MARCH. 



608 



MARCH. 



Climbers, Pruning. Complete pruning 

 and training clematises, jasmines, big- 

 nonias, and other creepers on trellises. 



Floiuers in Bloom. Crocuses are now in 

 full glory, and a brilliant display they 

 make ; while tulips, narcissi, crown im- 

 perials, cyclamens, ixias, scillas, and 

 hyacinths hasten forward to uphold the 

 matchless supremacy of bulbs as the most 

 beautiful of all spring flowers. The double- 

 blossom furze, deciduous yellow jasmines, 

 scarlet ribes, almonds, heaths, daphnes, 

 snowy mespilus, Magnolia conspicua, 

 holly-leaved berberry, saxifrages, orobus, 

 calycanthus, &c., &c., weave a floral 

 garland of which any month, not except- 

 ing June even, might be proud. 



Gladioli. This is the proper month for 

 planting all the hardy gladoli. If they 

 were taken up in November and kept in 

 a proper temperature, they will now be 

 starting, and should be planted at once, 

 They grow well in any light, rich garden 

 soil. In growing them en masse, drills 

 should be drawn on beds or borders 

 about 4 inches deep, the bulbs in- 

 serted, and covered over with the soil. 

 Stakes about 2 feet high should be 

 put in at the same time, as, if inserted 

 afterwards, they might injure the bulbs. 

 The distance between the bulbs should be 

 from nine inches to a foot. Nothing can 

 exceed their brilliancy when in flower. 

 They present a beautiful appearance 

 when in flower if planted in lines or in 

 clumps of three, but in this case the three 

 corms should be of the same colour. 



Grass Lawns, Walks, &c. The increase 

 of floral beauty in all parts of the garden 

 points out our duty and defines the routine 

 work for the month. The more beauty 

 in the garden, the better it must be kept ; 

 for slovenliness and dirt are never so 

 intolerably hideous and unbearable as 

 when seen in juxtaposition with their 

 opposites. Therefore, grass lawns must 



be frequently swept and rolled; gravel 

 walks turned, fresh gravelled, raked, 

 rolled, and swept; edgings cut, planted, 

 or altered; and all planting pruning, 

 and digging finished as soon as possible. 

 This is also a good season to remove 

 plantains and daisies from the turf, and 

 to sow grass seeds for new lawns. If 

 the weather be mild, grass lawns and 

 verges may have a first mowing during 

 the month. 



Herbaceous Borders and Flower Beds. 

 Fork over flower beds on frosty mornings, 

 to expose a fresh surface to the atmosphere, 

 and provide a finely pulverised soil for the 

 roots of bedding plants. Stir the surface 

 by flat hoeing, or deep raking among 

 borders of annuals and bulbs. Remove 

 all prunings and winter rubbish, to be 

 either rotted or charred, and see that 

 the entire garden has a cared-for appear- 

 ance. 



Hyacinths, Tulips, &c. Tulips in beds 

 must be protected from severe frosts, and 

 crocuses from the depredations of birds. 

 Hyacinths and narcissi should be tied to 

 short sticks, so that the blooms may not be 

 broken down by the wind. 



Roses. Finish planting all hardy roses 

 at once, if bloom is expected this season. 

 The excited state of the shoots from a mild 

 winter must not arouse impatience to finish 

 pruning. The more excited they are, there 

 is the greater necessity for delay, as the 

 expenditure of the sap in the terminal 

 buds will preserve the buds near the base 

 of the shoots the longer in a dormant 

 state ; and it is upon these buds we are 

 dependent for next year's blossom. 

 Towards the end of the month, per- 

 petual roses may be pruned. In pruning 

 roses, it must be remembered, as a general 

 rule, that it is the weakest growers that 

 must receive the most severe pruning, 

 because their bearing powers are con- 

 siderably less than those of the strong 



