OUR SPRING GARDENS, AND HOW TO HAVE THEM ATTRACTIVE 

 FROM JANUARY TO JUNE. 



When Winter first yields to the advances of gentle Sprin^j, irresistible in her grace and loveliness, 

 how eagerly do we look for the first signs of returning life and beauty in the wee timid flower that 

 seems born of the snow; in the pale Fi-imrose, emerging in the copse from the leaves which Autumn 

 and Winter had strewn as trophies of decay ; in the Cowslip, sweetening the meads, and the Blue 

 Bells, decking the wayside banks with grace. These have a charm all their own, by reason botli of 

 their native delicacy and of the season at which they disclose their beauties to our gaze. But why 

 should we not have the same delight in our own gardens, or suflfer the desolation of Winter to linger 

 there, when nature has cast it away and has already put on her vesture of delight ? Give, if you 

 will, the place of honour to the rich masses of colour and gorgeous display of full-bloomed beauty, 

 in which the Summer garden proudly vaunts itself — the gloAv of the Rose — the brilliant scarlets of 

 the Geranium, set off by its abundant leafage — the dazzling tint of the Verbenas — the many- 

 coloured spikes of the Gladioli — the stately growth of the Hollyhocks, and the thousand other flowers 

 that offer themselves in aid of our desire to make our parterres gay and attractive amidst the glories 

 of Summer. But there is not the least reason why the earlier months of the year should not see the 

 garden rejoicing in beauties quite as charming ; some delightful in their modest delicacy — some 

 striking in their brilliance — not yielding one whit to their more gaudy successors in their power to 

 please. What can be more charming than the Snowdrop, set off by the Golden Aconite ; or more 

 effective than the many-coloured Crocus, in the endless groups and patterns which taste and fancy 

 may devise. Even the humble Daisy may most effectively serve to make the borders gay, while the 

 Pansy adds its rich profusion to the scene, to say nothing of the pretty Scilla Siberica, the Hepaticas, 

 the exquisite Forget-me-not, which now plays so prominent a part in Spring gardening, the Anemone, 

 Polyanthus, and Kanunculus, Where, in the whole range of Flora's gifts, will be found anything 

 more delicious than the Hyacinth, more striking than the Narcissus, more rich and stately than the 

 Iris, more superb than the Tulip. It is astonishing that any one who enjoys the pleasures of a garden 

 at all should omit to avail himself of the facilities offered for floral decoration during the early Spring 



I months ; and, indeed, it can only be accounted for by supposing that fortune has not given him the 

 opportunity of seeing what marvellous effects may be produced in a Spring Flower Garden. The 

 most successful illustration of Spring gardening that has come under our notice, is at Cliveden, the 

 seat of the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland. The Flower Gardens there, although of large extent, 

 are as full of bloom during the Spring months as during the Summer and Autumn ; so that any one 

 seeing them in their Spring beauty would hardly be contented to have his garden bare and desolate 

 during six months of the year, as is too frequently the case at present. Mr. Fleming, the skilful and 

 indefatigable superintendent of the gardens at Cliveden, has published a small volume, entitled, 

 " Spring Gardening, by J. Fleming," price 25. 6d. I'his gives lists of the plants used at Cliveden, 

 the time at which they bloom, their culture and propagation, and a detailed account of how the beds 

 at Cliveden were filled for two years. 



As many of our customers may not have Mr. Fleming's book to refer to, we offer to such a few 

 suggestions as to the most effective arrangements for beds and borders, whether on a large or small 

 scale, with plants and bulbs best calculated to maintain a continuous succession from the first appear- 

 ance of Spring till June. 



I HYACINTH BEDS. 



I No. 1 Bed. — Plant with Hyacinths, either mixed (Nos. 99 to 104) or in circles, lines or masses, in 

 distinct colours (Nos. 67 to 98), edge with a line of Dog-tooth Violets, and then a line of Yellow 

 Pansy. The Hyacinths may be intersected with groups of Crocus or Snowdrops. 



No. 2 Bed. — Plant with Red Hyacinths, intersect these with Blue Forgct-me-not, and edge the bed 

 with Single Red Hepatica, or Red Daisy. 



No. 3 Bed. — Plant with Blue Hyacinths, intersect these with White Forget-me-not, and edge the bed 

 with variegated Arabis mollis. 



No. 4 Bed. — Plant with White Hyacinths, intersect these with Pink Silene, and edge with Single 

 Blue Hepatica, or Blue or Purple Pansy. 



No. 5 Bed (Square). — Formed into diamonds with Arabis variegata, the diamonds filled in with 

 Hyacinths. 



TULIP BEDS. 



No. 6 Bed. — Plant with Early Single Tulips, either mixed or in circles, lines, or masses of distinct 



colom-s, intersect the bulbs with Myosotis, Silene, or Crocus, and edge with the lovely Sciila 



Siberica, or a good self-coloured Crocus. 

 No. 7 Bed. — Plant with a good Scarlet Early Single Tulip, as Scarlet Due Van Thol or Vermilion 



Brilliant, intersect the bulbs with Yellow Pansy or Yellow Crocus, and edge with Snowdrops. 

 No. 8 Bed. — Plant with Golden Prince Eariy Single Tulip, intersect these with White Forget-me-not 



or Scilla Siberica, and edge with Purple Pansy. 

 No. 9 Bed. — Plant with White Pottebakker Early Single Tulip, intersect with Blue Forget-me-not, 



and edge with Yellow^ Pansy, surrounded with a line of Red Daisy. 

 No. 10 Bed (Oblong). — Plant Early Single Tulips in geometrical figures, the lines planted with 



Tournesol Double Tulip (No. 559) and the figures filled in with distinct coloured Early Single 



Tulips, these intersected, so as to cover the ground, with Blue Forget-me-not, and edged with 



Yellow Pansy, 



No. 11 Bed.— Plant with Standard of Perfection Early Single Tulip, a beautiful variegated variety, 

 intersect it with Blue Pansy, and edge with Red Daisy, or intersect with Blu^j Forget-me-not, 

 and edge with Red Daisy. 



