AMONGST THE ROSES 51 



exposure to sun, wind, and rain; there is no 

 shelter whatever, and when the roses were planted, 

 it was felt that their lot was not a happy one, but 

 there they are, big lusty bushes, steeped in pink 

 flowers in early summer days — a picture of fault- 

 less association of colour. The pink China and 

 the warm salmon-rose tints of Madame Laurette 

 Messimy and Madame Eugene Resal are in perfect 

 harmony with rosemary and lavender, both the 

 tall and dwarf forms, the lamb's ear, or Stachys 

 lanata, and the deep grey-green of Jerusalem sage 

 [Phlomis fntticosa). At one corner the blush- 

 white Bourbon Souvenir de la Malmaison gives 

 bountifully year by year of its homely flowers, but 

 its growth is not strong — perhaps the exposure 

 is too unkind. 



It may seem presumptuous to advise the devoted 

 flower-lover to prepare the border thoroughly before 

 planting, but this fact is mentioned as the outcome 

 of experience. The border under consideration was 

 trenched two feet deep, the gravelly soil removed, 

 and loam, stacked for twelve months, filled in to 

 take its place, with a layer of well-rotted manure 

 just beneath the roots of the plants. There must 

 be many exceptions to a general rule in gardening. 

 Advice given for one place is not suitable to 



