T0W3T GABDENS. 



11 



grown in even small gardens, if town gardeners did but 

 understand the mode of keeping them in order, both at 

 branch and root. 



Grass is such a staple article in English gardens, and, 

 in truth adds so much to their beauty, that it seems hard 

 to discourage its employment in towns. And yet, what 

 are most of the grass-plots met with there, even with all 

 the expense that is incurred for returfing, sanding, rolling, 

 mowing, and guano ? Too often do we behold half-naked 

 patches of ground, like threadbare coats or shocking-bad 

 hats, that you have no pleasure in looking at, and are 

 afraid to walk on. If the blades- of grass will spindle up, 

 long, lank, few, and far between, — if the roots will not 

 tiller and thicken, — it is better to occupy the space with 

 something else, even with a layer of clean bright gravel. 

 Where a strip of green is wanted to run along the 

 ground, as at the foot of buildings, round the base of a 

 pedestal, or as the frame-work of a grass plot that is 

 intended never to be trodden on, Ivy answers the purpose 

 well, especially if the band of green is broad. The court 

 of the Louvre, at Paris, furnishes a good example. If a 

 narrow edging is all that is required, the Lesser Peri- 

 winkle, planted thick, answers well, and will besides show 

 its azure flowers in mild winters and forward springs. 

 Roses are unsuited for towns ; the Moss, Yellow, Bank- 

 sian, and Austrian, especially so. Still, if your site 

 tempts you to venture a few, try the Old White, the 

 Maiden's Blush, the Old Striped Kosa Mundi, the Port- 

 land Rose, the Common Pink and Crimson Chinas, 

 Madame Hardy (Bourbon), the coarser varieties of Bosa 

 Gallica, Brutus or Brennus, and Aimee Vibert. One of 

 the Boursault Hoses, which are vigorous climbers, — for 

 instance, either the Blush Boursault (Calypso), or the 

 Crimson Boursault (Amadis), — trained against a wall 

 with a sunny and airy aspect, will sometimes, and per- 

 haps, allow you to bud other varieties on it with tolerable 

 success. Select the most vigorous perpetual Boses for 

 the experiment. The best mignonette is raised in the 

 country, and brought to its city destination when just 



