Feb.] 



THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



847 



sightly. Honeysuckles, and such rambling growing shrubs, 

 require also to be well shortened in, unless where they are 

 intended to cover walls or disagreeable objects. In the 

 flower garden and shrubbery, where a dense mass of vegetation 

 is not particularly wanted to hide certain objects, or for the 

 sake of shelter, each shrub should stand detached, and of 

 itself form an agreeable outline. Ornamental trees require 

 little or no pruning, as it is intended to see them assume their 

 natural characters ; but those branches which may have been 

 broken or injured during the winter, or those which cross each 

 other in a crowded manner, may be safely removed. 



All suckers rising from the bottoms of shrubs should be 

 either destroyed, or, if wanted for propagation, should be 

 removed and planted out to nurse until they be strong enough 

 to be planted out where they are to remain. 



DIGGING THE SHRUBBERY AND FLOWER BORDERS. 



When the weather is dry, the shrubbery should be dug over 

 in a neat manner, which will greatly encourage the growth of 

 the shrubs, as well as give the whole a more agreeable appear- 

 ance, and render it much easier to keep it in neat order during 

 the summer by the hoe and rake. It is never necessary to 

 give manure to shrubs; but when the roots of them become so 

 matted and entangled, as to render digging amongst them im- 

 practicable, it may be necessary to top dress them with any 

 light mould which is free of weeds; this will greatly encourage 

 their growth, as well as give the borders a neater appearance. 

 In very old shrubberies, digging is unnecessary; all that is 

 required is merely to keep them clear of weeds and decayed 

 leaves, by means of the hoe and rake. 



The flower-borders are differently constituted, as they are 

 never allowed, under good management, to become impene- 

 trable to the spade. They require an annual digging, and 

 that must be even carefully performed, for fear of injuring the 

 plants which are under ground, or burying those that are 

 small. 



To obviate this, in a great measure, each plant should be 

 furnished with a label, upon which its name should bo neatly 



