Winter and Spring Bedding. 6^5 



coration of a parterre ; but where the outlay is of secondary 

 importance, it is usual to have two or even three sets of plants 

 in the beds during the year, and where expense is an object we 

 should recommend the mixed style. As soon as the weather 

 renders it necessary to remove the summer plants, the beds 

 may be made attractive for the late autumn and winter months 

 by filling them up with miniature evergreen shrubs. It is 

 preferable to have these previously established in pots, and then 

 to plunge them into the beds with their pots. The shrubs best 

 adapted for this purpose are those of slow growth, and those 

 which will bear close pruning, and tften with care in transplant- 

 ing, the same plants would do for several seasons. There is a great 

 choice in the Coniferge, including some of the small forms of 

 Biota orientalis, Thuja occidentalis, Cupressus Lawsoniana, C. 

 Nutkaensis, Retinospora spp., Irish and other Yews, etc. Of 

 miscellaneous subjects suitable for this purpo.se we may name : 

 Cotoneaster microphylla, with berries ; Laurustinus, flowering 

 bushes ; green and variegated Hollies, berry-bearing, if possible ; 

 Aucubas also ; several varieties of Buxus, Portugal Laurel, 

 Erica carnea, and various Ivies. These shrubs might remain 

 through the winter and until the middle of May, when they 

 would be replaced by the summer plants, or they might be re- 

 moved about the end of February, to make way for spring 

 flowers. It is abundantly cjear, however, that this system could 

 only be carried out where the resources are equal to furnishing 

 a supply of spring flowering plants in pots, already so far ad- 

 vanced as to make some show when turned out. In the case 

 of bulbous-rooted plants, it might be so managed that they 

 could be planted between the shrubs at the proper time in 

 autumn ; and where Crocuses and Snowdrops are used, there would 

 be ample space for a bordering of them outide of the shrubs. 



The bulbous plants best adapted for massing are Tulips, 

 Hyacinths, and Crocuses, of which there is great variety in 

 colour, including good scarlet, yellow, blue, and pure white, 

 with many rich composite colours, and also many handsome 

 striped varieties, in the two latter genera. Narcissus, Scilla, 

 and some other genera furnish varieties better suited for mixed 

 beds. The following are some of the miscellaneous hardy 

 plants employed in spring bedding : Arabis albida, Alyssum 

 saxatile, A. Gremonense, Aubrietia Campbelli and other varie- 

 ties, Anemone hortensis and A. Coronaria in variety, Phlox 



