MONTHLY CALENDAR. 2/5 



mixed flowei* and kitchen -gardens, to shut out buildings or unsightly objects. 

 Small oak stands, or larch poles, about five or six feet apart, and having the in- 

 tervals filled with thin iron wires crossing each other, form the most durable 

 trellis-work. Against the walls of a house a very nice trellis-work may be 

 made with a lacing of copper wire over nails of the same, which may be 

 worked in any pattern, and carried in any direction. To this wire the creepers 

 may be tied when necessary ; in this way house-walls may be covered with, 

 flowers or evergreens, without injury to themselves from continual nailing. 



742. Tile-hedsfor Grass-plots form very pretty and very ornamental objects 

 made on grass borders, or on lawns of kitchen or mixed gardens. The tiles, 

 or pipes, as they are called in some parts of the country, should be of bright 

 red clay, 12 inches long and about three inches in diameter, and all carefully 

 foi-med in the same mould. These should be placed upright in a circle, or any 

 other figure, buried, according to taste, about four to six inches in the ground ; 

 the earth and the beds being raised to the level of the outstanding part of the 

 tiles. A very effective centre bed can be made with these tiles in three tiers, 

 the edges of each tier being built in scallops, and a border left about H or 

 two feet in diameter. These three borders have a beautiful effect when filled 

 with different plants. Take, for instance, Calceolaria, aurea floribunda for the 

 top department ; Tom Thumb's, or Frogmore's, for the middle border ; and 

 Mangles's variegated geranium for the lower. These beds would have an 

 agreeable appearance even in winter when cleared, on account of the contrast 

 between the bright red tiles and the grass ; and in spring may be made very 

 gay with hj'acinths, crocuses, and other bulbs. 



743. JBasket-heds of Ivy on grass-plots form a pretty variety, and may be 

 made round or oval, according to fancy. A frame of wicker-work should be 

 made, the shape of the bed, about one foot or 1^ foot high, around which, on the 

 outside, should be planted, quite thick, either the large Russian, or the 

 small-leaved and variegated ivy. In a year or two, with a little care and 

 attention, the wicker-work will be quite covered, when the ivy must be kept well 

 cut in, and the earth in the basket may be raised or not at pleasure. With a 

 little trouble, the ivy may be made to trail over wands, and form a handle to 

 the basket. 



744. Oah and Holly-leds. — Acorns sown very thick round a bed in a drill 

 about two or three inches wide, in the course of a year or two form a very 

 pretty edging ; and owing to the thickness with which they stand, with an 

 occasional clipping, the small oaks may be kept four or five inches high, and 

 in this manner have a very good effect. Hollies also may be used in the same 

 way ; but in this case it is better to raise the plants on a seed-bed, and trans- 

 plant them to the bed for which they are required as an edging, when about 

 two or three inches high. They may be kept dwarf by cutting, and will not 

 become too large for their position for some years. 



745. Leaf-shaped Beds. — Some of the prettiest beds for lawns may be made 

 by cutting them out into the natural form of the leaves of trees, shrubs, and 

 plants. The form of the common ivy-leaf makes a very pretty bed, so does 



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