256 



Gardening for Amateurs 



planted in January if the weather be fine and 

 open and the soil not sticky, but planting 

 should only be done then in case of need. 

 When this need does not exist it is usually 

 better to select some other period, either 

 much earlier or much later in the season. 

 Roses that are received from the nurseries 

 during January ought to be heeled in to 

 await a favourable time for planting, but 

 this is an occurrence not likely to happen 

 unless the plants have been ordered specially 

 for such a time. January is an excellent 

 time to dig or trench heavy land so as to let 

 the frost get at the soil to pulverise it. It is 

 astonishing after a good frost to notice how 

 great lumps of clay break down into a fine 

 tilth a natural phenomenon which strikes 

 a townsman with amazement the first time 

 he sees it happen. 



During the continuance of a severe frost 

 Teas and other tender Rose bushes and trees 

 may be protected with bracken or straw 

 thrust among the branches, but I am not 

 sure that as much good is done as harm by 

 these supposedly protective measures, unless 

 the protection be removed directly the frost 



m 



r 



A basket 



of Niphetos Roses (Tea), a pure white variety, needing the 

 shelter of a greenhouse. 



Bloom of the Tea Rose Bridesmaid, pink ; 

 excellent for growing in pots. 



disappears. Otherwise 

 the substances used, 

 bracken and straw, 

 hold moisture which 

 freezes directly the 

 frost returns and then 

 the plant is anything 

 but benefited. 



For work, other 

 than trenching and 

 manuring, and often 

 for them also, January 

 is an " off " month in 

 the Rose garden, and 

 the same description 

 more or less applies 

 to February, which, 

 like January, is distin- 

 guished often by hard 

 frost and heavy snow. 

 February's popular 

 title of "filldyke" is 

 by no means deserved. 

 The records of the 

 meteorological o ffi c e 





