THE ROSE AND ITS CULTURE. 



205. 



Some of the best results in forming effective Rose- 

 gi'oups in meadows and grass lawns have heeu pro- 

 duced hy the removal of tall and dilapidated stan- 

 dards from the garden, the planting of them rather 

 thickly in good soil, and leaving them to time and 

 nature to restore to vigour and mould into beauty. 

 The results were astonishing. Emancipated from 

 the enfeebling influences of the knife, they speedily 

 ran into a veritable maze of beauty and brilliancy 

 that delighted the eyes of every beholder. Several 

 Sweet-briars were planted with the Roses for the 

 fi-agrance of their leaves, and grew so vigorously as 

 to tower high above and run all through and among 

 the Roses, while "Wood Violets and Primroses crowded 

 around the sides of the group, the whole illustrating 

 as well as realising Moir's vivid description : — 



"On a mound 

 Of verdant turf with wild flowers diamonded. 

 Sprang in his majesty of natural pride 

 An Eglantine, the red Kose of the wood ; 

 Its canny honghs, with thxeaVnin^ prickles armed, 

 £ich in its hlossoms and sweet-scented leaves." 



Roses on Housetops. — ^Roses on the roof are, 

 in fact, Roses on the housetops, with their roots, 

 however, planted in the soil, and their tops displayed 

 for picturesque effect at a distance. But Roses on 

 the housetop are meant to be grown on the roof, and 

 to be as accessible as those in the garden. "When the 

 growing demands of our rapidly increasing population 

 compel architects to utilise our wasted roof-spaces by 

 making them flat and readily accessible, a great 

 future win be opened up for housetop horticulture. 

 No doubt there will be a few difficulties, cultural 

 and otherwise ; but difficulties are made to be 

 mastered, and sis the sanitation of towns improves, 

 the difficulties in the cultivation of Roses on house- 

 tops will diminish. 



Even now, by a judicious selection of sorts — those 

 recommended for streets being the more suitable — 

 and with careful culture, no one need despair of 

 blooming Roses in tolerable perfection on the top of 

 St Paul's ! Special preparation, as well as judicious 

 selection of the plants, is highly needful ; and these, 

 with cleanliness and a plentiful supply of food, will 

 grow Roses in all places where light can get at 

 them. 



Hoses on Balconies. — The conditions on these 

 do not varj' greatly from those on the housetops, 

 unless it be that the circulation of air is less free, 

 and the temperature more variable. Balconies also 

 offer better facilities for being partially furnished 

 with Roses by plants led up from the ground. Such 

 magnificent balcony plants as the Banksian Roses 

 might thus be led up to any height, and wreathe 

 balconies with their verdure and beauty. Their 



spineless branches and small smooth leaves present no 

 foothold for soot or dust particles, and hence they 

 could easily be kept clean. "Where it is impracticable 

 to lead Banksian or other Roses up from the ground 

 for the clothing of balconies, they can be grown 

 well in large boxes, pots, or tubs. Tea-roses, as 

 dwarf or other standards, would tdso be admirably 

 adapted for balconies. Rows of these towards the 

 front or in any part of a balcony, the front itself 

 being draped and partially covered with weeping 

 Rose sprays, would bring a new, and what has 

 hitherto been thought impossible, pleasure to tens of 

 thousands of town houses. 



It is most important that the plants should be well 

 established and freely rooted in tubs, vases, or pots, 

 before being placed in such novel and exposed posi- 

 tions. To purchase plants from nurseries, pot them 

 afresh, and place on housetop or balcony, is one of 

 the surest means of inviting failure. As the demand 

 for Roses for such positions is created and extended, 

 the trade will speedily make a speciality of keeping 

 in stock any quantity of well-established Roses every 

 way suited for the purpose. 



Again, a few deaths or failures must not cause 

 disappointment. These occur sometimes in numbers 

 that are almost appalling in the best-ordered gar- 

 dens. In fact, with all our advance in Rose-culture, 

 the life of individual Rose-plants was never worth 

 so few years' — months' — purchase as now. Hence 

 the housetop Rosarian need not despair. Should his 

 plants bloom well for two years he will have his 

 reward. But if kept clesm by frequent overhead 

 syringings, heavy and copious enough to rinse off all 

 dust and dirt, and well watered and fully fed at the 

 roots, there is little reason why they should not live 

 almost as long on the housetop as in the garden. 



Extremes of heat and cold must also be guarded 

 against. South balconies are like ovens when the 

 mid-day sxm's broad glare beats fiercely on or into 

 them. Northern ones are also extremely cold. Others, 

 and also many housetops, are full of fierce and strong 

 artificial draughts. The Rose, though hardy, Kkes 

 none of these extremes, and means must be taken to 

 provide partial shade and shelter when needful. 

 Neither must the roots be drought-parched, nor their 

 runs be converted into a swamp, nor into a patch 

 of the Arctic regions by being frozen through. 



In a state of nature Rose-roots are seldom frozen. 

 They are doubly, trebly protected, by their tops, the 

 earth, and a non-conductor or debris of fallen leaves, 

 grass, &G. But in a pot or tub on the housetop, few 

 or none of those natural cold-resisters are present ; 

 and mats, old carpets, cocoa-fibre refuse, straw, or 

 paper wrapped well round and surfacing their root- 

 runs, must take their place. 



The extremes of heat and cold, of drought and 



