62 VILLA GARDENING PART i 



Koses worked on this plan. They were mostly of the old- 

 fashioned sumraer-bloomiug kinds, such as the Cabbage or Pro- 

 vence, the York and Lancaster, the Maiden's Blush, and others 

 that would be difficult to find now. In pruning the jjlants, all the 

 strong shoots were left to peg down, and the plan answered 

 well, as the beds were kept full of healthy growth, which was the 

 main thing sought for. 



In the course of time the Hybrid Perpetuals ousted all the old 

 Roses from the beds. I remember what a furore of excitement 

 was caused among us when G^ant des Battailles was introduced, 

 and also the efforts we made to work up a stock quickly. But 

 the whirligig of time brings its revenges, and the G^ant in its turn 

 had to give way to others. I cannot .say that I like pegged- 

 down Roses, as I prefer to grow them naturally. Some Roses, 

 when pegged down, throw up strong wood from the base, which 

 crowds out the flowers and occupies the centre of the bush com- 

 pletely. I think it is better to let the Rose grow into a natural 

 bush, with just the necessary pruning to keep the tree well 

 balanced. The flowers on pegged -down Roses are often dis- 

 figured and splashed with earth from being so near the ground. 

 As regards 



The Pruning of Roses, no inexorable law or rule can be 

 laid down, as so much depends upon the way in which the wood 

 has been produced, and every distinct family requires to be 

 treated in a diff'erent manner. The old-fashioned summer Roses 

 that we planted in large masses thirty or forty years ago were 

 always pruned during autumn or winter, and were cut back 

 more or less according to strength, thinning out the head well 

 before doing the shortening. When the hybridist gave us the 

 Perpetuals this system of winter pruning had to be altered, for 

 the new-comers were of an excitable nature, and would, in our 

 mild winters, show their parentage by breaking into gi'owth 

 prematurely before the weather was ready for them. So it was 

 found the pruning had to be delayed till March, and sometimes 

 — especially with newly-planted bushes — till April As regards 

 the manner of performing the operation there was not much 

 change required. All weak shoots must be cut away, to leave 

 room for the development of the stronger eyes which burst 

 forth from the more vigorous shoots. It is the same with 

 Roses as with fruit trees or other plants. Overcrowding wood 

 or foliage does not pay. There must be space for the young 

 shoots which are to produce the future blossoms to grow. And 

 it is equally important that space should be given to ripen the 

 wood for the next year's crop, although this is sometimes lost 



