72 THE BOOK OF ROSES 



be placed at the back, if in beds the taller growing 

 should be placed in the middle. Soil and situation play 

 a less important part in the life of these Roses, preference 

 being given to good, mixed, moderately gritty soil, 

 rather than stiff clay or loam ; and the object being to 

 produce abundance of bloom rather than large individual 

 flowers the manure is not of so much consequence. 



It is not only the kind of Roses whose bloom carries 

 such weight on the exhibition table that are valued as 

 garden decorations. After all, it is not only the single 

 bloom wherein lies the beauty of a plant, but in its 

 branches and foliage and habit of growth. In suitable 

 situations the free-growing Roses such as the Wichuaiana 

 group, the Ayrshires, the Sempervirens group, and many 

 of the single-flowered species produce far more beautiful 

 effects than are yielded by any hybrid perpetual, no 

 matter how perfect its bloom. Many of these Roses have 

 all the grace of our own wild species, a grace which too 

 many of our Roses grown for exhibition have lost. Many 

 of the free-growing Roses look their best when allowed 

 to hang over some wall or bank, or to ramble through 

 low tree growth. Others, again, of which the Wichur- 

 aiana Roses are examples, do best trailing over the 

 ground, or over a sloping bank. Then again, the 

 Japanese Roses, Rosa Rugosa, should not be forgotten. 

 They are beautiful in flower and in fruit. Other 

 perpetual flowered Roses suitable for semi-wild cultiva- 

 tion are Longworth Rambler and Gruss an Teplitz. 

 Many of the China roses again, such as Laurette Messimy 

 and Madame Eugene Resal, are beautiful and vigorous 

 when allowed to ramble at will. 



