Otit-Door Preservation of Tender Plants in Winter 



463 



destroyers of these late vegetating plants than 

 the frost is. 



3d, Tender evergreen herbaceous and sub- 

 shnibby plants, such as the Cineraria mari- 

 tima, Centaurea ragusina, the so-called shrubby 

 calceolarias, &:c., require more stem and top 

 than root protection, so that a narrow turf 

 laid around them, and filling in between the 

 stems with rough sand or charcoal, after all 

 decayed or decaying leaves and leaf stems 

 have been carefully removed, is only requi- 

 site. Then a circle of evergreens should be 

 stuck in pretty thickly around, and extending 

 at least 6 inches above the top of the plant, 

 but so as to leave it somewhat exposed ; and, as 

 a greater security from wind, these branches 

 should be tied near their tops to a strong 

 willow withy, or wire hoop. 



4th, Tender deciduous shrubs, including 

 most of the fuschias, many of the finest tea- 

 scented roses, the old-sweet scented verbena, 

 hydrangeas, &c., are well adapted for the 

 root and top mode of protection pre- 

 viously described ; but in the case of the 

 hydrangeas, as their flower buds are formed 

 on the extremities of the stronger shoots, 

 these should be more carefully defended than 

 those of the other kinds named, and at the 

 same time kept more apart or less crowded, by 

 having dry ferns or the like placed between 

 them ; and it is especially desirable that their 

 branches, and particularly their upper ends, 

 be kept dry. 



5th, Tender evergreen shrubs, such as 

 m}Tt]es, Eugenias, camellias, some of the 

 rhododendrons, &c., have been already 

 alluded to. "Wlien grown on walls these are 

 not unfrequently closely enveloped in mats, 

 or their foliage otherwise excluded from light 



and air, by which it is as effectually destroyed 

 as if it had been exposed to the hardest 

 frosts. In such situations protection from 

 hot spring sunshine is as essential as from 

 frost ; and a covering of well-secured open 

 branches is far more suitable than one of 

 mats, or, if the latter are used, it should only 

 be temporarily and in extreme cases, when 

 they would be much improved both in appear- 

 anceand usefulness by having evergreens laced 

 over their outer surfaces. 



There is yet another class of tender plants 

 used in bedding-out, which those who have 

 no winter accommodation for growing them 

 may perpetuate by seeds, such as the 

 blue and other dwarf lobelias, the finest 

 varieties of Indian cresses, mimuluses, 

 herbaceous calceolarias, &c., which, if sown 

 in a cool glass frame, or even in the open 

 border in early spring, will produce a fine 

 display of autumn bloom. 



But where is all this turf to be got ? and 

 how is it to be disposed of after it is no 

 longer needed for plant protection ? are 

 questions which will occur to many. A 

 numerous class of flower gi'owers will have 

 little if any difficulty in procuring turf, 

 the quantity of which requisite for a mode- 

 rate sized place Avill not be nearly so 

 great as may at first sight appear; and 

 when no longer required it is easily 

 disposed of in the compost heap, where, if 

 inteniiixed with cow dung, it will form in the 

 first season an excellent medium for the 

 growth of vegetable marrows, gourds, hardy 

 cucumbers, and New Zealand spinach, while 

 afterwards it will assume the form of turfy 

 loam, which no garden should be without, and 

 with which few are ever over supplied. 



