March 27. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
493 
out, we will leave to his own discretion the shape, 
size, and number of his beds, as well as their circum- 
ferencial borders, if there be any, aud will merely advise 
him not to crowd them too closely together, nor yet 
make them too small; and if he has the ground to lay 
out afresh, wo will take the liberty of saying, that in 
most village and suburban places, a piece of nice turf is 
as useful and ornamental as any other surface could 
be, taking the whole twelvemonths into consideration; 
therefore, do not let it be too much cut away ; and like¬ 
wise, let it be borne in mind in forming beds, that 
fancy-shaped ones look much better on paper than on the 
ground ; in fact, a plain circle and oval are the prettiest 
shaped beds I know of; and, when planted, invariably 
look best. Points and corners, as well as all intricacy, 
are lost when plants get up a little; and the very smallest 
mar, to a certain extent, the features of elaborate scrolls 
aud other whimsical shaped beds; besides which, where 
such figures are not kept in their exact shapes with 
mathematical accuracy they offend the eye very much. 
When a number of residences, with their respective 
gardens, lie contiguous to each other, there is generally 
an anxiety for variety, and some aspirant for horticul¬ 
tural novelty cuts the whole of his grass plot up and 
lays it out in the Dutch fashion, i.e., with a series of 
fancy-shaped beds fitting into each other, and gravel- 
walks between; the edgings being either box, stone, or 
something that will clearly define the outline. This gives 
more ground space for flowers; but I am far from 
advising its adoption, except in rural districts, where the 
abundance of grass land and foliage on all sides can 
well afford this garden space devoted to a closer system 
of tillage; but >u all village or suburban plots, where 
the eye of the spectator cannot well turn at the same 
moment from this mechanical contrivance of beds to 
an ample survey of rural scenery, in the shape of trees 
and meadow, I would advise the amateur to consult the 
opinion of some one of good taste in such matters, be¬ 
fore he disturbs his turf-carpeted front—if it be so ; fori 
would rather see it studded over with artificial objects, 
as vases, sculpture, &c., than that the beautiful turf 
should be entirely removed; for, be it remembered, that 
with the best of management, flower-beds look naked 
and bare a considerable time during winter, when 
turf looks remarkably well. At the same time, the 
amateur had better not devote too large a space for 
flowers alone, but add here and there a shrub to break 
the monotony of plain ground work; and, as his space 
is small, large things must not be introduced, but such 
plants as Irish Yew, Junipers, Box, and now and then 
a Yucca; while standard Bay and Portugal Laurels will 
| be very appropriate; and, as a slow-growing shrub, the 
Aucuba will be useful; fast or coarse-growing ones will 
! hardly do; and there is but little room for deciduous 
! ones. Rhododendrons must not be planted on a chalky 
j soil, unless it be prepared for them; but on stiff, reten¬ 
tive soil, not very dry, they will do very well. 
With the above generul observations on the small 
flower-garden, we now look to the back of the house, 
! and find there a piece of roelcwork, which may also be 
regarded as a portion of the flower-garden; and, as it is 
! supposed to be already in existence, I will not say any- 
| thing about its construction; for there are few things 
j connected with gardening that it would be more difficult 
j to convey, in writing, a just knowledge of what it ought 
to be than a piece of i - ockwork. I confess to not being 
able, at any time, to please myself with anything that I 
have done in that way; and I have seen but few speci¬ 
mens of rock-work that come up to the mark of what I 
think it ought to be ; leaving, therefore, to the amateur 
the task of dealing with his fancy stones, roots of trees, 
&c., as his taste may dictate, I only beg him to bear 
in mind that the mound of earth forming the basis of 
operation ought to be of good, useful material, as its crop 
will be heavy, and it is not easy to communicate manures 
to it except of a liquid kind, which may not always be 
forthcoming. It is also right hero to observe that it 
would be prudent not to plant any of the large-leaved 
Periwinkle in a small rockery, as its rambling habits 
kills everything else; neither should the smaller kind 
be planted to any great extent; but as something green 
is wanted to look upon in winter, small plants of Savin, 
Juniper, Box, Gotoneaster, aud some other low-growing 
shrubs, might be placed there, not forgetting the Ber¬ 
berries ; aud these may be all kept within sufficient 
bounds, so that the small-flowering plants to be intro¬ 
duced amongst them may all flourish and flower in their 
respective seasons, and the shrubs above will serve to 
break the outline in winter, when the bulk of the flow¬ 
ering plants are only level with the ground. We will, 
hereafter, dwell more particularly on this department, 
but at the present time will say that all the hardy 
herbaceous flowering plants numbered in the accom¬ 
panying lists will do well on rockwork, except those 
which are higher than a foot or eighteen inches. 
Returning again to the Flower-garden, I may say, that 
in the arrangement of flowering plants there is a matter 
open to much comment. The rage for bedding plants 
of the half-hardy kinds is certainly subsiding; and the 
means of the amateur not allowing him to provide many, 
I would certainly advise the beds to be planted with the 
hardy herbaceous ones mentioned below, with here and 
