Jnly 7, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day 



Day 

 of 



Week. 



JULY 7—13, 1870. 



7 



Th 



A 



F 



9 



S 



10 



Sun 



11 



M 



12 



Tn 



IS 



W 



Royal Botanic Society's Show closes. 

 Birmingham Rose Show, second day. 

 Oxford Trinity Term ends. 



4 SUNDAY AFTEB TRINITY. 



Average Tempera- 

 tore near London. 



Day. 

 78.7 

 74 

 74.1 

 74.7 

 75.4 

 75.9 

 76.1 



Night. Mean 



Rain in 



last 

 43 yeara, 



50. 



50.0 



49.4 



50.S 



50.7 



50.5 



51.4 



62.2 

 P2.0 

 61.8 

 62.5 

 6S.0 

 6S.2 

 63.7 



Days. 

 22 

 20 

 18 

 16 

 11 

 14 

 15 



Sun 

 Rises. 



m. h 

 54af3 



55 3 



56 3 



57 3 

 68 8 

 59 3 



4 



Snn 



Sets. 



Moon 

 Rises. 



b. ' m. h 

 15 af 8 ! 16 af 



8 I 40 



8 1 7 



8 ! 41 



8 21 



8 18 



8 i 15 



Moon 

 Sets. 



m. h. 

 12 af 8 



12 9 



12 10 



12 11 



12 12 



12 13 



M oon's 

 Age. 



Davs. 

 9 

 10 

 11 

 12 

 13 



o 



15 



Clock 

 before 

 Sun. 



Day 



of 



Tear, 



From observations taken near London during the last forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 74.8°, and its night 

 temperature 50.4°. The greatest heat was 92^, on the 7th, 1852 ; and the lowest cold 33°, on the 9th, 1863. The greatest fall of rain was 

 1.10 inch. 



1BRARY 



tvlEW YOR 

 BOTANICA 



QAROeN 



FORMING A FLOWER GARDEN.— No. 1. 



THE SITE. 



ATURE, amidst all the lavish wealth and 

 jSKSI II marvellous variety of form and colour which 

 i$m( f she has spread around us, would appear to 

 > have attained her culminating point in the 

 blossom of flowers. The stately timber trees, 

 with all the dignity which their colossal pro- 

 portions impart, are not so attractive, al- 

 though we love to watch their storm-tossed 

 boughs, to listen to the 'wind rushing through 

 the sturdy limbs of the " brave old Oaks " 

 with a noise like thunder, or sighing in gentle measures 

 among the sombre Pines, or whispering in gentlest zephyrs 

 among the sensitive leaves of the Aspen. All these varied 

 phases of nature influence us, and we cannot wonder at 

 the superstitious awe and worship which the huge forms 

 and mystic voices inspired in the earlier ages of the world, 

 when our rude forefathers imagined they heard the voices 

 of their gods speaking to them in wrath as they came 

 riding on the wings of the storm, or in the more" gentle 

 accents of peace and forgiveness in periods of calm. 



The elegant form of the feathery Pinus, the glossy sheen 

 of the Laurel, the graceful Fern fronds, and a thousand 

 other rare gems of the vegetable kingdom — all these excite 

 our interest and command our admiration : but to none of 

 them do we yield such entire, such hearty homage as to 

 the flowers — the beautiful flowers. From the Rose in all her 

 regal beauty, down to the pale Primrose or humble Violet, 

 we love them all ; in whatever form they are presented to 

 our gaze they are always welcome. But while we admire 

 and fully appreciate the skilfully arranged bouquet of cut 

 flowers, or the high finish of symmetrical pot plants, it 

 is to the parterre that we constantly return with never- 

 ceasing interest and enjoyment ; for there we find a 

 multitude of charms, a lovely combination ; earth, air. and 

 sky all uniting to add to our pleasure. Animated nature 

 is around us, the song of birds, the hum of insects, the 

 bright-winged butterflies sipping rich nectar as they flit 

 from flower to flower ; the soft blue summer's sky, chequered 

 perchance by fleecy clouds sailing lazily along — all these 

 are there to influence and add to our enjoyment of the rich 

 scene displa}'ed before us. The flowers, too, present them- 

 selves in a variety of guises — in the early morning their dewy 

 bright- coloured petals glistening in the rising sun, and at 

 midday their gorgeous colours seeming to reflect the bright- 

 ness of the sun ; but in the evening, when the calm still 

 twilight comes " stealing o'er the scene," the flower masses 

 are most beautiful in the soft subdued light, the colours 

 appearing to deepen and grow more lovely each moment. 



