DETAILS OF SUMMER GARDENING 159 



have just gone out of flower, so that they may be 

 freed from the strain of seed-bearing. If this is done, 

 they will usually soon make a vigorous new growth 

 and look fresh and green again by early autumn; 

 some of them, too, will flower a second time. Among 

 such plants are Aubrietia, Saponaria ocymoides, 

 Veronica prostrata, the Helianthemums, many kinds 

 of pinks, the smaller Achilleas, Alyssum saxatile, the 

 Cerastiums, the Creeping Phloxes, and Iberis sem- 

 pervirens and its varieties. Cutting back is not neces- 

 sary for any of these plants, as they are all fairly vigor- 

 ous perennials; but they are greatly improved in 

 vigour and appearance by it, and some of them, such 

 as the Helianthemums, will live much longer for it. 

 Pansies and Violas, too, are the better for cutting 

 back as soon as they grow leggy. If they do not 

 suffer from drought after the operation they will soon 

 make vigorous new growth, which will prolong the 

 life of the pansies; and, in the case of the Violas, will 

 provide an abundance of cuttings. 



But there are no plants that benefit more by cut- 

 ting back than profuse flowering shrubs, and many of 

 them often suffer much in our gardens from the want 

 of it. This is particularly the case with shrubs which 

 are not very hardy, such as the Cistuses. These will 

 often survive a hard winter if they are cut back as 

 soon as they have flowered and never allowed to grow 

 straggly. The cutting back not only saves them from 

 the exhaustion of bearing seed, but also seems to con- 

 centrate their vigour. There are many shrubs, too, 



