MURAL GARDENING. 



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gems as one by one they open their eyes to the bright beams that 

 shine upon them, but they want the ground to grow them in. 



Multitudes of delightful flowers may be cultivated in situ- 

 ations where at present " the wild flower on the ruined wall, and 

 roofless homes, a sad remembrance brings." The teeth of time 

 acting upon bad bricks and mortar have made many inroads 

 upon old walls, so that in frequent instances they have become 

 eyesores to every passer-by. Where such walls are allowed to 

 remain, I would recommend a plan whereby they would be 

 clothed with flowers that are the delight of old and young. 

 w Their hearts may beat in unison with these bright gems of 

 Flora's train, their ears attuned to their sweet music when the 

 summer-breezes shake their soft bells ere yet the overshading 

 trees know of the soft caress." 



By increasing our ivall flowers the pleasures of many may be 

 enlarged, and these flowers can be multiplied with little trouble. 

 "Why should they be confined to so small a number? The 

 Cheiranthus Cheiri and its numerous varieties are plants well 

 deserving attention, and their delightful fragrance in spring is 

 welcomed by thousands ; — 



" Cheerful midst desolation's sadness, thon, 



Fair flower, art -wont to grace the mouldering pile, 

 And brightly bloom o'er ruins like a smile, 

 Reposing calm on age's furrowed brow. 

 Sweet monitor, an emblem sure I see 

 Of virtue and of virtue's power in thee.'' 



In the A r abis, or wall-cress, we have another family, where 

 many individuals may be had to blossom in our wall-garden ; then 

 we have the Parietaria officinalis, or Pellitory of the wall, and 

 it will not require much trouble to grow another pretty little 

 native plant in the general collection, namely, the Dianthus 

 deltoides. These are a few to begin with, whose native homes 

 are old walls ; but those who may turn their attention to the 

 subject, and look about them a little, will soon see that many 

 other plants thrive well that find their way by accident to such 

 situations. 



In many parts of the country walls are built without mortar ; 

 on these mosses and lichens commonly abound, and their annual 

 decay provides a soil suitable to many other plants of higher 

 orders which we find growing in the chinks or openings of walls. 

 The walls of sunk fences that are erected without mortar afford 

 shelter for many other plants which receive moisture from the 

 soil behind the wall ; and where a hedge is growing on the top of 

 the wall, it gives protection from frost at a late season of the 

 year, so that flowers of many plants may be had in such situations 

 when they can be obtained nowhere else. 



