July 1929

Havens of Coolness

SHADE and coolness, and a few flowers to brighten the greenness of a spot, truly this should make us feel that heaven is complete. As we sit in some fern-dell, listening to the trickle of a tiny cascadill, catching the odor of the wild Herb Robert, watching how a lacy fernfrond is splashed now and then-- noting a busy insect about its daily chores-- overhearing the conversation of the birds, and alertly listening to hear all the pulse beats of Nature, we find in these "manuscripts of God" enough to read, too much to understand.

Along the Garden Path

IT IS in the evenings of July that the garden is loveliest. There comes a time, known to flower-lovers, when the air stands still, the colors flash more brilliantly, and fragrances are wafted to the depths of the garden and to our porch swing. Some persons forget that there are many flowers for the evening.

The Diary of a Plain Dirt Gardener

JULY 1. This being Sunday, I am in my best duds, for I could not do manual labor in the garden. But I just could not keep away from work, so late this afternoon I took out Donald's little red chair and, sitting on it in the paths, leaned over and furtively weeded the edges of the beds. It surely is no sin on Sunday to pull weeds from Dianthus deltoides Brilliant after it is in bloom. My conscience! Who could leave this dainty Maiden Pink to be choked by the masculine weeds?

The Gardener's Venture

WHAT is the difference between poetry and prose? Well, prose is supposed to be dry as dust, labor, and all that sort of thing; whereas poetry is the perfume of flowers, the shadow across a lawn.

Homes of Outstanding American Women

"WHEN did home decorating begin to interest you?" I asked Mary Pickford, on the occasion of my last visit with her.

With the Junior Garden Clubs of AMERICA

HERE we are again with a page all our own, and now we want to know how many boys and girls are going to be members of The Junior Garden Clubs of America. Have you planned to organize a garden club? Surely you have, for you will want to have the honor of being a charter member.

A Co-operative Wildflower Garden

"WHY, this looks like a little bit of the woods!" visitors exclaim, thus artlessly paying the highest possible compliment to a wildflower garden. And indeed, this lovely garden in the wooded part of the Webster Park Avenue section of Clintonville (a suburb of Columbus, Ohio) does look like a bit of the wild fields or woods-- some spot where Nature has been exceedingly profligate with her floral wealth, but at the same time a place where some gentle dominion has tempered Nature's inexorable decree of the survival of the fittest, so that instead of there being great masses of a few flowers particularly adapted to the environmental features, there is a bewildering variety of foliage and bloom.

"How Much Will It Cost?"

"HOW much will it cost?" This is the question which almost inevitably arises when we start to do anything in this world of earning and spending. This is particularly true and particularly important when we plan to build a home.

A House of English Derivation

THERE is something about the informal design of this cheerful home that makes one feel it would fit well in any community or locality. It is adapted from the English style of design and is an excellent example of varied textures and refinement in detail.

Rock-Garden Construction

NOT many years ago it was exceptional to find a rock garden of any consequence or interest in any but the gardens of the large estates. Today the home grounds of the average American are not considered complete without some form of rock garden suitable for growing alpine plants.

Furniture Styles That Harmonize

WHEN this generation of parents started housekeeping twenty years ago, or when they assumed ownership of homes their parents had planned and furnished with such loving care, the first thing most of them did was to collect the "golden oak" of the nineties and hustle it up to the attic or out to the junkman, just as the walnut and the plush albums and the horsehair sofas of Queen Victoria's day had been discarded by a previous generation of brides.

Getting the Husband to Help

THAT husbands do help in the game of getting the housework of homemaking done is indisputable. We see them in our own homes and in our neighbors' playing roles which vary from trailing the 2-year-old or wielding the broom, to recording and analyzing expenditures of the family income. So generally and generously do many husbands contribute to the homemaking activities in this day, that where a group of mothers whom I heard talking the other day discussed an exception to this rule, it was with a compassionate attitude toward that home.

What Is Your Hobby?

WHAT is the fascinating little side-interest that adds just the dash of fun and zest, of imagination and beauty, that your good, sober, everyday life needs as seasoning? Is it gardening? Is it acting in home-talent plays? Is it sewing, photography, home-nursing, the study of child psychology? Or is it an interest too far above your own limited possibilities to be named above a whisper? Or one too vague and humble to be dignified by the term "hobby"?

