42 FLOWER-GARDENING. 



and once in from seven to ten years the whole may be taken 

 up, divided, and replanted, and the surplus slips may be planted 

 in a nursery-bed, in rows about a foot apart ; these wil^ be suit- 

 able for making edgings the year following. 



Flower-beds should be kept free from weeds, and watered 

 occasionally in the summer. In the autumn they should be 

 covered with leaves, straw, or light litter ; this should be taken 

 off in the spring, and the ground hoed and dressed in such a 

 manner as to enliven the earth around the roots of the plants, 

 and to give the whole a neat appearance. 



FLOWERING AND ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS. 



Arbrisseaux <F Ornement. 



Shrubs are so closely connected with flowering plants, and, 

 indeed, so many of them are embellished with flowers, that they 

 may be considered as essential to the completion of an orna- 

 mental garden. They are all perennial, and are divided into 

 two classes, deciduous and evergreen; the former lose their 

 leaves in the winter, the latter only shed them when others are 

 ready to supply their places. 



Shrubs are not only necessary to the embellishment of a 

 flower-garden, but many kinds are eligible for hedges to it, and 

 may be planted at a trifling expense. These hedges should be 

 frequently trimmed and trained, the sides cut even, and the 

 tops sparingly clipped, so as to make them ornamental as well 

 as useful, and also to increase the vigor of their growth. 

 When hedges become open or naked at the bottom, they should 

 be plashed down ; this is done by cutting the branches half 

 through near the ground ; they will then bend easily, and may 

 be interwoven with the adjoining branches. 



When shrubs, creepers, or climbers are planted against walls 

 or trellises, either on account of their rarity, delicacy, or to 



