106 Work to be done in the Garden . 
little creeping green thing, and the Snowdrops in 
their turn edged the mass of Crocuses that filled 
up the middle, and looked quite perfection, all being 
purple and white. 
Some such ring as this surrounding a bed of 
Tulips would look very well indeed, and for a bed 
of pale white and rose Van Thols, what could be 
lovelier than an edging of G-entianella ? 
December. , 
I fear this month there is nothing great to be 
done out of doors. Here and there a broken 
branch may want to be cut quite off, that it may 
not drag about and injure other sprays ; and if it 
snows, perhaps the evergreens will want shaking, . 
as the snow might otherwise heap up on their 
leaves, and break them. The snow, however, is 
the gardener’s friend. We ought never to think 
of scraping it away, to see how our flowers fare 
under it ; it is the very thing to keep them safe 
and well even for weeks together. 
When that long, hard frost came the winter be- 
fore last, I heard of a pit full of plants remaining 
quite unhurt. It was a mere common turf-pit, or 
