4 MY SHRUBS 



lives out of doors with protection ; but he never does anything 

 more than grow unwell during January, and recover again by July. 

 His health is the only thing that interests him, and he has no 

 time to justify his existence. I think that I shall send him to 

 Sir David Prain as an in-patient. 



Protection of plants during winter is a problem. I have pro- 

 tected many a good plant to death, for your evergreen must have 

 light and air, and if wrapped up within an inch of its life, that 

 inch is often passed, and a withered ghost appears, when spring 

 returns. You cannot bundle living things up in Archangel mat- 

 ting, and tell them to be good and go to sleep for a third of the 

 year. I think the vital parts vary, and, of course, the night tem- 

 perature that may be deadly after a long day of rain, does no 

 harm if the soil be dry. Frost following sharply on heavy rain 

 always works the most cruel damage, while a long spell of 

 east wind and nightly frosts are also very punishing. I believe 

 in protecting with loose matting hung on stakes round a plant, 

 and perhaps a little open litter packed round the stems above 

 earth level. Overhead, light screens to break frosts are desirable 

 and often necessary. These could be moved at any time, and 

 kept off as much as possible by day, unless the weather is very 

 inclement. With shrubs that have a wall behind them, I manage 

 curtains of matting that can be flung off and only drawn when 

 frost threatens. But I never wrap up anything permanently, or 

 protect so that the earth about the plant gets too dry. If the 

 drainage is carefully looked to when a bed is made, and the soil 

 is all right, they seldom suffer below ground. Of course, most 

 deciduous things get through our winters without discomfort ; 

 but many of the noblest shrubs are evergreen, and in many cases, 



