CHAPTER XVII 



GARDENING FOR SHORT TENANCIES 



It often happens that from some circumstance of life 

 or occupation a temporary home has to be made. A 

 governor or other official has a three or five years' 

 appointment ; married officers whose regiments are in 

 camp or garrison take houses in the neighbourhood ; a 

 son is at a public school, and his parents wish to be 

 near him. Hence, for these and many such reasons, 

 official residences and other houses are occupied for a 

 short term of years only ; but so general is the love of 

 flowers among us, that most of these houses of short 

 tenure are lived in by people who wish to make the 

 most of their gardens. 



The question how to treat the gardens of such 

 places comes to me all the more frequently because I 

 live within reach of Aldershot. A letter lately received 

 says " all Aldershot tries to have a little garden," and 

 I feel all the bolder in venturing to offer suggestions, 

 in that the extremely poor, sandy soil of the district 

 exactly matches my own. Therefore it is quite safe to 

 advise, firstly, the deepest possible cultivation. Even 

 if it is nothing but sand, stir up that sand so that the 

 always-beneficial movement of air and water may play 



199 



