Round the Year in the Garden 



for several years, and have in consequence become bare 

 at the base and full of long, flowerless shoots, will 

 benefit by hard pruning ; they may be cut back into 

 the old wood. Although flowers will be scarce during 

 the coming summer, the plants will gain renewed 

 vigour and take on a fresh lease of life. 



Pruning Climbing Roses. A start may now be 

 made with the pruning of climbing Roses, those on walls, 

 which start earliest into growth, being dealt with first. 

 Those belonging to the Noisette class, such, for example, 

 as Madame Alfred Carriere and William Allen Richardson, 

 bloom freely from side shoots on the older stems, as well 

 as from the growths that developed last summer ; the 

 latter should be tied in almost full length, old stems 

 being cut away to make room for them if necessary; 

 the former are cut back to within two or three buds of 

 the base, though if unusually strong about one-third only 

 need be cut off. The Hybrid Teas need similar treatment. 

 Rambling Roses are sometimes grown on walls, though 

 the open garden is a better place for them; they, too, 

 blossom from side shoots on growths more than one year 

 old, though the best display is from last year's stems. 

 Late in summer is the best time to prune these Roses, but 

 if the work was not done then it may be carried out now 

 with advantage. It seems a waste of valuable space 

 to put such Roses as Crimson Rambler and Dorothy 

 Perkins against a sunny wall ; they are happier on arches 

 in the garden, and there are many lovely Roses that will 

 thrive only in a warm sheltered position. 



Much may be done to assist climbing Roses that are 

 weakly by digging a trench about 6 feet from the stem and 

 forking away the soil until plenty of roots are exposed; the 

 old soil is removed and replaced by fresh turfy loam with 

 which bonemeal at the rate of a good handful to a barrowful 

 of soil is mixed. This material is worked well among the 

 roots and made firm. Roses planted against a hot sunny 

 wall are liable to suffer from drought if the spring is dry, 



