GARDENS NEAR THE SEA 



winter. The young shrubbery, besides having a heavy 

 root protection of manure and litter, is completely 

 tied up in burlap bags, presenting a curious scene 

 against a cold blue sky. Yet in gardens of the same 

 township, set farther back from the sea, and better 

 protected by buildings, these same shrubs go through 

 the winter with merely a light root protection. So 

 again is heard the refrain concerning the study of 

 special climate conditions for each garden. 



In highly exposed gardens, the custom is pursued 

 of putting a light covering about the roots of plants 

 as soon as the days become cold and show real indica- 

 tions of autumn. This is then added to after the first 

 frosts and made especially heavy and compact before 

 the winter. In this way, the ground is kept from 

 becoming chilled a fact which is most desirable, 

 especially where transplanting has been done in the 

 late season. 



Hardy roses should be covered late, as a slight nip 

 of frost merely helps them to mature. Tea roses and 

 the more delicate kinds require, in the majority of 

 seaside gardens, both heavy root protection and a 

 good wrapping of straw. 



To prepare a garden to meet the winter is more 

 of a duty than to plant it for the spring. Frequently 

 plants that have been discarded with the comment 

 that they would not survive the winter in such and 

 such a place would have lived if they had been properly 

 covered. This is especially true of many of the so- 

 called hardy perennials, about which the mistaken 

 idea seems to exist that they have merely to be planted 



[150] 



