Octobi-ir 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
11 
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 
MY FLOWERS 
(No. 46.) 
We are almost reconciled to the departure of our 
summer flowers by the increasing employment we 
find in the garden. From this time we shall never 
be at a loss for something to do in the borders and 
the shrubbery; for almost every gardening operation 
may be effected during the moist, cool months, now 
rapidly advancing. This autumn promises to be an 
early one, and will soon permit us to begin digging, 
trenching, planting, and transplanting, and making 
the new dispositions of beds that may have struck 
our fancy during the summer. There is a love of 
novelty in every heart—even in our gardens we dis¬ 
play it; for we grow tired of the old circles, half cir¬ 
cles, and squares, and delight in twirling our borders 
into other forms, as fancy moves us. I have myself 
signed the death-warrant of two triangles, of which I 
am weary, and am growing impatient for the soil to 
he wet enough to remove the plants. The magnolia 
may be planted now, and a beautiful plant it is ; but 
it should be placed against a wall, if possible, and 
matted during the winter. The rhododendron and 
arbutus, too, can be moved now. The former must 
have bog soil to succeed well in, although they will 
exist without it, but in a very comfortless condition, 
and rather displease than gratify the eye. On wild 
heathy soil they do extremely well, and seem to grow 
spontaneously. I remember, some years ago, being 
charmed with the effect of these beautiful flowers in 
the garden of Fangrove Lodge, in Surrey. The house 
was built by the late Sir Herbert Taylor, and the 
gardens and pleasure grounds were laid out entirely 
under the directions of the venerated Queen Char¬ 
lotte and her accomplished daughters, and great in¬ 
deed was the taste displayed. A portion of heathy 
common had been enclosed, of which, part formed a 
rising ground; and it seemed to have been com¬ 
pletely clothed with rhododendrons, azaleas, and 
other bog plants, through which winding walks were 
judiciously cut, with so much taste and ease that 
they seemed to have been made without art or 
labour, and led you on with delight to the brow, 
where they terminated in a lawn, covered with 
patches of the same flowering shrubs. The space 
of ground was not large, but was so contrived as to 
appear of much greater extent, and the whole effect 
was admirable. In such situations as this—on the 
edge of a sandy, heathy common—these plants would 
thrive without any difficulty, and would well repay 
some little expense in procuring them. At High 
Clere Park, the seat of Lord Carnarvon, they flourish 
luxuriantly, and mingle with the trees in the beauti¬ 
ful woods through which the drives are made; but 
then the ground was carefully trenched to a proper 
depth, and filled with bog soil, as the natural soil 
would not suit them. The rhododendron grows in 
many lands, under many skies, and there are many 
varieties. One blooms wildly on the shores of the 
Black Sea, spreading even into Persia. This is the 
common species, the rhododendron ponticum; it loves 
the cool shade of woods, and does not grow in high 
situations. Then there is a very hardy species, the 
Catawiense rhododendron, which belongs to America, 
growing in clumps on the hills and plains, as furze 
grows in England. Other varieties clothe the stern 
mountains of Switzerland, and the grand and lofty 
Alps, where they advance so fearlessly amid the 
snows, that they bloom richly where no other woody 
plants can live, and dwell among the simple herbs 
and mosses. The tall forest trees shrink from the 
inclement blasts of these high regions, but the little 
sturdy rhododendron, with its large brilliant blos¬ 
soms, defies the withering blasts that sweep over 
them, affording, too, the only fuel that the wandering 
herdsman can procure. The white mountain hares 
also feed on the bark of the rhododendron, when the 
deep snows cover up all other vegetation ; so that 
these beautiful shrubs supply food and firing to the 
few living creatures that frequent those desolate 
heights. Let us remember this, and it will increase 
the interest we feel in them. How glowing must be 
the appearance of their rich blossoms under the 
sparkling frosty sunbeams of those icy regions; and 
how they must cheer and beautify the dreary passes 
of those trackless wilds. To the Christian’s heart 
they must speak with power, as he gathers his bundle 
of sticks, scaring away the startled hare from her 
evening meal; for even among the solitude and 
gloom of perpetual silence, he will observe and adore 
the goodness of God, who giveth to all creatures 
“ their meat in due season,” and whose voice ever 
sounds louder and sweeter when that of man is still. 
In the soft rich vallies of Piedmont, too, the rhodo¬ 
dendron flourishes, as also in those of Dauphine— 
thus decorating hill and vale, and accommodating 
itself to the various haunts of men. Without bog or 
peat soil it is useless to attempt to cultivate them 
successfully, as far as my knowledge extends. I have 
seen them in common soil, hut they were poor and 
unsatisfactory. For my own sake I wish it were 
otherwise; but I recommend those of “ my sisters ” 
whose gardens ai’e situated on the borders of heaths 
or commons to try if they cannot succeed in grow¬ 
ing and blooming them well. 
And now “ My Flowers ” close. The evening of 
their short existence has arrived ; but before the last 
leaf falls they would speak one parting word of warn¬ 
ing to our hearts. They tell us that man “ cometh 
forth like a flower, and is cut down.” “ As a flower 
of the field he flourisheth; for the wind passeth over 
it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no 
more.” “ Surely the people is grass.” At this solemn 
time of God’s judgment and man’s impotence, when 
the sword of the Lord is stretched over our mourn¬ 
ing land, mowing down the people as the scythe 
sweeps down the mowing grass, is it not a “ time to 
speak ? ” We are more peculiarly connected with 
the soil and the operations of the husbandman. Let 
us remember “ the threshing place of Araunali, the 
Jebusite,” “ the angel that destroyed the people,” 
and also the mercy that stayed the chastising hand. 
Let us, as David did, lift up our eyes, and see whence 
the affliction comes; let us, as he did, fall upon our 
faces before the Lord, instead of seeking, by human 
means, to turn aside the sword. The faithful people 
of God may do great things for their country’s deli¬ 
verance in times of peril and distress; for the father 
of the faithful pleaded with God for the guilty city, 
“ and he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.” 
Let our flowers repeat continually that solemn truth, 
confirmed by the fall of thousands in our streets, 
“ Surely the people is grass.” 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
American Store Houses (J. B. S .).—Your communication shall 
appear in our next dpuble number j if you send your suggestions 
they shall appear at the same time. 
Rhubard Planting (J . Wilson ).—The end of this month, and 
from that time until February, during any dry open weather, is a 
good time for doing this. Trench your ground deep, manure it 
richly, and take care that your plants have each a plump healthy bud 
at their top. Answers to your other questions next week. 
