134 
THE AMATEUR’S FLOWER GARDEN. 
own sweet way, as those described by Milton in the happy 
garden:—• 
u Flowers worthy of Paradise, which not nice art. 
In beds and curious knots, but nature born 
Poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain, 
Both where the morning sun first warmly smote 
The open field, and where the unpierced shade 
Imbrown’d the noontide bowers.” 
It is easy enough to fail in the cultivation of hepaticas. 
Plant little mites in borders that are regularly dug and 
scratched, and altered and messed and muddled by that class of 
gardeners whose inborn faith it is that a tree exists only to be 
cut down and the prettiest weed to be pulled up; trust to this 
order of genius and you will never see any hepatica a second 
time. The amateur who has a fancy for perpetually trans¬ 
planting, dividing, and improving, will never succeed with 
hepaticas, for the secret of success may be said to consist in 
first finding a proper place for them, and, secondly, in leaving 
them alone. Almost any soil will suit these lovely plants, but 
best of all a deep, rich, sandy loam—if stony all the better. 
Partial shade is better for them than the full sun, and a cold 
climate better than a warm one. When the clumps attain 
great size and rise up high above the ground, it will be 
advisable to lift and divide and plant again in soil deeply 
dug and refreshed with liberal manuring. The time for this 
operation is the autumn, when the growth of the season is 
quite matured. Where large masses occupy selected spots, it 
is advisable to spread over them in autumn a thin coat of dead 
leaves and short manure, through which the flowers will push 
in the following spring with increased vigour to make a more 
splendid show than would be possible without such aid. H. 
angulosa is a splendid species, with large sky-blue flowers. 
H. triloba is the best known, and there are about a dozen 
varieties of it, all of which are of equal value, so that to 
pick and choose amongst them would only be a waste of 
time. 
Hollyhock. —This grand landscape flower will never 
cease to be a favourite with the artists and the whole of that 
happy race who love the country, though the florists may 
solemnly assure us that it has fallen from its high estate. 
Fashion may vary the price of a thing, but it cannot enhance 
or depreciate the beauty of a single flower. To grow the 
