APRIL NOTES IN THE GARDEN 77 



difficult. Cuttings often fail to strike, and the best 

 plan is to put some leaf-mould round the plants in 

 spring. The shoots will root in this, and they can 

 be detached in early autumn, and, if protected from 

 drought when planted, will stand the winter in the 

 open ground. Phlox amoena is not so pretty in growth 

 as the different varieties of Phlox subulata; but it 

 flowers very early, and its pink blossoms are beautiful. 

 It grows at a great pace, and can be propagated by 

 simply breaking off pieces close to the ground and 

 planting them in the open in early autumn. Phlox 

 divaricata and P. ovata are fine species which flower 

 later. 



The rock garden at this time of year is more in- 

 teresting than the border, since Alpine plants are 

 more rapid in their spring growth than the plants 

 of the lowlands that have a longer season of activity; 

 but borders are, or ought to be, rapidly putting on 

 their beauty. Pansies and Forget-me-nots are com- 

 ing out the early Myosotis dissitiflora is in full 

 bloom the April Tulips are beginning to flower, 

 and the Wallflowers are in bud. Wallflowers this 

 year are poorer than usual, since many gardeners 

 were unable to shift their seedlings in the drought 

 of last summer. This shifting of seedlings as soon as 

 they are about three inches high is one of the most 

 important details in the culture of Wallflowers, and 

 the neglect of it is the chief reason why they are often 

 poorly grown even in pretentious gardens. Indeed, 

 there are some gardeners who can grow Orchids better 



