

PART I 



CHAPTER I 



PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF GARDENING 



T^VERY man and woman should have some hobby, 

 some by-work, on hand the old Greeks called 

 it a par-ergon and there are few hobbies which 

 have so many advantages and such trifling drawbacks 

 as horticulture. One excellent thing is that it lasts. 

 When we grow old we are as fond of our plants as 

 when we were young, and better able to manage 

 them, for we have come to learn their nature and 

 habits, and, like other old friends, we understand them 

 and love them more every year. 



Then again, our garden tends to foster in us a love 

 for nature, and to educate the eye and the mind to 

 observe all that is beautiful and lovely around us 

 colour, and form, and contrast. Flowers Mr Ruskia 

 tells us only flourish rightly in the garden of some 

 one who loves them. 



And surely there is an especial attraction for many 



A l 



