ON REARING i'L0W£R5, 



105 



system of mauagement., and to dwell more particularly on 

 the most showy kinds^ or such as are more difficult to 

 cultivate, or, at least, require a departure from the usual 

 course. In the following arrangement, then, some general 

 directions will be given for cultivating all the most orna- 

 mental plants which can be procured or managed by in- 

 dividuals of limited means, and a few choice lists will also 

 be famished of such as are most worthy of attention, 



1. — Hardy Flowering Shruls. 



The large class of plants which come under the deno- 

 mination of flowering shrubs, and which all possess some 

 degree of ornament or beauty, are extremely dissimilar 

 with regard to size ; and, as many of them grow to ten or 

 even twenty feet high, the larger sorts are by no means 

 adapted for small gardens, and can only be grovrn where 

 the garden is bounded by shrubberies, or where it is large 

 enough to admit of the introduction of a clump or border 

 of shrubs of such a size and height as those above men- 

 tioned. There are many, however, which may with pro- 

 priety be placed in the centre of a detached clumj), or at 

 the back of a border, and in such situations, if the re- 

 maining portion of the bed or border is judiciously planted, 

 no part of them will be seen but the foliage and flowers, 

 and they will thus form an extremely interesting ancl 

 ornamental feature in the garden. 



As the plants of this description are as dissimilar in 

 habit as they are in size, it will be convenient to arrange 

 them in three divisions, and offer a feAV desultory remarks 

 upon the cultivation of such as can be admitted into 

 gardens of limited extent. Floweriug shrubs naturally 

 divide themselves into evergreen shrubs, or such as are con- 

 stantly furnished with leaves ; deciduous shrubs, or those 

 which annually shed their leaves; and climbing shrubs, 

 or such as require to be trained to poles, trellises, or walls. 



Evergreen floivering shrubs, in which term is compre- 

 hended a large and important part of the first principal 

 division of this subject, are perhaps the most beautiful and 

 ornamental of all flowering shrubs, as they not onl\' enliven 

 the garden in the summer months with their beautiful 



