CHAPTER XIII 



ROSES 



ONE form of usefulness, and a very desirable one, for which a 

 cold greenhouse is well adapted, is for the growing of winter 

 and spring-flowering Roses. The delight of having Roses, 

 whether growing or for cutting, during the dull months of the 

 year can scarcely be overrated, and it is astonishing how much 

 may be done with a cold greenhouse in this direction. There 

 are Roses both tender and hardy, and all are not suitable for 

 the purpose, but, fortunately, some of the very best may be 

 grown under good management, and will flower well out of 

 season, without any forcing by artificial means other than the 

 protection of covering glass. No doubt it does require good 

 management to have pot roses in bloom in early winter, but 

 we all know how, in favourable seasons, some of the very best 

 of the Hybrid Perpetual section and Tea Roses will go on 

 flowering in the open till nearly Christmas, and how in the 

 warmer parts of our British Isles we may sometimes gather a 

 handful of pink or crimson China Roses from some cosy nook 

 in January, which are even more fresh and beautiful than 

 during the heat of summer. Such late Roses, however, are 

 apt to get sadly battered, nor can we always safely reckon 

 upon them. It is a happy thing, then, for the mere Rose- 

 lover that very many of the most beautiful Roses can be grown 

 on their own roots, and cuttings may be struck which will 

 make satisfactory plants by those who know nothing of the 

 intricacies of budding, grafting, and the like delicate opera- 



