66 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[March, 



winds are gone, but the sooner before the young 

 growth is made the better. 



Ornamental hedges judiciously introduced into 

 a small place, add greatly to its interest. No 

 easier method offers whereby to make two acres 

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

 The Arbor-vitae (Chinese and American), Hem- 

 lock, Holly, Beech, Hornbeam, Pyrus japonica, 

 Privet and Buckthorn may be applied to this 

 purpose. 



Shrubs are not nearly enough employed in 

 planting small places. By a judicious selection a 

 place may be had in a blooming state all the j'ear ; 

 and they, besides, give it a greater interest by 

 their variety, than is obtained by the too frequent 

 error of filling it up with but two or three forest 

 trees of gigantic growth. Plant thickly at first, 

 to give the place a finished appearance, and thin 

 out as they grow older. Masses of shrubs have 

 a fine effect on 'a small place. The center of 

 such masses should be filled with evergreen 

 shrubs, to prevent a naked appearance in the 

 winter season. 



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 

 they bloom. 



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 that it may sink 

 evenly together, or the line will present ugly- 

 looking undulations in time. Rooted plants 

 should be employed; cuttings are feometimes 

 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 grass. 

 When so, a few inches of clear ground should be 

 kept clean between the grass and the box, or the 

 weeds will be so intermixed with the box, after 

 awhile, as to render it a nuisance. 



Walks should now have their spring-dressing 

 — the verges cut, and a thin coating of new 

 gravel laid on. Before putting on the new, har- 

 row up the tace of the old gravel with a stroag 

 iron-toothed rake. Roll well after the new is 

 laid on. 



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 aa 

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

 sown before the weather becomes quite warm. 

 The seedsmen's catalogues usually distinguish 

 these classes for their customers. In sowing 

 annuals, 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, 

 according 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 

 which the seeds are covered being too 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 

 peg in where the seeds are sown, so that when 

 turning out the plants in May from pots, the 

 annuals 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. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



MR. HUNNEWELL'S GARDEN AT WEL- 

 LESLEY. 



BY WM. FALCONER. 

 • NO. III. 



The Italian Garden, of which an excellent 

 illustration appeared in Harper's Monthly, p. 517, 

 March, 1881, lies between the mansion and the 

 Waban lake, and consists of a series of terraces, 

 whereon are growing many trees clipped into 

 curious and abnormal forms. It is the most ex- 

 tensive and pertinent garden of the kind in 

 America. The clipped trees consist of White 

 pine, Norway spruce, Hemlock spruce, Arbor- 

 vitae, Retinosporas as squarrosa, obtusa and 

 pisifera, American beeches and European lar- 

 ches. And here and there upon the banks are 

 spread thick mats of such Junipers as tamarici- 

 folia and squamata. Mr. Harris tells me that, 

 although these Junipers do so well on this nor- 

 thern exposure, in other portions of the garden 

 facing south, they do not thrive. 



The Arboretum is well stocked with many rare 

 and handsome trees, particularly evergreens, as 

 pines and spruces, junipers and retinosporas. 

 The pinetum is on mostly sloping ground, and 

 includes fifteen to twenty years' old specimens 

 of many subjects that are yet novelties in our 



