92 THE FLORAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



only a trifling amount of injury. The show azaleas are for the most part 

 varieties of A. indica. The hardy garden azaleas, including those called 

 "Ghent Azaleas," are mostly vai'ieties of A. calendulacea, nudiflora, 

 speciosa, and viscosa, all natives of North America. 



Cultivation of Hakdy Azaleas. — From the name azaleos, dry, it may 

 be inferred that the hardy azaleas prefer a dry position. Such is, indeed, 

 the case ; hence we never find them doing well in swampy positions, or 

 on the margins of lakes, where the more robust species and varieties of 

 rhododendron usually gi'ow most luxuriantly, and flower well. But the 

 azalea is not so particular as to position to prevent its being associated with 

 any and every class of Ericaceous shrubs in the same bed, provided the soil 

 used is a gritty peat containing plenty of fibre. A west aspect is the best 

 for hardy azaleas, as they are then less liable to injury at the time of ex- 

 panding their blossoms, and in case of long drought, are less apt to suffer 

 than they would be in a south exposure. At Stoke Newington we have 

 grown in a north-west aspect all the hardy species, and most of their 

 varieties, in the same bed with Kalmias, Ehododendron species and hybrids. 

 Ledums, Vaceiniums, Pernettyas, Ericas, Gaultherias, Menziesias, Andro- 

 medas, etc., and their growth has been luxuriant and in every sense satis- 

 factory. As a matter of taste, the deciduous azaleas do not group well 

 ■with rhododendrono on account of their miserable appearance all the winter, 

 and in arranging an ornamental ground we should never place groups of 

 azaleas very near the drawing-room windows, but rather in beds by them- 

 selves at some distance, keeping the kalmias and rhododendrons for the 

 foreground, on account of their fine appearance in the winter. As to their 

 cultivation for decorative purposes in the flower garden, it is scarcely 

 needful to say more than that they should be planted in two feet depth of 

 peat, or bog earth containing plenty of fibre and siliceous grit, and be left 

 to take care of themselves. Generally speaking, they require neither arti- 

 ficial watering nor sheltering, but if there happen long periods of drj- 

 weather, when the plants are growing, that is, from the middle of April 

 to the end of June, water should be given plentifully. But this labour 

 may be obviated by covering the beds with green moss, which will arrest 

 evaporation from the soil. Old beds in which the plants have grown very 

 large, may be benefited by top-dressing with rotten cow-dung ; this should 

 merely be laid on in winter, and the beds should never be dug or disturbed 

 except for replanting. The best time to form a plantation is the month of 

 October ; but they may be planted any time from October to March, if 

 taken up with good balls, and the roots kept moist by proper jDacking. In 

 exposed situations the blooms are sometimes injured by late spring frosts. 

 This may be prevented by covering with hoops and mats, but generally 

 such protection is not needed, for the deciduous kinds are among the most 

 hardy shrubs we possess. 



In forming plantations of azaleas, it is best to raise the beds above the 

 general level, especially on wet clay soils. The method we generally fol- 

 low when laying out new gardens, if the soil happens to be naturally damp, 

 is first to carry a few extra drains to the spot selected ; and then to lay 

 down on the surface without making any excavation, two or three feet depth 

 of good turfy peat and silky yellow loam in equal proportions, and well 

 chopped up and incorporated. This forms a mound, which is banked 

 round with the soil of the place, and for this purpose clay answers ad- 

 mirably ; on the outer slope of the inclosing bank we lay grass tui-f or 



