THE 



GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



AND 



HORTICULTURIST. 



DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE. ARBORICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS. 



Edited by THOMAS MEEHAN. 



Vol. XIX. 



NOVEMBER, 1877. 



Number 227. 



Slower Sarden and Pleasure Pround. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



As we take up the pen to offer a few November 

 hints, the sun is setting in the west, and the 

 whole sky is suflfused with orange and crimson, 

 and blue, which alone would make this a world 

 of beauty. But in addition to this profusion of 

 charming interest, the trees begin to vie with the 

 sky above them. On the Sumach there is already 

 a crimson blush. The Dogwood, usually of so 

 bright a green, shows signs of ripeness ; and the 

 Kentucky Coffee has actually fallen into its sere 

 and yellow leaf. The Golden Rods and Asters 

 light up the meadows with a red and yellow 

 light, and the azure of the eastern part of the 

 firmament is just dark enough to give the re- 

 quired shade to brilliant beauty. By the time 

 these lines come before our readers' eyes we 

 shall be in the midst of America's most glorious 

 season, and in the midst of a natural enjoyment 

 unknown to the people of any other part of the 

 globe. We, as a whole, hardly appreciate this 

 wonderful beauty. We admire the length of an 

 English Summer's day, and appreciate the re- 

 gretful manner in which the sun goes down. 

 There is scarcely a lovelier scene in the Old 

 World than the lingering sunset of a Summer 

 evening. But the set of Summer itself with us is 

 still more gradual, and as a month is to a day, so 

 in proportion is the enjoyment of an American 

 Autumn over anything English gardening or 

 European scenery can provide us with. We 

 should not forget this in our efiforts at distinc- 



tive American gardening. We have scarcely 

 any Spring, for Summer is often on us before 

 Winter has gone, yet we work away at Spring 

 gardening. We envy and strive to imitate the 

 Summer bedding of the English in spite of the 

 fact that the heat of our climate drives us to the 

 mountains, and our flower-beds are scorched up 

 or dried out while we are away. Why not take 

 especially to September, October and Novem- 

 ber, as characteristically^ our American garden- 

 ing months, and arrange our work especially 

 to horticultural enjoyment then. A place how- 

 ever small might have a few colored leaved Fall 

 plants, and in larger places, the most beautiful 

 effects could be made by a judicious grouping of 

 these Fall coloring things. Talk of the perfec- 

 tion to which the English have brought our 

 Rhododendron ! Let some one take in hand the 

 artistic ajyangement of our Autumn leaves, not 

 on card-board by ladies in scrap-books, or draw- 

 ing-rooms, but as nature would have them on 

 our lawns and gardens, and we can let the Rho- 

 dodendron stay. Not stay from out of our gar- 

 dens by any means, but as the one great glory 

 in English landscape gardening. 



But to more practical matters. These leaves 

 have to be gathered up. They are excellent to 

 mix with hot bed material, and where practica- 

 ble, should be saved for this purpose. They do 

 not heat so rapidly as stable manure, and in this 

 have an advantage as tempering its violence, 

 making it last longer, and maintaining a more 

 regular heat. They are excellent material to put 

 round cold frames to protect half hardy plants. 



