FLOWER-GARDENS AND PLEASURE-GROUNDS. 



275 



dressing of this kind ensures rapid growth. 

 Hollies especially like it. 



The Bose-Garden. 1 — A garden without Roses 

 would, at the present day, be considered a mis- 

 nomer, for much as these flowers have always 

 been prized, they have never before been grown 

 so commonly or in such large quantities. Beau- 

 tiful and acceptable as the blossoms always are, 

 there is, however, one drawback to their culti- 

 vation in quantities in the immediate vicinity 

 of a dwelling, for the plants, whether grown as ! 

 standards, dwarfs, or bushes, when not in flower 

 have an unpleasing appearance. In fact it can- 

 not be denied, even by the most enthusiastic 

 lover of Roses, that when not in flower a Rose 

 plant has no decorative value. Still further, in 

 order to afford them the treatment best calcu- 

 lated to produce their flowers in the finest con- 

 dition and greatest profusion, the plants should 

 be grouped by themselves. 



All things being taken into consideration, a 

 site for the cultivation of Roses should be pro- 

 vided in laying out any large garden. The 

 Rose-garden should be located in some place 

 apart from the more highly-kept ground, yet it 

 must by no means be placed where it might 

 suffer from the adverse influences of large trees, 

 or where it would in any way be much confined, 

 for were such the case mildew, the worst enemy 

 of the Rose, would be certain to develop itself 

 to such an extent as to make it difficult to deal 

 with. A place should therefore, if possible, be 

 chosen where the force of the winds from the 

 west and north-west would be partially broken 

 by distant shrubs or trees, but which would be 

 quite open in other directions. 



The natural character of the soil is a most im- 

 portant consideration, and in selecting a position 

 for the Rose-garden, the nature of the soil, or the 

 facility for providing the proper kind of soil, are 

 matters requiring consideration. It should not 

 be at too great a distance from the house as to 

 be inconvenient of access, provided the conditions 

 above referred to can be secured near at hand. 



As a structural embellishment to a Rose- 

 garden, nothing can be more appropriately in- 

 troduced than a Rose-temple, or pergola, of 

 elegant form. It should be simple in construc- 

 tion, and combine moderate cost with suita- 

 bility for the intended object. "Every Rose- 

 garden," observes Mr. W. Paul, "if of large, or 

 even of moderate size, should be crowned or 

 embellished with a Rose-temple; and indeed 

 there are few flower-gardens which would not 

 afford some nook which would be appropriately 



i See chapter on Roses. 



filled by a light structure covered with climbing 

 Roses, so that, if driven for shelter from the 

 noonday heat or a passing shower, the eye may 

 be pleased and the sense of smell regaled whilst 

 kept waiting upon the weather." 



American Garden. — A garden establishment 

 having any pretension to completeness should 

 contain some accommodation for the cultivation 

 of the beautiful and free-flowering hardy shrubs 

 commonly known as American plants : so-called 

 from many of the species being indigenous to 

 North America. The Rhododendron in its many 

 hybrid forms is the most striking as well as 

 the most varied of this class of plants, and 

 when supplemented by Azaleas, Kalmias, Ericas, 

 Andromedas, Daphnes, &c, is capable of convert- 

 ing the American garden, or that portion of the 

 pleasure-ground in which the needs of these 

 plants are especially provided for, into a perfect 

 paradise of flowers. The preparations made for 

 these plants, moreover, exactly suit the require- 

 ments of many of the most charming of hardy 

 bulbs and herbaceous plants, such as Lilies, hardy 

 Cypripediums, Trilliums, Gentians, and many 

 others. 



American plants require to be grown in a light, 

 rich soil, readily permeable to moisture, but free 

 from stagnant water. A sandy peat or heath- 

 mould is the best; but a light rich sandy loam, 

 if mixed with leaf -mould and rotten turf, answers 

 exceedingly well. A chalky soil is wholly unsuit- 

 able, and in soils of an adhesive nature the 

 delicate fibrous roots soon perish. If the soil is 

 naturally unfitted for the growth of the plant, 

 and peat cannot be had, a suitable compost in 

 which to plant must be prepared. This may 

 consist of equal parts of leaf-mould or other 

 thoroughly decomposed vegetable matter, rotten 

 turf, sandy loam, and sharp sand — the whole to. 

 be thoroughly incorporated, laid in a heap for 

 some months previous to use, and frequently 

 turned and mixed together. Where plenty of 

 leaf-mould is at command, a greater proportion 

 of that material may be employed, especially 

 when the loam is not of a very light nature, in 

 which case more sand should be incorporated 

 with the other materials. 



The situation should be moist, and not over- 

 hung by trees, for these would prove injurious 

 by the drip from their leaves, and by the incur- 

 sions of their roots, which would not only 

 impoverish the soil, but absorb enormous quan- 

 tities of moisture from it, and this at a season 

 when the plants are in danger of suffering from 

 dryness at the roots, a point to be particularly 

 guarded against. 



