126 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



If proof were needed of the merit of this good plant it 

 might be found in the many ways in which it can be used. 

 A hedge of China Rose is always pretty, and there is a certain 

 class of greyish foliage with which it enters into most satis- 

 factory combination. The cool dusky foliage of Rosemary is 

 the best of grounds for the clear pink flowers and the grey of 

 Lavender is equally pleasing. Old Lavender bushes that are 

 somewhat overgrown, and whose branches fall about, leaving 

 dark empty spaces in the heart of the bush, seem to invite the 

 companionship of these pretty pink Roses, whose flowering 

 branches can be led into the empty spaces. Even if it be de- 

 sired to do away with the old Lavender, whose lifetime is 

 shorter than that of the Rose, and to plant them afresh, that 

 is only an opportunity for cutting the Roses down and 

 letting them grow up anew in company with the young 

 Lavender. 



But it is not with grey-leaved shrubs alone that China 

 Roses should be planted. Their fullest season is towards the 

 end of June, but even as late as October they are fairly full of 

 flower. The flowering bush Ivies are then in bloom, and on 

 sunny days attracting a busy humming crowd of insect life. 

 Here again the pretty pink of the Rose bloom is charming, 

 with the yellow green of the Ivy clusters, and as the Ivy 

 bushes grow to their full height of five feet or six feet the 

 Rose shoots up in friendly companionship and thrusts long 

 flower-crowned stems through the mass. 



With the Anemone japonica it also groups well, or with 

 hardy Ferns, and makes good autumn garden pictures. No 

 Rose is more accommodating, for it will bloom either in sun 

 or shade. 



Of late years the China Rose has been wisely used by 

 hybridists, whose labours have given us charming Roses that 

 inherit the long-blooming qualities of the parent. 



GREEN CENTRES IN ROSES 



Beginners are often perplexed as to why their Eoses should come 

 with green centres. The most common cause of this troublesome occur- 

 rence is spring frosts. At pruning time, especially when the season is 

 early, one is tempted to leave young promising growths, but unfor- 

 tunately the frost comes and so injures the embryo buds that these 

 green centres are the result. Another cause is over- feeding with chemical 

 manures. The remedy in both cases is obvious. 



