MAECH 37 



middle was crimson, with a ring of purple-flowered 

 branches outside. I am afraid she was disappointed 

 when I offered condolence instead of congratulation, 

 and had to tell her that the phenomenon was not un- 

 common among neglected bushes. 



When my Rhododendron beds were first planted, I 

 followed the usual practice of filling the outer empty- 

 spaces of the clumps with hardy Heaths. Perhaps it 

 is still the best or one of the best ways to begin when 

 the bushes are quite young; for if planted the right 

 distance apart — seven to nine feet — there must be 

 large bare spaces between ; but now that they have 

 filled the greater part of the beds, I find that the other 

 plants I tried are more to my liking. These are, fore- 

 most of all, Andromeda Catesbcei, then Lady Fern, and 

 then the dwarf Rhododendron myrtifolium. The main 

 spaces between the young bushes I plant with Gistus 

 laurifolius, a perfectly hardy kind; this grows much 

 faster than the Rhododendrons, and soon fills the 

 middle spaces ; by the time that the best of its life is 

 over — for it is a short-lived bush — the Rhododendrons 

 will be wanting all the space. Here and there in the 

 inner spaces I put groups of Lilium auratum, a Lily 

 that thrives in a peaty bed, and that looks its best^, 

 when growing through other plants ; moreover, when 

 the Rhododendrons are out of flower, the Lily, whose 

 blooming season is throughout the late summer and 

 autumn, gives a new beauty and interest to that part 

 of the garden. 



