THE 



GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



AND 



HORTICULTURIST. 



DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE. ARBORICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS. 



Edited by THOMAS MEEHA.N. 



Vol. XXIT. 



DECEMBER. 1882. 



Number 288. 



Flower Garden and Pleasure Ground. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



It is usually towards spring that the tenderer 

 trees and shrubs suffer from winter weather. 

 There is yet time to protect them. It is often 

 wind rather than frost which does the injury, or 

 perhaps th6 sun shining on plants when frozen. 

 Good dry material which keeps back the wind 

 is therefore a better protection than material 

 which holds moisture and breeds mould. The 

 same applies to the protection of small seedlings 

 or herbaceous plants. A mass of manure or wet 

 leaves is a very bad protection. 



To have nice trees and shrubs winter pruning 

 is desirable. The practice of shearing a plant, 

 as we often see them sheared, is anything but 

 tasteful. Remember, that as the twig is bent the 

 tree is incHned, and there are much prettier 

 things to incline a tree to than to make a sort of 

 nest which even the proverbial crow would des 

 pise. The thinning out of branches and the 

 bending of branches here and there to make 

 them grow as we would like them to, is a great 

 art. and yet a very interesting one in gardening. 



Flower beds are often very desirable near 

 where large trees are growing. But the roots of 

 the trees take most of the f^od. The beds should 

 be dug out about two leet deep every year and 



filled in with fresh earth, or the same earth 

 mixed with manure. The object is as much to 

 cut away the roots as anything. The decaying 

 roots in the earth will make some manure. 



Lawns under trees suffer in summer. The 

 grass dies from poverty and dryness. A dress- 

 ing of rich compost at this season will do much 

 to relieve the former trouble. 



Since lawn mowers came into general use it is 

 often the practice to let the mowings remain to 

 act, as it is said, as manure. But it is found in 

 practice that this material often kills the finer 

 grasses by its shade, and helps the coarser weeds 

 to grow. It is much better to rake it off after 

 mowing and top dress the lawn with some rich 

 material. It is not necessary that this should 

 be coarse stable manure, making the lawn un- 

 sightly all winter. Guano, phosphates, or rich 

 earth that can at once be raked fine, is much 

 better. Avoid bone, cinders, or any gritty mat- 

 ter that will dull the blades of the mowing ma- 

 chine. 



Trees love manure as well as grass. Ever- 

 greens especially like well-decayed manure. 

 There is a great pleasure in a thrifty tree. It 

 can be placed on the surface beneath the trees. 



If possible, without too much cost, vary some 

 of the arrangements of the preceding year. 

 Much of our rural pleasures come from changes 