Granting, then, that all this enjoyment, and very much 

 more, may be derived from a flower garden, it is, of course, 

 intended to imply that for it to possess such attractions, 

 for it to become such a constant source of enjoyment all 

 through the summer months, there are certain important 

 points to be attended to, certain fundamental laws which 

 cannot be broken with impunity ; for if they be not strictly 

 observed it will be vain to expect anything but disappoint- 

 No. 484.— Vol. XIX., New Sebtes. 



ment and failure, no matter how neat or trim may be the 

 keeping, or haw fine and abundant the supply of plants. 



In the formation and management of a flower garden the 

 chief things necessary to be taken into consideration are 

 the site, the design, the plants and their arrangement, and 

 the accessories or surrounding features. 



Individual taste has very much influence as regards the 

 selection of the site of a flower garden, some preferring to 

 have the flowers near the house, where they may be seen 

 from the windows ; while others would, rather have the 

 flower garden away in the grounds, a distinct and separate 

 feature ; and others, again, adopt a middle course, and 

 just break the monotony of the green turf by introducing a 

 few groups of flowers to brighten the scene without having 

 the great bulk of flowers constantly visible. All three 

 methods are alike commendable and useful, for it is very 

 rarely that the same plan or mode of proceding can be 

 adopted in different places. 



In choosing the site, therefore, the principal features of 

 the pleasure grounds must be surveyed before a just decision 

 can be arrived at. In villa gardens and all small places it 

 is, as a rule, best not to fix upon any particular spot whereon 

 to display a formal design, but to introduce au occasional 

 bed, or group of beds, in such a manner amongst the shrubs, 

 that although each group may be complete ia itself, it may 

 also form a connecting link with the next, and thus tend 

 to produce a harmonious whole. Great contrasts in small 

 places are not pleasing. This method of arrangement is 

 best adapted to a lawn that sweeps in a semicircular form 

 around two sides of the house, and if the lawn is enclosed 

 and sheltered by a belt of shrubs, a walk windiug among 

 them and leading to some retired spot occupied by a 

 fernery, will afford an agreeable promenade in the heat of 

 summer, while the shade of the overhanging trees and the 

 lively green and elegant forms of the Kerns will be alike 

 attractive. A collection of healthy thriving Ferns is always 

 interesting, and placed at the end of such a walk it wonld 

 impart a grace and a meaning that nothing else could 

 supply; it would give a charm to, and enliven, that which 

 would otherwise be void of interest. Moreover, the Ferns 

 would be more likely to thrive in such a position than they 

 would be if more exposed to the sun. How frequently 

 does this appear to be forgotten ! Ferns are planted in 

 all sorts of incongruous positions, where, tenacious of life, 

 they linger, and put forth a few weak frinds. I have 

 actually seen them planted on a heap formed of roots and 

 earth standing boldly out on an open lawn ! 



In places of greater extent having three or four acres 

 of lawns and pleasure grounds, a regular design may be 

 readily introduced, and nude to form an important and 

 striking feature. Whether it will appear best near the 

 windows of the house fir away among the shrubs, must, 

 as I have before observed, always remain a muter for 

 individual taste to decide. If the lawn s'opes gently from 

 the mansion, and has its surface skilfully diversified by a 

 few handsome specimens of choice shrubs so placed as to 

 agreeably relieve without marring its expansiveness, then I 

 think the flower garden would he far more enjoyable if 

 away from the house in some open yet retired spot in 

 No. 1186.— Toi. XLIV., Old S web. 



