A-B-C of Gardening by Eben E. Rexford is a short, approachable guide to creating and caring for a home garden. Published in March 1915, it introduces soil preparation, lawns, flower borders, annuals, vines, window boxes, bulbs, and indoor plants. This free PDF is particularly useful for readers interested in traditional ornamental gardening and the everyday routines that keep a small home garden attractive through the changing seasons.
A clear starting point for the home gardener
Rexford begins with the ground itself. The opening chapter discusses preparing the soil, working in fertilizer, sowing seed, weeding, and choosing basic tools. Its direct style is aimed at the amateur who wants to understand what to do first, rather than someone already familiar with a large horticultural vocabulary.
The advice repeatedly returns to observation and regular attention. Soil conditions vary, plants respond differently, and small jobs become harder when postponed. For a reader building practical gardening skills, this emphasis on looking closely at the garden is one of the book’s strengths. Its recommendations belong to its period and region, but the questions it raises about soil, moisture, growth, and maintenance are useful starting points for further learning.
Planning lawns, borders, and flowers
The lawn chapter considers surface preparation and the challenge of distributing seed evenly. The border chapter looks at placing shrubs and perennials so that their height, growth, and appearance work together. Rexford encourages readers to think about the mature plant and the space it needs instead of crowding a new planting for an immediate effect.
Annual flowers receive their own chapter, with discussion of familiar garden favorites including sweet peas, nasturtiums, asters, and others. The author favors beginning with a manageable selection and learning to grow it well. Vines add another dimension, bringing shade, height, and coverage to porches, walls, and garden structures. These sections offer a view of the plants and styles valued in early twentieth-century home gardens.
Work through spring, summer, and winter
Separate chapters on spring work and midsummer care give the book a seasonal rhythm. Instead of treating a garden as something finished at planting time, Rexford follows it as growing conditions and tasks change. That organization makes it useful to browse alongside the progress of a real garden, with local weather and plant requirements guiding any present-day application.
Preparing for winter includes consideration of plants that cannot simply be left outside. Bulbs for winter flowering and the winter window garden continue the subject indoors. Together, these chapters show how home gardening can remain an active interest after the outdoor flowering season has ended.
Window boxes and plants inside the home
Window boxes provide one of the book’s most practical small-space subjects. Rexford discusses keeping their soil adequately watered and avoiding the misleading appearance of a wet surface over dry soil below. Regular care is especially important where a container holds many plants in a limited amount of growing medium.
Chapters on growing plants for table decoration and on decorative plants connect the garden with the rooms of the house. The bulb bed, winter-flowering bulbs, and window plants expand the range of settings in which a reader can grow something. This makes the book relevant to people with a porch, a few containers, or a sunny window as well as those with a larger plot.
Simple structures and helpful garden habits
The chapter on home and garden conveniences describes such projects as vine-covered awning frames, ornamental gateways, shaded garden seats, and screens. These ideas combine modest carpentry with plant training, showing how a garden’s usefulness can grow from the arrangement of simple structures rather than expensive features.
Gardening for children, a chapter of garden “don’ts,” and a collection of helpful hints round out the volume. The insect chapter records historical control practices; use current plant-health guidance and approved products rather than reproducing old chemical treatments. Likewise, check whether older plant recommendations are appropriate or invasive in your area before adding them to a modern garden.
Who will enjoy this book?
This is a beginner’s ornamental-gardening handbook rather than a vegetable-production or emergency-food manual. It suits readers exploring gardening references, old-fashioned flower gardens, household plant culture, and the history of home landscapes. Its compact chapters and conversational explanations also make it a useful companion for anyone developing the habits of observation, planning, and regular care that support a wider homestead garden.
Book details
- Title: A-B-C of Gardening
- Author: Eben E. Rexford
- Publication: March 1915; no numbered edition stated
- Publisher: Harper & Brothers, New York and London
- Series: Harper’s A-B-C Series
- Language: English
- Format: Scanned PDF with text layer, 136 digital pages
- File size: 3.27 MB (3,271,832 bytes)
- Subjects: Home gardening, flowers, borders, vines, bulbs, window boxes, indoor plants
