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THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



bered that too thick sowing and too late thinning are fatal to success. The plants 

 individually should scarcely touch each other till the spring, then will they be stocky, 

 hardy, and capable of resisting a large amount of frost. 



RESERVE GARDENS. 



Whether only a dozen or many hundreds of plants are required for furnishing 

 the beds in the autumn or spring, it is next to impossible to do full justice to their 

 preparation unless a plot of ground is set apart for that particular purpose. Curiously 

 enough, much as these " Reserve Gardens" are needed, they are rarely met with, not 

 even where most wanted, notably in the large public parks of the country. Instead of 

 various plants and shrubs being scattered in odd corners and plots of ground, not 

 thought good enough to grow cabbage plants, they ought to be concentrated where 

 they would receive the attention they require and fully deserve. Coolness, without 

 excessive shade, these plants must have during the summer, and poverty of soil is 

 objectionable : borders shaded by overhanging fruit and other trees, are unsuitable for 

 the purpose of preparing spring bedding plants. Another point in favour of open 

 outside borders is their near proximity to a cart road, this rendering them con- 

 venient either for the removal of plants in large numbers, or for the hauling of 

 frequently much-needed heavy supplies of water. 



Too often irreparable injury is done to the perennials, shrubs, and conifers lifted 

 from the beds late in May owing to their undue exposure to hot sunshine and drying 

 winds. They ought not to be tossed from one spot to another, the outcome of having 

 no plot of ground in readiness for their reception. If a reserve garden is formed, it 

 should be prepared for the plants during the winter, or sufficiently early in the spring 

 for the thorough pulverization of the soil before May. Strong manure is not desirable, 

 but if leaf soil or the finer portions of a large heap of decayed leaves and other vegetables 

 were freely forked into the surface, all plants would revel in it. According as the 

 plants are brought from the flower-garden in May, or whenever the beds are broken 

 up, they ought to be temporarily laid in, taking care that a fair amount of soil is firmly 

 pressed against the roots, after which a watering should be given. A delay of a few 

 weeks in dividing, under such conditions, may not prove injurious, but, on the con- 

 trary, be a gain. Alyssums, iberises, myosotises, saxifragas, primulas, and the like, 

 brought from the dry, exhausted soil of the flower-garden, relaid deeply in good soil 



