758 



OPEN FLOWER-GARDEN. 



one favourite section. Thus we might have a 

 group, or circular bed, which is the best form, 

 of Damask perpetuals, Hybrid Chinese, Bour- 

 bon, Hybrid perpetual, Moss, French, Noisette, 

 Provence, Bourbon perpetual, Hybrid Provence, 

 Damask and Alba mixed, Sweet briar and its hy- 

 brids ; and this series might be repeated or trans- 

 posed, and carried to any extent, according to 

 taste. In regard to the manner of planting 

 these, the tallest plants — and these should not 

 exceed 3 4 feet in height of stem — should occupy 

 the centre, the others gradually decreasing in 

 height towards the edges of the beds. The dis- 

 tance at which the centre or larger plants should 

 be placed from each other should be 3 feet; 

 the smaller growers should have half that dis- 

 tance. If the beds are small, plants of less 

 height ought to be employed, so that the whole, 

 when in flower, may form a pretty regular cone 

 or semi-globular outline. The tallest also should 

 be placed at the back, when the mass is to be 

 viewed from one side ; and in the centre when 

 they are to be seen from all sides. Attempts 

 have been made to produce a harmonious 

 arrangement of colours, by introducing into 

 each bed one variety only ; this has, however, 

 been seldom happily realised in the case of the 

 rose. For a specimen of this mode of arrange- 

 ment, see below. When grown as pillars, per- 

 haps the most picturesque way is to group them 

 in clumps of three, five, or seven, according to 

 the height they are intended to be grown to, as 

 well as their number. And as much of their 

 effect depends on height, it is well to avail our- 

 selves of rising ground, or, indeed, to construct 

 artificial knolls on which to plant them. As to 

 the height of pillars, from 10 to 15 feet may be 

 taken as a fair size : below the former they sel- 

 dom look well ; and it is in few situations much 

 north of London that many of the finer sorts 

 can be got to cover a greater height than the 

 latter. 



In planting roses in groups on the lawn, 

 much of their effect is lost when they are indis- 

 criminately brought together without regard 

 to their habits and colours. Mr Kivers, in 

 speaking of grouping the Bourbon section of 

 roses, observes : " It is only some of the more 

 vigorous growers that form good standards ; 

 they are all beautiful when budded on stems of 

 1 to 2 feet in height, and form elegant groups ; 

 but I will first notice their adaptation for small 

 beds on their own roots. They are too often 

 mixed indiscriminately, without any attention 

 being paid to their widely different habits, or to 

 their grouping as masses of colour. Now this 

 destroys that pleasing unity which every bed of 

 Bourbon roses ought to possess : " thus the 

 Queen of the Bourbons should have a bed to 

 herself, for no other variety is so elegant in its 

 light, rosy, fawn-coloured flowers, and peculiar 

 habit of growth. Souvenir de la Malmaison is 

 another that deserves to be planted in a group 

 by itself, as do also Reine des Vierges, Madame 

 Angelina, Paul Joseph, Proserpine, Bouquet de 

 Flore, and Grand Capitaine. A clump of the 

 following delicate blush -roses, which are all 

 dwarf-growing, and of nearly uniform growth, 

 will have a good effect — Anne Beluze, Comtesse 



de Resseguier, Madame Nerard, and Reine du 

 Congres ; while the following, which are tall 

 and robust growing sorts, with pale flesh-col- 

 oured flowers, are suitable for a larger group, 

 and placed at a greater distance from the walks : 

 lmperatrice, J osephine, Madame Lacharme, and 

 Lavinie d'Ost. Of these Mr Rivers observes, 

 that "they put forth in July very robust shoots, 

 3 or 4 feet in length ; if suffered to grow without 

 being shortened, they produce in August and 

 September a large crowning cluster of flowers ; 

 but after the flowers have faded, their shoots 

 have a bare straggling appearance : it is, there- 

 fore, an improvement to pinch off the end when 

 the shoot is about 1^ or 2 feet in length; 

 abundant laterals will then be produced, which 

 will give their flowers in October." A corre- 

 sponding clump to the last in habit of growth, 

 but with rose-coloured flowers, will be produced 

 by the following — Alfred, Amenaide, Desguches, 

 Gloire de la Guillotiere, Madame Aude, Pierre 

 de St Cyr, Triomphe de Plantier, Triomphe de 

 la Guillotiere ; and a similar bed of crimson- 

 coloured roses will be found in planting Le 

 Grenadier, Julie de Fontenelle, and Dupetit 

 Thouars; and if the bed be large, the following 

 may be added — Oscar Leclerc, Comte du Ram- 

 buteau, Dumont du Courset, Souchet, and Gloire 

 de Paris. A bed of rather dwarf, compact, and 

 free-flowering sorts of rosy carmine flowers will 

 be produced with Augustine Leleur, George 

 Cuvier, Lichas, Henri Lecoq, Vicomte de Cussy, 

 and Marquis de Moyra. Gloire de Rosamene 

 and Enfant d'Ajaccio will form a bed of scarlet 

 roses ; while another of cherry-coloured blooms 

 will be found in planting Cornice de Seine et 

 Marne and Souvenir de Dumont d'Urville, which 

 are both plants of moderate growth. The fol- 

 lowing, with rose-coloured flowers, moderate 

 growth, well-shaped large blooms, and flowering 

 late in autumn, deserve also to be grouped 

 together — Madame Marget, Emile Courtier, 

 Edouard Defosse, and La Gracieuse. 



The roses we have referred to above, being of 

 the Bourbon section, do well in moderately 

 light soils on their own roots, and in this way 

 cover the ground fully better than when wrought 

 on stems of even under 2 feet in height. In 

 strong soils they succeed better when on stocks 

 of the Dog-rose, that soil being naturally favour- 

 able to that species of rose. One advantage 

 all roses have when wrought on stems is, that 

 they are elevated above the soil so as to prevent 

 their flowers being splashed with mud during 

 heavy rains, as they will be unless the surface 

 of the bed be covered with moss. They are 

 also brought nearer to the eye of the observer, 

 so far obviating the necessity of stooping to 

 examine them closely. It is only, also, the 

 strongest-growing sorts in the Bourbon section 

 that make fine heads when wrought standard 

 high, the proper height being, for general pur- 

 poses, from 3 to 4 feet. 



Weeping or pendulous roses have their ad- 

 mirers: the open lawn is their proper situa- 

 tion; the pruning necessary is of the simplest 

 kind. If planted in February, which is a good 

 season, they should be immediately pruned, 

 shortening each shoot to six or eight buds. 



