GARDENING FOR LADIES. 



INTRODUCTION. 



It is scarcely possible to imagine any person 

 more completely ignorant of everything relating 

 to botany and gardening, than I was at the 

 period of my marriage with Mr. Loudon; and 

 as I found all his family and friends thoroughly 

 acquainted with both subjects, it may be easily 

 conceived that I was soon heartilv ashamed of 

 mv ignorance, and anxious to remove it as 

 rapidly as possible. Botany appeared too diffi- 

 cult for me to attempt ; but I thought I might 

 easily learn a little of gardening and of plants ; 

 and as my husband's time was very much 

 occupied, I endeavoured first to teach myself 

 from books. This, however, I soon found was 

 no easy task. Good books on gardening are 

 generally written for professed gardeners, who 

 are supposed to know all the elementary parts 

 beforehand ; and most of the books for begin- 

 ners contained only arbitrary directions, for 

 which no reasons were given, and which, as 

 they did not apply in all cases, only seemed to 

 bewilder me. In this dilemma I was obliged 

 to apply to my husband, and though, of course, 

 he was as anxious to teach me as I was to 

 learn, we found unanticipated difficulties at 



B 



