MAKING THE GARDEN 9 



their place, as I thought the wind had spoilt 

 them. They were lifted and put into newly- 

 prepared beds ; and I told my then gardener 

 in an airy manner just to fork over the 

 old bed and put in the Rhododendrons, as 

 the soil was sure to be good. He began, 

 and came to me in dismay and disgust. 

 The old Rose bed had never been trenched 

 at all. The hard sandy marl and gravel 

 began about eighteen inches below the surface, 

 and the only wonder was that the wretched 

 Roses had grown at all. I had given the 

 orders seven years and more ago, and trusted 

 to their being carried out implicitly in 

 my absence. Alas, for a trustful belief in 

 the integrity of undirected human nature ! 

 We took five loads of solid marl and gravel 

 out of that wretched bed, and had, of course, 

 to replace them with seven or eight of fibrous 

 turf, leaf-mould, and manure ; while the 

 poor starved Roses, rejoicing in their new 

 quarters, have taken a new lease of life, and 

 repaid me with glorious flowers and healthy 

 shoots. 



