of the day's routine
Read ArticleThe Magic of Summer Bouquets
THERE is magic in the garden; magic in the way the silken poppies nod and beckon on the slender stems, in the way the tall, blue delphinium and the milk-white lilies whisper together and laugh, in the way the exquisite nasturtiums arrange themselves.
Read ArticleNow Boys and Girls Will Organize
A GARDEN club for juniors! Doesn't it sound like fun? How would you like to belong to a garden club like the grownups and really grow flowers and vegetables all your own? Like a magic carpet, the organization of The Junior Garden Clubs of America, with headquarters at Better Homes and Gardens, promises to carry you into a fairyland of flowers and vegetables, where there are sensational happenings every day, and glimpses into Nature's mysterious workshops.
Read ArticleWe Furnish the "January" House
IN THIS article I am going to suggest to you the interior furnishing for three of the rooms of the attractive house known round the editorial office of Better Homes and Gardens as the "January" house. (You see, it was designed for the January issue by Leland A. McBroom, the Magazine's consulting architect.)
Read ArticleJ. N. Darling in His Garden
FROM the west window of my office, as I write, 1 can see the house that is pictured on this page, so the subject of this sketch is approached with an unusual feeling of intimacy and, you might say, geographical nearness.
Read ArticleCommodious but Cozy
I ABSOLUTELY refuse to label the house shown on this page as being a ''typical'' or a "model" house for anybody, or any class of people even, altho it was planned primarily with the typical newly married family in mind. However, it has this advantage: while it may not appeal to some young persons, it may, on the other hand, meet the requirements of older, and oftentimes wiser, couples.
Read ArticleSummer Bloom From Bulbs
WHEN the subject of bulbs is mentioned, our thoughts turn immediately to the gay tulips, the fragrant hyacinths, and the graceful narcissus, which provide an abundance of color in the spring months. Then we think of the gay gladiolus and the pompous dahlias, the two most popular of the so-called summer-flowering bulbs, which are not to be included in this article.
Read ArticleYour Dream Home Brought Down to Earth
NOW let's take a quick view of the several ways in which Marian and Edwin may obtain the money to finance their home. We will not attempt to go into it in detail because the information may be had very completely from the sources already mentioned.
Read ArticleAvoiding Vacancies in Rose Beds
THE rose-lover, even in the cold northern states, is interested in varieties which will give a more or less continuous display of bloom. The Hybrid Teas, therefore, are the principal actors in the rose scene of a garden. Opinions differ widely as to the best sort of plants to buy.
Read ArticleComfortable Closets Displace Old Ones
WHEN we stop to think about it, it seems almost unbelievable that human minds ingenious and orderly enough to design steam engines and locomotives, and to build mathematically perfect bridges, should have put up for so long with anything as inefficient and uncomfortable as the old-fashioned closet, or-- worse still-- the old-fashioned wardrobe.
Read ArticleSmart Summer Things of Oilcloth
WHETHER you are from a section of the country where they say "ile," "oil," or "erl" cloth, you will certainly be hearing of that popular fabric some way this summer. It is being used for shelf coverings, bags, bibs, cutflower baskets, book and magazine covers, pillows, summer tablecloths or runners, novelties by the dozens up to and including draperies and gorgeous big screens, and the very walls themselves!
Read ArticleA Youthful but Real Gardener
IT IS a good many years since we have had a carrot bed entirely of carrots or an onion bed that really could be called an onion bed. We have grown reconciled to seeing more snapdragons than onions in ground once sacred to vegetables, and asters growing in alternate rows with carrots.
Read ArticleBrides and Budgets
I OFTEN wonder why it is that we entertain at bridal showers, give the bride our favorite recipes, and offer her all kinds of household hints, but seldom, if ever, tell her how to make a financial success of her new undertaking. The reason for this, I believe, can be found in the very peculiar fact that we usually find it hardest to talk about the really important things in life.
Read ArticleDelicious Muffins and Popovers
MUFFIN pans for the new bride may sound like a prosaic gift, but are they? Think of the many fine hot breads that may be prepared in them, and of the jolly repasts these foods will attend!
