TIMELY TOPICS FOR THE AMATEUR— VI. 



'HE flower g-arden and lawn, especial- 

 ly the latter, usually presents a 

 burnt up, rusty looking' appearance 

 during- the month of August that is 

 very discourag^ing to those who take a pride 

 in having their gardens and lawns looking 

 fresh and bright throughout the entire sum- 

 mer. Constant and copious waterings may 

 keep the grass looking comparatively fresh 

 and green, and relieve somewhat the gen- 

 eral dried up appearance prevailing around ; 

 but the deficiency in color of foliag-e, and 

 lack of flower on tree and shrub, is very 

 noticeable on most lawns, at this the ripen- 

 ing season of the year. 



The last sprays of bloom of the late flow- 

 ering Spireas, such as Spirea Douglasii, S. 

 aurifolia, S. Bumalda, and a few other va- 

 rieties that are so useful in helping to bright- 

 en up the lawn during July, are now rusty 

 and dingy looking. Even the useful purple 

 leaved plum (Prunus Pissardii), and the pur- 

 ple leaved Berberis cannot retain the deep 

 rich coloring of their foliage, if fully ex- 

 posed to the burning rays of the sun. Many 

 other of our colored and variegated leaved 

 shrubs, also show the effect of the continu- 

 ous hot sun, and are unable to retain the 

 beautiful color and markings of their foliage, 

 that make them so attractive during spring, 

 and early summer. When planting any of 



these variegated or colored foliage shrubs, 

 give them a place, if possible, where they 

 are partially shaded from the mid-day sun, 



Fig. 1886. Spirba Douglasii. 



as very few of them give the best results 

 possible when fully exposed to the sun dur- 

 ing the entire day. 



