10 THE CHRONICLES OF A GARDEN. 



met with one who had any scruple about grubbing up any 

 old favourite ; they are all ready to act on the maxim, 

 " Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground." Well would 

 it be for us all, if we remembered and acted upon the warn- 

 ing as applied to ourselves ! 



Even in a small garden, however, there may be room for 

 both styles of gardening : broad borders of mixed shrubs 

 and flowers, and plots in the grass, fdled with select 

 favourites,- — this combination giving variety of work as 

 well as of enjoyment. It is true that the plots look empty 

 and bare during the winter, but the pleasure of filling them 

 up in spring is all the greater from the contrast ; and there 

 are few things more delightful than an evening stroll round 

 the garden after the Tom Thumbs, verbenas, or lobelias have 

 been replaced in their beds, a gentle watering bestowed, 

 and the filled-up look restored to the long-empty parterres. 



I suppose that the various kinds of work, comj)rised 

 under the term gardening, have each their own particu- 

 lar charm to different individuals ; but, perhaj^s, the most 

 universally-liked work is this planting out, either of plants 

 from pots, or, more delightful still, of rooted cuttings that 

 have been struck by ourselves. Sowing seeds is another 

 very attractive occupation ; so is tying up flower stems to 

 their supports, or training creepers against a fence or wall. 

 Indeed, these two last-named employments are popularly 

 supx>osed to comprise all a lady's work in a garden ; but to 

 one who is a real lover of gardening, scarcely any work 

 comes amiss, although no doubt some kinds are preferable 

 to (jthers. Weeding by the hand is generally thought tire- 



