CHAPTER I 



THE OPENING YEAR 



When does the garden year begin ? The enthusiast Jan. 

 would declare that it has no beginning and no ending. 



But whatever may be the case with the garden itself, 

 it is certain that a book about gardens must have some 

 point of departure. 



January is chosen from a sense of custom rather than 

 from a conviction that it is the month of months for 

 gardeners — that in January most people who practise 

 gardening during part of the year make their annual 

 start. I do not think that they begin in January as a 

 rule. People who pursue gardening in one well-marked 

 period probably work, roughly, from mid-March to 

 September inclusive. If gardening is discontinued at all 

 it is given up when the long nights and cold weather of 

 October come. And if it is darkness and cold which 

 induce amateurs to suspend operations, these discom- 

 forts are likely to retain their influence until the end of 

 February at least. 



Many people specialise particular plants, or classes of 

 plants, in these days, however, and so are led on from 

 season to season. Perhaps they are Daffodil or Tulip 

 lovers, in which case they pot and plant in Autumn for 

 the Spring display. Possibly they are Chrysanthemum 

 enthusiasts, and if so the delights of their gardening year 

 will not culminate until November. If they are rosarians 



A 



nOPERTY UBRABT 



