36 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[February, 



May. There are hundreds upon hundreds of 

 half-hardy plants, vast bushes and little ones, 

 tastefully arranged in beds upon the grass, un- 

 der the skeleton framework of a mammoth 

 tent. While the shrubs are in blossom, the can- 

 vas is spread over the frame, but as soon as the 

 flowering time is over the canvas is removed 

 and the shrubs allowed to make and ripen their 

 new growth unshaded. Old flowers and seed 

 vessels are picked off and lots of water given in 

 protracted drouths. In November these half- 

 hardy Rhododendrons, with as good balls of 

 roots and earth as can be taken with them, are 

 transplanted, or " heeled-in " rather, in earth 

 beds, in large cellars and other more favorable 

 quarters, specially constructed for them. Here 

 they remain cool and uninfluenced by variations 

 of temperature till April, when they are again 

 transferred to their outdoor places, as before. 

 Besides the spacious accommodations formerly 

 provided for wintering half hardy rhododen- 

 drons in, Mr. Hunnewell has just had completed 

 a substantial structure of masonry, with an in- 

 side measurement of 66 feet long, 18h feet wide, 

 and 12 feet high; light and ventilation are ad 

 mitted by windows on the roof and ends. This 

 building is among the trees on a northern (I 

 think) slope, and is provided with large doors 

 and a good cartway leading to them, so that very 

 large plants may be conveniently handled. An 

 older but somewhat similar cellar-building is 

 fitted up with double sashes and shutters as 

 proof against severe weather, and in it is a fire- 

 place and flue to be used in case of dampness. 



In the summer time palms and other suitable 

 plants are associated with the rhododendrons 

 under the tent frame, the pillars and timbers of 

 which are clad and draped in Clematises, Wista- 

 rias and other permanent vines. And surround- 

 ing this are deep banks of hardy Ehododen- 

 drons, backed for effect and shelter's sake with 

 other shrubs and trees, and on one side with 

 hedges. Lilies and other bulbous plants grow up 

 among the bushes and prolong the flowering 

 time. But outside of this particular spot, rhodo- 

 dendrons, old and large, are massed in groups, 

 banks, and beds, and in great numbers too. 

 In the case of the hardy rhododendrons, the 

 beds containing them were deeply and well 

 made, to begin with, and now they are heavily 

 mulched with tree leaves every fall. These 

 leaves are a partial protection against frost in 

 winter, and are allowed to remain during sum- 

 mer, partly for nourishment, and partly as a re- 



lief against drought. But Mr. Harris says he 

 should prefer to have the rough leaves removed 

 in spring, and a dressing of rotted leaf soil ap- 

 plied instead, as he would thereby not only be 

 feeding the plants, but bringing their roots 

 within the influence of every passing shower, in 

 spring and summer, whereas, when the heavy 

 mulching of undecomposed leaves remains upon 

 the beds in spring, many a light but beneficial 

 shower is spent upon the mulching without 

 reaching the roots. The following hardy and 

 half-hardy kinds of rhododendrons are recom- 

 mended by Mr. Harris : Hardy, — Album elegans, 

 blush, changing to white ; Alexander Dancer, 

 bright rose with pale centre; Archimedes, rosy 

 crimson ; Caractacus, rich purplish crimson ; 

 Charles Dickens, dark scarlet; Delicatissimum, 

 pale blush ; Everestianum, rosy lilac ; H. H. 

 Hunnewell, dark rich crimson ; H. W. Sargent, 

 crimson ; Lord John Russell, pale rose (apt to 

 get a little winter hurt) ; Mrs. John Clutton, 

 white, very fine ; Mrs. Milner, rich crimson and 

 Purpureum elegans, fine purple. Half-hardy, — 

 Alarm, white, edged with crimson ; Auguste Van 

 Geert, rosy purple ; Brayanum, rosy scarlet ; 

 Cynthia, rosy crimson ; Elfrida, rose, much 

 spotted; Fleur de Marie, rosy crimson; James 

 Macintosh, rosy scarlet ; J. Marshall Brooks, 

 rich scarlet; John Waterer, dark crimson ; Jo- 

 seph Whitworth, dark lake ; Lady Armstrong, 

 pale rose, and Lady Eleanor Cathcart, pale rose. 

 Indian Azaleas are largely represented, and in 

 addition to forming with the hardy varieties and 

 the Rhododendrons a special show in the spring, 

 they are in blossom in succession from Christ- 

 mas till June. As they finish blooming they are 

 introduced to warm, moist quarters, and encour- 

 aged in growth. They are then gradually inured 

 to cooler treatment, and in the summer time 

 plunged out of doors, in a well-sheltered yard, 

 there to remain till the end of September or first 

 of October, when they are removed to cool 

 greenhouses or pits. They remain in these pits 

 till December when a majority of the latest of 

 them are moved into the cellars with the Rho- 

 dodendrons, to stay till spring. When any of 

 them grow out in a straggling, misshapen man- 

 ner, Mr. Harris has no hesitation in pruning 

 them hard into the old wood ; this he does early 

 in the season, and introduces them at once into 

 heat, moisture and shade. Buds break out all 

 over the old wood, and although an idea prevails 

 that this first year's wood will not yield flowers, 

 Mr. Harris tells me he succeeds in getting some 



