i8o GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



by severe frost or a heavy coating of snow, only to reappear with 

 renewed beauty as soon as the sun has proved strong enough to melt 

 the snow on the higher shoots. These three are followed in quick 

 succession by a host of spring and early summer flowering varieties, a 

 list of which I propose to give later on, with their respective colours 

 and habits. 



Situation and Soil. The situation chosen for the Heath garden 

 should be one having a southern aspect, if possible, or on a sunny 

 slope leading from the formal flower garden to the shrubbery or planta- 

 tion, a sort of connecting link, in fact, between the purely artificial and 

 the natural. The place selected must be thoroughly drained, if not 

 naturally a dry spot, for these plants will not thrive with any excess of 

 moisture about the roots, and the soil, if of a heavy, retentive 

 nature, or containing much lime, would require to be removed and 

 replaced with a mixture of peat, leaf-mould, and sand or grit. Should 

 the natural soil be a light sandy loam, however, none of these ingredients 

 will be required. 



Formation of the Heath Garden. As I have already said, the 

 situation of the Heath garden may form an adjunct to the formal flower 

 garden, or it may be an extension or addition to the rock garden ; and 

 a very pretty effect may be obtained if a piece of ground is selected 

 which has a decided slope with an undulating surface, where beds of 

 irregular shapes and sizes could be made to harmonise with the exist- 

 ing surroundings. A plantation or belt of timber on the north and 

 east of the site, if an exposed one, would give shelter to visitors and 

 do no harm to the plants; while a rustic summer-house, thatched with 

 Heather obtained from some friendly owner of a grouse moor, erected 

 on a spot to command a good view of the garden, would add to the 

 general comfort and appearance. Avoid geometrical designs or the 

 making of gravel paths, which I do not think are in keeping with the 

 subject under notice. Beds cut out in grass, so that when in full 

 growth the plants may appear as if growing naturally in clumps out of 

 the turf, give the best effect. The grass will require to be kept regularly 

 mown, so that each bed may be examined conveniently. As vermin do 

 not, as a rule, molest the Heaths, protecting fences, which often prove 

 a difficulty, need not be considered. The positions of the beds having 

 been determined, these should be excavated to a depth of i J feet to 

 2 feet and filled in with the mixture already mentioned. 



Planting may be safely undertaken during favourable weather, either 

 in autumn or spring. The fringes of shrubberies or large borders might 

 also be made more interesting by the addition of numerous varieties 

 of the Heath, disposing them in large, bold clumps or in bays formed by 

 taller-growing subjects. Edgings of some of the dwarfer, free-growing 

 sorts might be formed around the margin of all beds or borders con- 

 taining hardy shrubs. There are also numerous varieties that do not 

 exceed 6 inches in height which might find a place in the rockery, their 

 stations being filled with a suitable compost. 



Propagation is effected by seeds, cuttings, and layers, the former 



