30 THB GRBBN IN G PICTORIAL SYSTEM OP LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



SOIL AND LOCATION 



Roses luxuriate in a soil 

 containing a good propor- 

 tion of clay. It is all right 

 for the suhsoil to be all clay, 

 provided it be spaded deep and is not hard pan. As 

 for the surface soil, clay is simply not manageable, as 

 it dries out and becomes so hard that it cannot be tilled. 

 In such cases there should be added and thoroughly 

 mixed with it about one-third part of good loam or 

 light soil. When the soil is very sandy it is good prac- 

 tice to mix some clay with it — at least one-third should 

 be clay. This tones up the soil wonderfully and pro- 

 duces bloom that is more lasting and of better color. 

 For the same reason it is important that the ground 

 be well drained, for a wet soil is always cold. And it 

 is ec|ually important that the rose bed have a sunnv 

 exposure ; all-day sunshine is the best, though a location 

 receiving the ten to three o'clock sun is verv satisfactory. 



l^RUNING ROSES 



The manner of pruning 

 will depend on the A-arieties. 

 Most roses bear their bloom 

 on the current year's growth 



of wood and bv remox'ing all the small, weak canes 

 and shortening the hea\'ier ones about one-third, a 

 cleaner foliage and a choicer bloom is produced ; but 

 an exception must be made of the Yellow Austrian 

 roses, which bear their bloom like the apple on spurs 

 of the old wood. In pruning these it is enmigh to 

 remove superfluous branches that interfere with the 

 general vigor of the bush, including of course such 

 branches as have become old and weak. In pruning Climbing 

 Roses it will be found that nature has done most of the work 

 herself and in her own peculiar wav, namely, l)v freezing out the 

 weak and unripe wood ; so that not much remains to do but to cut 

 out the dead branches. It is a common nn'stake to permit a climb- 

 ing rose to "feather out," that is, to grow a bunch of weak shoots 

 at the base, which saps the vitality of the bush without accom- 

 plishing anything itself. About three new canes a year are enough 

 to grow to replace the older wood as it dies out. This is the ''secret 

 of eternal youth" in growing roses, and by its means a rosebush is 

 always }'oung and never reaches the decrepitude of old age. 



PInte IS 



LOVERS' LANE 



MULCHING ROSE- 

 BEDS OVER WINTER 



garden 



In the North Central 

 winters are so severe thai all 

 ])lants should be i)ro\-ided with a mulch 

 of leaves or straw manure three to four 

 inches thick. This is ver\- benelicial to all ])lants, and tlie more 



An artistic creation of cultivated beauty for park or large garden. A well-chosen 

 blending of shrubs and trees and well-kept gravel walk gives the scene an atmosphere 

 of privacy and repose much admired by the landscape artist. In the left foreground 

 are Japanese Maples. 



tender ones cannot retain their \-igor unless heli)ed along in this 

 way. Plants, like animals, are \ er}- tenacious of life, and make 

 a stubborn fight for existence even under very adverse conditions ; 

 ])ut when all their energies are expended in a life and death strug- 

 gle, they cannot ])l(_)om freely. This is especially true of roses of 

 all kinds, l)ut more especiall}- of the H}'l)rid Tea, Hybrid N(Msette 

 and Dwarf Polvantha. 



The best mulching material is a co\-er of leaves. Drive stakes 

 six inches apart all around the rose bed, or, better still, put up a 

 one-foot strip of poultry netting, and after bedding down the 

 taller branches fill in with lea\'es a little at a time, beginning just 

 before scA'ere weather arri\-es for good, so that nfice will ha\-e 

 found their w inter quarters and will not be likely to nest in the 

 mulch that }-ou make. Leaves are plentiful and sometimes quite 

 a problem to dispose of. This disposition makes a double use of 

 them, as tliev can be added to tlie com])ost-heap in the spring. 



States the 