Read ArticleJelly for Your Bread
LIKE the fussy king of A. A. Milne's delightful verses, who stuck to his point of butter for his bread, we find that the human family also insists on jams and jellies on the buttered bread and is even fussy about having certain jellies accompany certain menus. It is not so much a question of what jelly to make, then, but how to make it.
Read ArticleCOOKS' ROUND TABLE
Separate the eggs, and beat the yolks until thick and creamy. Add the cocoa, sugar, and vanilla, and fold in the egg whites, beaten stiff. Pour on a shallow ½-inch pan lined with waxed paper and bake very slowly for 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes and then remove the waxed paper.
Read ArticleThe Aroma From the Trailside Frying-Pan
WHAT is more alluring than the fragrance of bacon sizzling in the open air? Does coffee ever smell so good as when its odor is wafted from the pot briskly boiling over a wood fire in some little glen beside the road?
Read ArticleAids to Better Housekeeping
ON THIS page, we have given you aids to more efficient housekeeping for the kitchen, the laundry, the cleaning, the garbage disposal, and many miscellaneous tasks. Of course, anything which tends to lighten labor and increase leisure for the mother indirectly benefits the child.
Read ArticleAMONG OURSELVES
LAST year I developed the pergola fever. Better Homes and Gardens caused all the trouble. Frequently I would read an article in it describing how some amateur with about my qualifications had built something for his garden which was an unqualified success. Ordinarily, when it comes to making things, I am about as handy as a grizzly bear with a fountain pen, but as I said, I did have the urge.
Read ArticleCome to the Garden Clinic
JUNE is a delightful month. Our perennials are in their prime, our annuals are well under way. Everything is in full leaf and life. Yes even the insect pests, unfortunately, but if we only remember that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," our plants will be unmolested.
Read ArticleMusic Takes Off Its High Hat
MUSIC is taking off its high hat and putting on its business suit, house dress, overalls, or what have you? Gone are the days of supercilious exclusiveness in musical circles. It is no longer a question whether the best artists can afford to "step down" to the level of a ready-made audience; rather, it is a problem whether they will be given such an opportunity, with competition becoming keener every minute.
Read ArticleThe Lure of Other Countries
WHERE are you going this summer? Are you planning a trip to Hawaii, Japan, and China? Are you consulting guide books that tell you just what to do when you get to Spain? Or are you spending the warm, lazy, vacation months right on your own comfortable front porch?
Read ArticleThe True Value of Tillage
NOW that we have our gardens planted, our most important job --one that must be done piecemeal till they take care of themselves-- is to give the plants the best possible help to make the most of themselves for us! Perhaps we may have to supply a little fertilizer if some of the plants are yellowish or slower-growing than they should be.
Read ArticleSwings for Children's Play Hours
CHILDREN like to swing, and here is a swing frame that is so simple to construct and erect that even mother and the boys could do the job if it were necessary.
Read ArticleThe Children's Pleasure Chest
This is to remind you that we are having a bird-coloring page for you. This month, on page 88, there is a picture of a hummingbird. In the May issue there was a bluebird, and in the April issue, a robin. There will be three more birds to color, the last one to be shown in the September issue, and when they are all ready, and when you have written a little bird article, send your material to me.
Read ArticleThe Smallest of All Birds
CHILDREN: This is the third in a series of six birds to be colored for a contest. The first, shown on page 144 of the April issue of Better Homes and Gardens, was a robin; the second, on page 140 of the May issue, was a bluebird. Directions for entering the contest are given on page 142 of the April issue.--
Read ArticleTips for the Handy Man
A GARDEN-HOSE stake like the one sketched can be made by boring thru a strip of wood a hole that will fit the hose nozzle. The stake can easily be pushed in the ground and pulled up when you wish to change the hose to a new position.
Read ArticleACROSS The EDITOR'S DESK
IT IS northern June weather as I write this, for these lines are written in the South, in April. For a short time the desk is out of sight, and I have been meeting hundreds of our readers face to face. And what a joy it has been! The famed hospitality of the South has certainly been demonstrated in the great kindness shown to a traveling editor. And the contacts made will surely be fruitful in better understanding of the South's home-and-garden problems.
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