358 THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



grasses and tritomas, and a few other such striking and graceful 

 plants, reserving the four outside beds for the flowers. This diagram 

 does not illustrate anybody's garden, but is intended to explain how 

 easily the way to reform may be found by those who have reforming 

 tendencies. 



Plunging in common earth, that is to say, in the soil of the place, 



is possible, but not desirable. So we may use sawdust, or old tan, 

 or even moss, or coal ashes. But there is nothing half so good as 

 the cocoa-nut fibre refuse ; it is always clean and moist, never wet, 

 never dry, pleasing to look at (as before remarked upon), harbours 

 no vermin, and a lady careful of her hands may work at plunging 

 pots in it, and scarcely find one stain upon her fingers when the 

 work is done. The next best thing is tan ; the next best, moss. 

 Plunging in mould is allowable, but not advisable ; but coal ashes 

 are simply filthy, and to adopt them in the " plunging system," that 

 is, as an element in a decorative system, is heresy. Wih cocoa-nut 

 and tan there is no need at all to make provision for the drainage of 

 the pots, but in plunging in common mould or coal ashes, it is 

 necessary to place a brick, or an empty inverted pot, under every 

 pot containing a plant, to prevent the plant becoming water-logged, 

 and also to keep out worms. 



The question now is about the formation of the plunge-beds. 

 In places where stone or wooden edgings are already in use, there is 

 not much difficulty. You decide what is to be the width of the 

 plunge border, and to that width the earth is to be dug out. If the 

 border is narrow (say three feet), a depth of eighteen inches will be 

 enough, because very large pots will not be used. But if wide (say 

 six feet), it may be cut to a sloping bottom twelve inches deep at 

 the extreme front to three feet deep at the extreme rear, which will 

 allow of the largest pots or tubs with specimen conifers for the back 

 row in winter time. In some places good plunging will be done 

 with small pots, and in other places good plunging will be done with 

 large pots ; and again some practitioners will indulge largely in 

 winter trees, and some will only care for summer flowers, etc., etc. 



Where beds are cut in grass, it is an easy matter to take out the 

 earth and put in suitable plunging material ; where there is a grass 

 verge to a border, there can be no difficulty in cutting sharp to it ; 

 but in case of a box or thrift edging, the cutting must be done with 

 care, or the edging may be killed. Put down the line three inches 

 from the live edging, and cut down sloping, so as to spare the roots. 

 If flooring boards, or any rough planking, can be afforded, line the 

 bed with timber, back and front, as shown in the diagram, where we 

 suppose the front to be clipped box, or in any case a bold and sub- 

 stantial stone edging ; next within that, as a lining, a plank on 



