322 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



INooeinber, 



A bourd is put up tliclioight of the frame boanls, 

 !Viul about a foot or more from tliem, and the 

 leaves lilled in hetweeti. If the plants arc some- 

 what tender, the bottom of the frames may be 

 filled in a few feet with the leaves. Much heat 

 is thrown oil' during the decomposition of the 

 leaves, which though not enough to keep out 

 severe frost, yet modifies somewhat the tempera- 

 ture. These leaves, after they have been two or 

 three years decaying, make admirable stuff for 

 potting and flowers in general. 



As soon as the ground gets caked with the first 

 real frost, herbaceous plants should be protected. 

 Though hardy, they will repay this extra care, — 

 mostly natives of woods or grassy places in their 

 native state, they expect a covering of leaves or 

 dry grass. We find dry leaves the best material 

 for the purpose, a few inches is a sufficient depth, 

 a little soil being thrown on to prevent the 

 leaves blowing away. Where such material is 

 not at hand, the common garden soil may be 

 drawn over them, as before recommended in 

 these pages. 



One of the last thought of things, too fre- 

 quently, is to apply manure to fiower beds. But 

 it is scarcely less essential to a fine Summer dis- 

 play, than it is to the production of fine vegeta- 

 bles ; and certainly as necessary as to trees, or 

 the lawn. Still it should be applied with cau- 

 tion. While a poor soil will only grow plants to 

 a diminutive miniature size, — which, though 

 clothed with a profusion of small, starved-looking 

 blossoms, make no show,— a soil over rich will 

 cause too great a luxuriance of foliage, which is 

 always opposed to an abundance of bloom. In 

 most cases we prefer half-decayed leaves ; where 

 these could not be had we would use stable man- 

 ure. The former spread over the soil two inches 

 thick, or the latter one inch, would forrri a dress- 

 ing which, in ordinary cases, should last two or 

 three years. It is difficult to get flowers to do 

 well in even the most favorable soil, if it is liable 

 to hold water to stagnation in Winter. Where 

 flower-gardens or beds exist under such circum- 

 stances, advantage should be taken of the pres- 

 ent season to have it thoroughly underdrained. 

 It will be more beneficial in the end than the 

 most judicious manuring; it is indeed in itself a 

 powerful means of fertilizing the soil. 



The planting of trees will still continue to en- 

 gage our attention at every favorable opportu- 

 nity. Many prefer at this season to remove 

 trees in the Winter by the " frozen ball " system. 

 There is nothing gained by this practice. To 



those unacquainted with this mode of planting, 

 we may as well describe it. Just before frost is 

 expected, a trench is dug around a tree a few 

 feet from its ba.se, leaving the tree, so that with a 

 rope at the top, it can be easily drawn over. A 

 hole is then dug for it in the situation desired. 

 When the " ball " has become frozen through 

 around the tree, it is removed to the prepared 

 hole ; and, when a thaw comes, the soil is filled 

 in around it. We have said there is nothing 

 gained by it, and there are many disadvantages. 

 If the tree has been removed a "time or two" 

 before, as most nurserj' trees have, it will have 

 an abundance of fibres near the stem, and can 

 be successfully removed without much regard to 

 the "ball of earth," either in Fall or Spring. If 

 it has never been removed before, that is a tree 

 growing naturally, it will have no fibres at its 

 base, and so no " ball of earth " can preserve 

 them ; so that a tree which can be moved suc- 

 cessfully on this freezing system, can be as suc- 

 cessfully done without it. The disadvantages of 

 it are that it exposes the injured roots for a long 

 time to the injurious action of the frost and the 

 elements, besides the frequency of the operation 

 being improperly done by several attempts being 

 made at its completion. We have given the 

 system a fair trial, and have done with it. The 

 main object should be to joreserve all the roots 

 possible with the tree, keep them moist and pre- 

 serve from injury, then go ahead and don't wait 

 for frost. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



SOME JULY FLOWERING SHRUBS. 



BY J. M., PHILA. 



To those about to plant shrubs, there is always 

 more or less difficulty in deciding what to plant. 

 The aim usually is to have an assortment to 

 flower one after another throughout the season. 

 There is little trouble to have some to flower in 

 the early months, as the most of the shrubs 

 flower then. At the present time — July — the 

 early kinds of Spirteas arc over, and so are the 

 Weigelas, Philadelphus, and many other com- 

 mon kinds on which we depend for the early 

 adornment of our grounds. But there are yet a 

 goodly number which flower now, enough indeed 

 to make our grounds as attractive as in the 

 Spring months. Amongst these still in bloom, 

 but which are past their best, are the Magnolia 



