536 Flovcering Plafils for 'puhlic Lawns. 



My object, therefore, in sending this letter to your Maga- 

 zine, is to point out to its readers the deficiencies of Scotch, 

 gardens generally in point of floricultural taste, and to show 

 your readers that, though Scotch gardeners are in such high 

 esteem, and make so conspicuous a figure in England, yet, 

 owing to the want of taste, or probably owing to the want of 

 means, or to some other cause, they are not permitted to display 

 their skill to the best advantage in Scotland. As the first step 

 towards the remedy of any evil is to make it known, if you 

 publish these few lines they may be the means of improving the 

 flower-gardening of Scotland, and more especially in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Edinburgh. 

 . Edinburgh, Aug. 29. 1836. 



The following extract fr-om our Arb. et Frut. Brit., respect- 

 ing flower-gardens of hardy heaths, may perhaps aid the purpose 

 which our esteemed correspondent has in view : 



" We always recommend gardeners, when they are forming a 

 scheme for planting a flower garden, to try the effect which it 

 will have, during the principal summer months, by drawing a 

 plan for each of these months, and colouring the beds in each 

 plan with the colours of the flowers of those plants which are 

 intended to be simultaneously in flower in them. Such coloured 

 plans being shown to the employer, (and more especially to the 

 female part of the family, who have generally considerable taste 

 in the arrangement of colours,) useful hints may be received, 

 and the beds altered until perfect harmony is produced. Another 

 mode, and one which would afford an excellent exejcise for 

 young gardeners, would be for the gardener to lay before his 

 employers, once in every year, 12 copies of the plan of his 

 flower garden, (for which purpose it might be lithographed,) 

 and these 12 copies being coloured by the lady of the family 

 agreeably to her taste or ideas of what constitutes harmony, the 

 problem for the gardener to solve would be — 'Required the 

 kinds of plants, and the modes of treating them, necessary to 

 produce the given colours in the given months.' Of course, 

 the plans and this problem for every year would require to be 

 given to the gardener a year before the time when it was in- 

 tended to be carried into execution, in order that he might have 

 time to propagate and prepare the proper kinds and requisite 

 numbers of plants. These remarks, though apparently not im- 

 mediately applicable to ericetums, or flower-gardens composed 

 solely of hardy heaths, are j'et decidedly so when Cape heaths 

 are included ; and they are also applicable to gardens of low 

 American shrubs, including azaleas, rhododendrons, &c., such 

 as will afterwards be treated on and described." {Arb. Brit.y 

 art. Kricea norjndles.) 



