126 Encyclopaedia of Gardening 



FLOWER GARDEN, SHRUBS continued. 



Arguta is one of the best species, because it has graceful foliage 

 as well as charming flowers. 



The best-known Viburnum is the Guelder Rose, Opulus sterile, with 

 its snowball-like flower heads, but a far finer plant for the 

 shrubbery is plicatum, which forms a bush of handsome habit 

 and bears a profusion of large white flowers. It likes a peaty 

 or loamy soil. 



Soil for shrubs. The phrase frequently used that such-and-such 

 shrubs " are not particular as to soil " should not encourage people 

 to plant them in poor, shallow, ill-cultivated ground. The soil 

 should be broken up to a good depth (see Bastard trenching under 

 Kitchen Garden) and well manured. Moreover, an occasional 

 soaking of water or liquid manure will be a great help in a dry 

 summer. Plant early in November, and press the soil firmly. 



Pruning shrubs. When evergreen shrubs have to be pruned in 

 order to keep them within bounds or to restrict them to a certain 

 shape, it should be done with a knife in such a way that the stumps 

 are hidden by the leaves. Those leaf-losing flowering shrubs 

 which bloom on the wood made the previous year (and they are 

 the great majority) should be pruned when they go out of flower, 

 and the wood which has bloomed should be cut out. The new 

 shoots made will flower the following year. 



Grass. Whether for paths, tennis lawns, flower gardens, or 

 shrubbery borders, the grass is a most important consideration. 

 Simple as it is, it will be found to need special and skilled attention 

 if it is to be kept in good order and of a smart appearance. There 

 is an impression that because grass grows in every meadow it needs 

 no management. Well, the meadow grass would soon lose its beauty 

 if it were not manured and grazed. A person who is making a 

 garden out of a meadow will be disposed to work on the plan of 

 cutting up only as much turf as is required for beds, borders, and 

 shrubberies, leaving the rest for lawns. That is all right provided 

 (i) the grass has been well managed by the farmer, and is not full 

 of plantain, dock, thistle, buttercup and daisy; (2) the gardener is 

 prepared to mow, roll, and clip the edges regularly. Meadow turf 

 can be made into good garden turf by mowing it weekly from April 

 to October while dry, rolling it when wet, spudding out weeds or 

 dressing them with sulphuric acid (which must be kept off grass 

 and clothing), trimming the edges of the paths with a pair of long- 

 handled edging shears, and every 2 or 3 years spreading on a mixture 

 of fine soil and dry, crumbly manure an inch thick in autumn, letting 

 it lie till spring. Then sprinkle on the following mixture: nitrate 

 of soda i part, bone meal 4 parts; use 5 Ib. per square rod. In 

 forming grass it is best to use seed unless one is absolutely sure of 

 being able to buy turves free from weeds ; given the latter, however, 

 turves are to be preferred, as by laying them evenly and closely on 

 a firm bed of soil in winter and beating them thoroughly, a lawn 

 fit for anything can be had in a few weeks. It must be remembered 

 that seeding does not necessarily give a weed-free lawn, and the 

 gardener must shun cheap seed from obscure sources, because it is 

 likely to contain as many weed seeds as grass seeds. Buy from one 



