20 A GARDEN DIARY 



open to the sky. They may be furnished with 

 trees, with bushes, with heather, with grass, or 

 with alpine plants. On the whole the easiest 

 glade to create, and certainly one of the plea- 

 santest when made, is the grassy one. Even a 

 perfectly level bit of ground can be induced with 

 care to pass by gradations into a grassy glade, 

 though where there is some natural slope the 

 matter is of course very much easier. In that 

 case all that is necessary is to add a sufficiency 

 of earth on either side of the upper part of our 

 incline, leaving the lower to merge by insensible 

 degrees to the natural level. The essential point 

 is not to miss the right moment for the sowing 

 of the grass seed. This month of September is 

 in this soil unquestionably the best month in the 

 year for that purpose. August is apt to be too 

 hot, October may be frosty, while spring sowings 

 are in my experience exceedingly delusive. If 

 the summer that follows them is wet, all goes 

 well. Seeing however that each summer since 

 we came here has been more thirsty than its 

 predecessor, it were hardly the part of prudence 

 to rely upon that. 



It has been a satisfaction to us to find that 

 a moderate upturning of the soil does not 

 apparently disturb those inmates of it that we 

 wish to retain. Bluebells and bracken both have 

 their roots at a depth to which the spade in these 

 operations need not penetrate, while to super- 



