MARCH 253 



come into leaf, and are then best in the ordinary cool 

 house. This gives plenty of Verbena for early picking. 



March 8th. The lion-like character of the weather is 

 softening, and all the little spring things begin to come 

 through. Each day makes a difference, but the delightful 

 feeling of new life is already everywhere. Our reason 

 tells us this is because Nature has been asleep, not dead. 

 There is no mistake about the poor really dead plants ; we 

 know them too well. Early spring here is not beautiful 

 at all ; it is dry and shrivelled and hard-looking, not 

 like the neighbourhood of my old home by the Hertford- 

 shire millstream. 



The white Alyssum, the common Pulmonaria, and 

 the Wallflowers are all coming into flower. I feel more 

 and more sure that mixed borders ought not to be dug up 

 in autumn, as gardeners especially gardeners new to a 

 place are so fond of doing ; in that way half the best 

 things get lost. The best way is to re-plant, or dig out 

 large pieces and divide each plant if it wants it after 

 flowering and before they quite die down. The white 

 Alyssum and the Pulmonarias both do better under 

 the slight protection of shrubs than quite in the open 

 border, where the cold winds catch them. 



My two large old Camellias planted out last autumn, 

 well under a Holly and facing north, are doing well, and 

 one has three bright rosy-red blooms. It remains to be 

 seen how they will do next year. It is a pleasure to think 

 Camellias do better in London gardens than almost 

 any other evergreens, and only want well planting in peat 

 and leaf-mould, and well syringing and watering in the 

 spring. But there also they must have the protection of 

 other shrubs, to hang over their tops and keep off the 

 spring frosts. 



A semi-double Azalea for the greenhouse, called 

 Deutsche Perle, was given me the other day, and is a 



