April Making Ready for Summer 



enjoyable moments of the garden year, for no other season 

 compares in the fullness of its delight with that of April 

 and early May. All, even the most plebeian of trees, 

 are lovely now ; each is characteristic in the way in 

 which it dons its coat of green. Some garb hurriedly, as 

 though fearful of what spring has in store, others 

 leisurely, as though trustful of the quick coming of 

 summer, and content to be awakened gently to full 

 fresh life. In this expression of their varying mood 

 they add immensely to the fascination of the garden in 

 spring. Here show the pale green of the Japanese 

 Maple and the ruddy tone of its red-leaved variety, 

 sanguinea ; there the dainty tracery of the Silver Birch, 

 the sombre green of the Pine, and the full leanness of the 

 Horse-Chestnut ; between them all the blushing blooms 

 of the garden shrubs and the glow of the golden Gorse. 



The Mountain Clematis. Clematis montana is 

 perhaps the most beautiful of all the members of this 

 group of plants ; it is certainly not excelled for profusion 

 of bloom, and after the first season may be relied upon 

 to make rapid growth. How often at this season of 

 " tidying up the garden " does one see the shoots of this 

 lovely climber trimmed and cut back for the sake of a 

 neat appearance, yet the whole charm of the plant is 

 lost unless the slender stems are allowed to depend and 

 drape their support in? a natural manner. Moreover, to 

 cut them back now is to ruin the prospect of a successful 

 show of bloom, for the flowers are produced from the old 

 wood, and the proper time to prune, if pruning is 

 necessary (though very little is needed as a rule), is as 

 soon as the blossom is over. An attractive variety of 

 this Clematis is called rubens, the flowers, instead of 

 being white as in the type, being tinged with red. 

 Ordinary well-drained loamy soil, with which lime 

 rubble is mixed, suits the Clematis. 



Rock Garden Flowers. There are no more delightful 

 plants at present in bloom in the rock garden than the 



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