Old Sol, Nature's Dietitian

"WHAT is the latest in nutrition?" is a question I hear often from up-to-date mothers. In trying to find the answer to this question for them and for myself, I have been very much impressed and pleased to run time and time again into an old friend, for the latest thing in dietetics is none other than Old Sol himself.

The First Company Dinner

WITH undaunted courage, a palpitating heart, and a none too steady hand, the bride enters her new kitchen to cook her first companydinner. Very likely this first dinner is given for "his folks," and of all meals in the life of the new homemaker, the success of this one seems to count most.

Things That Men Like

THERE is a persistent rumor that the men are the real epicureans of this world. Find a place frequented by men and you will have located a good place to eat. One often hears that dictum, and it is more true than a mere woman cares to admit.

Porch Needlecraft for Summer

SOMETIMES we design for you rugs to hook, quilts to piece, or ambitious draperies to embroider in crewels-- but not at this time of the year. All of our July offerings have the season in mind, which means small projects easily picked up and quickly done.

Hot Off the Grill and So Good

HAVE you discovered the economy and convenience of grilled meals, or do you think of broiled foods in terms of only the most expensive steaks and chops? There is a great variety of foodstuffs that may be cooked perfectlyin a broiling oven. Many vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, and fruits are at their best prepared in this manner.

To Refresh Your Memory on Canning

LONG-DISTANCE cooking-- that is what someone has called this business of putting garden and market surplus into jars for future use. Many women continue to can because they find it quicker, easier, and cheaper to cook, say, three to one-half dozen or more cans of string beans or tomatoes at one time, than to cook beans or tomatoes that many separate times.

Aids to Better Housekeeping

THIS month I am showing you equipment to wash with, to weigh with, and to bake with. Washing must be done the year round; scales are always useful. Baking does not sound so appealing for July weather, but don't you find that, much as you enjoy salads and sandwiches, yet a few times a week, even in the hottest weather, the family needs and demands a warm meal?

Come to the Garden Clinic

JULY is the month during which the gardens of the good gardeners are in their prime and those of the poor gardeners are beginning to deteriorate. It is the month when the lack of sufficient fertilizer begins to show in the lessening growth and the poorer quality of bloom.

"HOW TO FINANCE THE BETTER HOME"

NEW GARDEN LEAFLETS

Mostly for Out-of-Doors

NOTHING appeals to young children more than a sandpile. My neighbor, Wm. Hudson, has devised a well-ventilated and attractive combination sand-house and sunshade for a sandpile used by all the children of the neighborhood. The photograph at the top of the page was taken, before the roof was covered with morning-glory and other vines, to show the construction of this sandhouse. However, after the vines have leaved out, this project makes a most beautiful corner for the back yard as well as a shaded playhouse for the little folks.

PRIZEWINNERS OF THE WHITTLING CONTEST

The Children's Pleasure Chest

There are three things I want to remind you of in this letter, and the first one is about The Junior Garden Clubs of America. Each one of you boys and girls is bound to have many thrilling moments in this great adventure! I think it would be a good idea for you to read and re-read page 16 of the June issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

Favorite Feathered Friends

THIS is the bird which is often compared to a waitress who has red hair. She, you know, wears a black dress and a dainty white apron. That's the way the red-headed woodpecker looks. His head is a brilliant red, and his back and wings are black. The white tips of his upper wings represent the big white bow on the white apron which covers his breast.

Remarkable Results With Tomatoes

TO BE able to increase the yield of tomatoes sixfold is an accomplishment which should awaken our interest. In the tomato trials at the Connecticut agricultural experiment station, such tomatoes as were trained to stakes were easy to pick, the fruit was clean, and the vines were early to bear.

ACROSS The EDITOR'S DESK

WHEN this issue is placed in the mails, many of you will be taking your annual vacations. As you roam about the woods, or the shores of lakes or the ocean, you will come in direct contact with Nature's own great garden, and if you are wise, you may learn many things from her. You may learn to be more considerate of wild things. It is one of the unhappy features of American life that some of us are prone to indulge in a destructive whim when playing in the gardens of the wild, tearing down gorgeous bloom, slashing at tender stems and branches, digging up roots that can never be replaced.