134 THE FLOEIST AND POMOLOGIST. [ Junb, 



THE SUMMER CARPETING OF STANDARD ROSE BEDS. 



STrf^IEST, should it be clone ? and secondly, with what ? In my practice I 

 Cl^ have answered the question both ways. My opinion now is in favour of 



Wa surface covering of the soil. Doubtless the best for the Eoses is a coat 

 of nice juicy manure, but this does not harmonise nicely either with the 

 fragrance or the sight of Eoses. It is the right thing in the right place in nursery 

 lines or grounds for growing Eoses for exhibition, but most decidedly the right 

 thing in the wrong place in all Eosaries, or flower gardens, or pleasure grounds — and 

 of course, the majority of Eoses are so placed as not only to produce flowers for cut- 

 ting, but plants, leaves, buds, and blossoms to enjoy. Their perfect enjojroient 

 by ladies is scarcely compatible with surface muck mulchings, or the various com- 

 pounds of earth with night-soil, &c., so that the cultivator is almost driven to a 

 choice of two evils, as they are mostly thought — bare earth, or low-growing 

 plants and flowers. Bare earth is not only objectionable to the eye, but it is 

 more than doubtful whether plants like it. In a state of nature the roots of 

 briar and roses have a double covering, the earth, and the grass and weeds, conse- 

 quently, it is unnatural to leave the layer of earth that at times barely covers the 

 roots to be baked by the fierce rays of the sun. On strong soil the roots must need 

 be ruptured by the drought-formed fissures ; and where the friability of the soil 

 proves a sure antidote to cracking, it is more than doubtful if the roots relish 

 their severe baking. 



The idea has been forced upon me, by the large per-centage of weak and 

 diseased and dead plants in uncarpeted beds, that a living carpet is desirable 

 when a dead one cannot be used. The maintenance of any more agreeable 

 temperature, and the preservation of moisture, probably would more than compen- 

 sate for the impoverishment caused by the growth of the living screen. How- 

 ever, my views upon this important matter are in a sort of nebulous state, and I 

 should be pleased to hear the opinions of others before allowing this to consoli- 

 date into deep and pemianent conviction. What with red rust and other 

 mortal diseases, Eose-growing about here is becoming more and more of a lottery 

 every year, and it would be indeed a boon if any one could point out a way to 

 have fewer blanks, that is, deaths, among our Eoses. 



Considering the point to be for the moment established that a surface carpet 

 of living plants is desirable, we come to the second query — What plants shall we 

 use ? Mignonette is perhaps the oldest surfacing for rose-beds. It is congruous, 

 and in many respects most suitable. Its want of colour (for both the white and 

 scarlet Mignonette are alike fictions of the Catalogues) is a decided advantage, and 

 there is nothing in Mignonette to compete with the blushing beauty of the Eose. 

 Then, again, its humble stature, even as a giant, in no way competes with nor 

 lessens the dignity of standard Eoses ; while its fragrance is complementary to, 

 rather than a rival of, the sweet odour of Eoses. The two make one bouquet of 

 inimitable sweetness, reminding one of a happy marriage, when two lives become 



