and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1 84 1. 581 



management of shrubberies, that no detached plant that is not 

 in vigorous growth or in a healthy state, and in a situation and 

 soil where it may continue healthy, ought to be allowed to exist. 

 A shrubbery where this is attended to is managed in what we 

 call the gardenesque manner, the essence of which is to have no 

 plants, either large or small, that are not handsome as individuals ; 

 but there is also the picturesque manner of managing shrubberies 

 and plantations, the essence of which consists in having no plant 

 that does not group or combine with some other plant or plants. 

 Hence, in such a shrubbery, there may be some plants that, when 

 taken individually, would be considered unsightly from having 

 grown all to one side, or being drawn up with iew side branches, 

 or having only side branches and no leading shoot ; but, when 

 two or more of such plants are grouped together, they form a 

 combination, or whole, which is as interesting to the lover of the 

 picturesque, as the handsome single object is to the lover of the 

 gardenesque. When, therefore, imperfectly shaped plants are 

 permitted to exist in a shrubbery, they should always be in com- 

 bination with other plants, and never allowed to stand alone. 



When a shrubbery is once planted, many persons think that 

 all that is necessary is to give it the routine culture of digging, 

 hoeing, and raking, with perhaps occasional pruning; but, to 

 keep a shrubbery in high order, it requires to be gone over 

 every year in autumn, in order to thin out superfluous plants, 

 and prune where it is necessary to keep certain plants with- 

 in bounds ; and it ought also to be frequently looked over 

 during the summer months, to cut off all decayed flowers from 

 the more rare or valuable shrubs, such as roses, rhododendrons, 

 azaleas, tree peonies, &c., which, if left on the plant to produce 

 seed, would weaken it for the next blossoming season, by appro- 

 priating to the fruit the nutriment which would otherwise be 

 devoted to the formation of blossom buds. In some cases, 

 however, it is desirable not to take off the decaying blossoms, 

 on account of the beauty of the fruit, as in all the thoi-ns, crabs, 

 berberries, iihus, ^'rbutus, spindle tree, and even the mezereon 

 and honeysuckle. 



Whenever the plants in a recently planted shrubbery become 

 so large as to injure the growth of the roses and flowers that 

 are generally planted on the outer margin next the walk, the 

 roses, &c., ought to be removed ; and when these are all taken 

 away, digging, being no longer necessary, ought to be discon- 

 tinued. The surface of the shrubbery will then be chiefly 

 covered with the branches of the shrubs; and such bays, re- 

 cesses, and retiring glades as remain uncovered, which constitute 

 one of the beauties of a shrubbery, should, as we have al- 

 ready observed, be turfed over or sown down. In some cases, 

 the surface may be covered with ivy or with periwinkle, and in 



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