PRIVATE GARDENS 
329 
plants which dwindle and die, spent on manure or good 
soil, would better repay the would-be gardener. Many 
plants require a good deal of water when making their 
growth, and if that is denied them they will not thrive, 
no matter how great the solicitude for their welfare in 
other ways. Washing the leaves, especially of ever¬ 
greens, and scrubbing stems is also a great help, as leaves 
choked with dirt have no chance of imbibing the life- 
giving properties necessary to the plant. 
The back-garden has many enemies besides soot and 
fogs. Cats are one of the greatest trials, and most 
destructive. Sparrows also are very mischievous. They 
will pick the flower-buds off trees just at the critical 
moment. A wistaria climber laden with young blossoms 
they will destroy in a few days, just before the purple 
buds appear. But, notwithstanding all these pests 
and difficulties, it is surprising how many things will 
not only survive, but grow well. The task becomes 
more and more easy as the houses recede from the City. 
In St. John’s Wood, Bayswater, or Earl’s Court, in 
Camberwell or Stoke Newington, plants will grow better 
than in Bloomsbury or Southwark. But yet it is possible 
to grow many things even in Whitechapel. 
It is impossible to prescribe the best plants for all 
London gardens, as there is such a great difference in 
soil and aspect, that what does well in one part will not 
flourish in another. The heavy soil of Regent’s Park, 
for instance, is well suited to peonies, which do not seem 
at home in Chelsea. On the other hand, some of the 
showy, hardy spring flowers, such as wallflowers and 
forget-me-nots, die off with fogs much more quickly 
in the Regent’s Park than in other districts. Any 
deciduous tree or shrub thrives better than an evergreen 
