THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



203 



liawn and Shrubberies.— As to neatness in 

 respect of lawn and shrubberies, the latter are too 

 frequently left to take care of themselves ; but it is 

 a mistaken policy, not only on the ground of appear- 

 ance, but on that of the well-doing of the shrubs. 

 Thistles, Nettles, Couch, and other rampant -growing- 

 weeds, are not the l>est associates for shrubs that are 

 required to do their duty towards beautifying a 

 garden, and ought not to be neglected, when a few 

 hours' work with tlie hoe, in dry weather, at once 

 insm-es neatness and the more kindly growth of 

 shrubs. The keeping of a lawn in good order has, 

 by the introduction of such excellent mowers, been 

 reduced to such a minimum of trouble that there 

 can be no valid reason for neglect of this branch of 

 garden work. Perhaps the operation of mowing is, 

 in a few cases, carried to an extreme, both as to 

 extent of plot that is kept mown and the frequency 

 with which it is done : but these are solely matters 

 of taste, that may safely be left in the hands of those 

 most nearly concerned. But at any rate there 

 should always be a determination to mow with suffi- 

 cient frequency as to at one and the same time 

 insure neatness and prevent seeding of the grasses. 



Keep of Flower-beds. — Incidentally we have 

 alluded to the keep of flower-beds, but it may be 

 well to enter into details of requirements to obtain 

 the best effects. The various kinds of soil that suit 

 certain plants were mentioned in former chapters, so 

 that it is not necessary to again refer to that ; but 

 planting out, being an opeiation to be done not only 

 ■well but neatly, may claim a place in the category of 

 keep. Plants cannot thrive as they ought imless 

 they are transferred to the beds carefully, that is, in 

 a proper state as to moisture — rather wet than dry — 

 and are well pressed, not pounded, and surrounded 

 Avith soil by using one's hand instead of trowel or 

 dibber — of course, for filling in only. This done, 

 the next important operation is 



Mulcbing — that is, covering the surface of the 

 beds with some kind of material which reduces the 

 necessity of watering to the minimum point, and 

 prevents the soil cracking or baking on the surface, 

 thus checldng the growth of the plants. The 

 neatest material for mulching flow^er-beds is cocoa- 

 fibre refuse, and being procurable at a very cheap 

 rate, those who can spare the time to mulch should 

 procure this material. Horse-droppings, spent 

 Mushroom-beds, and other manures are all very well 

 to use as mulchings to shrubs and trees, but for 

 flower-beds the manure has such an appearance of 

 untidiness, and the birds frequently play such havoc 

 with it, that it ought never to be used. Of course, 

 many kinds of plants do well without mulching, but 



thoy always do better with it ; and what is more, 

 considering our short summer season, they till up 

 theii- allotted space in a shorter time. 



Watering. — As before observed, this is not so 

 frequently required when the beds are surfaced with 

 cocoa-fibre, as soon as planted ; but, when it is done, 

 it ought to be effectively so ; a real soaking once a 

 week is of far greater service to the plants than daily 

 sprinklings, which unfortunately is the prevalent 

 plan. A syringing over in the evening after hot sun- 

 shine of such tender bedding plants as Altcrnantheras 

 and Coleus, and such hardier kinds as Fuchsias and 

 Calceolarias, is certainly beneficial, particularly in 

 keeping down thrips and spiders, but such syringings 

 should never be allowed to interfere with heavy 

 waterings to the same kind of plant, otherwise the 

 syringings will prove of little account. 



There is another phase of watering that should be 

 mentioned, and it is this : during long spells of 

 drought, supplies sometimes fail, or at any rate run 

 very short. Now, when an occurrence of this nature 

 seems imminent, watering should be wholly dis- 

 continued rather than the beds should have ;i 

 meagre supply, which has the undesirable effect of 

 drawing the roots to the surface ; which roots, the 

 first scorching day, meet with dire destruction, and 

 the plants are checked in growth. On the other 

 hand, had the plants been left to take care of them- 

 selves, they would naturally have gone deeper in 

 search of moisture, and have been out of harm's way 

 as regards scorching by sunshine ; and though, 

 under these circumstances, the growth of the plants 

 would not be so rapid as if abundant supplies of 

 water could be given, it would at any rate be of the 

 best description — that is, hard and floriferous — an* 

 they would do as well as the case admits of. 



Pegging, Tying, and Pinching. — These threi' 

 items of keep may be classed under the same head, 

 seeing that virtually they each have the same object, 

 namely, that of insuring the plants presenting the 

 best possible appearance. Pegging is essentially 

 necessary in the earlier stages of growth for nearly 

 all descriptions of plants used in carpet beds ; and if 

 this is not needed pinching or stopping is. The 

 great charm of such beds is keeping them true to 

 design by pegging or pinching. Without that 

 labour, they are far more objectionable than are 

 the masses of Pelargoniums so common in some 

 gardens ; but this labour given, no other description 

 of bedding-out excels it for effectiveness in all 

 iveathers. T;ynng is imperatively needed not only 

 in bedding-out for standard or dot plants, and for 

 sub-tropicals, but for most of the hardy flowers in 

 the mixed borders. For the former no word as to 



