98 ROSE GARDENS 



rose beds is that of evergreen foliage. I say "useful" because ever- 

 green leaves will, presumably, protect rose roots from alternate 

 freezing and thawing better than dead foliage, even when it forms a 

 dense mat, like that of the moss pink (Phlox subulata). But even 

 if that should not prove true, the ground is bare most of the winter 

 over the greater part of the United States, and it is pleasant to 

 catch a glimpse of some brave, fresh greenery amid universal 

 desolation. For such a use England possesses a perfect plant in 

 the London pride (Saxifraga umbrosa), the thick rosettes of which 

 are indescribably cheery. I fear it can never thrive here as there, 

 but we have plenty of other material, for one February, at South 

 Orange, N. J., I walked over many perfect evergreen carpets of 

 thyme, thrift, sandwort, hardy pinks, etc. 



"But how about the practical side?" you may ask. "Can 

 we do it? And how can we protect the roses?" 



All such questions, I believe, can eventually be answered with 

 satisfaction. At present the idea is only in the experimental 

 stage here. However, one can see something of it at Elizabeth 

 Park, Hartford, Conn. It is impossible that any one system of 

 rose culture will do well for all varieties and in all parts of the 

 United States. We cannot expect that the new system will keep 

 tender roses from freezing at the root in zero weather. But 

 wherever hybrid teas are hardy without more than two inches of 

 winter mulch, the new plan ought to be successful, because these 

 carpeting plants constitute a living mulch. This will be a great 

 gain for the most populous portions of the North, because we can 

 get rid of the everlasting digging up of rose beds every spring and 

 the heaping of them in autumn with manure, which is often done 

 near the most important windows of the house. Mr. Robinson's 

 rose beds remain in excellent condition for six or eight years with- 



