THE 



GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



AND 



HORTICULTURIST. 



DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE, ARBORICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS. 



Edited by THOMAS MEEHAN. 



Vol. XX. 



MARCH, 1878. 



Number 231. 



Flower Garden and Pleasure Ground. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



This is particularly the month to pay attention 

 to the hardy annuals. The sooner they are 

 sown, the finer they will flower; that is, provided 

 they are really hardy. Tender annuals, such as 

 Globe amaranthus, Balsams, &c., rot if they are 

 sown before the weather becomes quite warm. 

 The seedmen's catalogues usually distinguish 

 these classes for their customers. In sowing an- 

 nuals, the soil should be slightly stirred with a 

 broad-bladed knife or trowel ; and after the seeds 

 are sown, they should have a little soil sprinkled 

 over them, about one-sixth of an inch deep, ac. 

 cording to the size of the seeds ; barely enough 

 to cover is all that is required. Failures usually 

 arise from the seeds being buried too deeply. 

 Failures also frequently occur from the soil with i 

 which the seeds are covered being to stiff or 

 clayey, "baking" after a rain. Light sandy 

 earth or decayed vegetable loam from the woods ! 

 should be employed for the purpose. Stick a j 

 peg in where the seeds are sown, so that when ' 

 turning out the plants in May from pots, the an- 

 nuals will not be disturbed. Also take care to 

 preserve the names of the kinds. This is a great 

 part of the interest in flower-garden. 



Walks should now have their spring-dressing — 

 the verges cut, and a thin coating of new gravel 

 laid on. Before putting on the new, harrow up 

 the face of the old gravel with a strong iron- 

 toothed rake. Roll well after the new is laid on. 



This is the proper season to lay down box- 



edgings. To make them properly, the soil along 

 the line of the edge should be first dug, and 

 then trod very hard and firm, so tliat it may- 

 sink evenly together, or the line will present 

 ugly-looking undulations in time. Rooted plants 

 should he employed; cuttings are sometimes 

 used, but frequently die out in patches ; a good 

 edge can rarely be made from them. The plants 

 should be set pretty low down, leaving the 

 plants, when set, one or two inches above the 

 soil, according to their stockiness. Sometimes 

 box edgings are laid around beds formed in gra-ss. 

 "When so, a few inches of clear ground should be 



j kept clean between the grass and the box, or the 

 weeds will l)e so intermixed with the box, after 



; awhile, as to render it a nuisance. 



: Herbaceous plants do badly if several years in 

 one place. Every second year, at this season, 



' take up and divide them. Sow as soon as possi- 

 ble some hardy annuals. The earlier they are 

 in the ground after the frost leaves it, the finer 



1 they bloom. 



j Ornamental hedges judiciously introduced into 

 a small place, add greatly to its interest. No 

 easier method ofi"ers whereby to make two acres 

 of garden out of one in the surveyor's draught. 

 The arbor-vitJB (Chmese and American), Hem 

 lock, Holh', Beech, Hornbeam, Pyrus japonica, 

 Privet and Buckthorn may be applied to this 

 purpose. 



Shrubs are not near enough employed in plant- 

 ing small places. By a judicious selection a 

 place may be had in a blooming state all the 

 year; and they, besides, give it a greater interest 



