Shrubbery, Plantation, and Wood 79 



the case of the choicer plants, a Httle top-dressing 

 with fine soil. In suitable soils such dwarf plants 

 as Forget-me-nots, Violets and Primroses might be 

 scattered, so as to give the borders interest even at 

 the dullest seasons ; but in large and new plantations 

 and shrubberies the best plants are those that give bold 

 effects and are very hard to kill. 



In beds of choice shrubs, the same plan on a small 

 scale will do, but in this case rare plants might often 

 be planted, and that is flower gardening. But the 

 theme of this book is the planting of things that will 

 take care of themselves once fairly started, and we 

 only come into the shrubberies to save them from 

 ugliness and dreariness by a modification of the same 

 plan, which to succeed must be done in a bold and 

 simple way. To do it well, one should have a few 

 nursery beds of hardy flowers, or frequently divide 

 and make groups of those that grow and increase 

 rapidly. The rule shouM be-7;^never show the naked 

 earth : clothe Jt. It need hardly be said that this 

 argument against digging applies to two or three 

 beds of shrubs and to places where the 'shrubbery' 

 is little larger than the dining-room, as much as to 

 the large country seat, public park and botanic 

 garden. 



One of the prettiest plant pictures I have ever seen 

 was in a shrubbery forming a belt round a botanic 

 garden. In the inner and hidden parts, probably 

 from want of labour, the digging had not been done 



