218 
THE AMATEUR’S FLOWER GARDEN. 
because tlie roots of American plants penetrate deeply, for, in 
truth, they do not, but to secure a constantly moist under¬ 
crust, for shallow beds of peat or sandy mixtures become as 
dry as so much pebbles during the heat of the summer, and 
the result is, serious injury to the American plants. 
All these plants bear partial shade well, but an open 
position is always to be preferred for them, because their 
flowering depends on the perfect ripening of the young wood. 
Shelter is desirable, and hence the American garden should, 
if possible, be formed on the south or south-west side of a 
shrubbery or woodland. We frequently meet with large 
clumps of rhododendrons in entrance-courts, and if they are 
but good of their kind, they are the most appropriate of all 
our hardy shrubs for the embellishment of such a spot. Their 
attitudes and solid dark green heads and their magnificent 
flowers constitute them proper for front court, terrace, and 
lawn shrubs, and in all those highly-dressed positions rhodo¬ 
dendrons should be chiefly adopted—that is, if American 
plants are employed at all—because of their orderly growth 
and massive appearance. The hardy Azaleas are deciduous, 
which in part unfits them for the front-court and terrace. 
The Kalmia is capricious, and should never be planted in any 
quantity or in any important position, until it has been tried 
and found to answer. A deep, gritty peat, abounding in 
vegetable fibre, and a position exposed to all weathers, are 
conditions favourable to the prosperity of the Kalmia, which 
is useless when planted in make-shift soils, or in smoky or 
shady localities. The Ericas love sand, and will thrive in 
mere gravel if deep enough ; but any soil that suits the rhodo¬ 
dendron will answer for them, especially if they are planted 
in the first instance in a mixture of good sandy peat to give 
them a fair start. As for Andromeclas, Ledums, and the 
rest of the beautiful and interesting plants of this family, all 
that need be said about them is, that they appear to better 
advantage when planted to form outside belts to masses of 
rhododendrons, azaleas, and kalmias, than when put into com¬ 
partments by themselves. 
In planting American shrubs it is desirable to plant thick 
enough to produce an effect at once, not only because they 
are planted for effect, but also because they thrive better 
when they cover the ground and by their own leafage check 
evaporation. Kow to do this need not be so costly a business 
