THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



to the whole ; but, save under exceptional circumstances, flowers^ 

 and even fine-foliaged and flowering plants, should never be put in 

 the same bed as succulents. The colour-massing or grouping style 

 of summer-gardening is best adapted to a terrace or parterre that 

 is well backed up or surrounded by evergreens, as these aflbrd relief 

 from the glare of brilliant colours, and at the same time set them 

 off to advantage. A few plants of fine form distributed apart over 

 the garden, and especially in beds of glaring colours, will be found 

 to enhance the beauty of the whole. My view of sub-tropical 

 gardening is, that it is only suitable for positions where it can be 

 associated with water, or for sheltered nooks and dells, where the 

 force of the wind is broken before it comes in contact with the 

 plants. Where such positions are not at command, it is best to 

 choose the hardier class of noble or handsome foliaged plants, many 

 of which may be permanently planted, such as Ailantus, Rhus, 

 Arundo, Salisburia, Yuccas, and the hardy Palm (Chamaerops humilis). 

 Of half-hardy plants that will withstand wind there are numbers, 

 such as Araucaria, Acacia, Ficus, Cycas, Dracaena, Aralia. In planting 

 sub-tropical plants, care should be taken that the beds when fully 

 furnished do not have a " bunchy " appearance. To avoid this, plant 

 thinly, and use as undergrowth dwarfer plants, of which there are many 

 suitable kinds. 



Summer and Winter Bedding. — Now that there is such a 

 wealth of plants suited for furnishing the flower-beds in winter, there 

 can be no excuse for their remaining empty after the summer-bedding 

 plants are cleared away. Much labour is required to carry out both 

 summer and winter bedding ; but I strongly recommend this kind of 

 decoration. There are reasons why winter bedding should be en- 

 couraged. First, winter is the season when all around us is bleak, dull, 

 and bare — leaden skies, leafless trees, flowerless meadows, and silent 

 woods, all of which have a depressing effect on most temperaments. It 

 therefore behoves us to endeavour to neutralise this prevailing dulness 

 by making our gardens as cheerful as possible. Another reason — 

 which to those fond of summer bedding should be the great reason for 

 adopting winter bedding — is the short period during which summer 

 bedding continues in perfection. The thought is continually haunting 

 one that it will fade all too soon. The adoption of winter bedding, 

 however, in my own case obliterates such thoughts, and one looks 

 forward to real pleasure from both systems. Nor has this been the 

 only result. It being necessary that summer and winter bedding 

 should meet, ingenuity had to devise means to this end. This led to 

 my using as summer bedders many hardy plants which otherwise I 

 should not have thought of using, but which are just as effective as 



