145 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 6.] 
choicest things we could procure for them, happen to be 
within the reach of the roots of old trees ? Why! we 
need say no more than that all the gardeners and water¬ 
ing in the kingdom could hardly compete against such 
odds. The shade of tall trees is had enough, but when 
their roots find their way into flower-beds the conse¬ 
quence is soon told. You may trench and turn, and 
turn and trench over and over again, add new soils, 
stimulants, and what not, hut all to very little purpose. 
The more you prepare the beds for flowers, the taster 
they are in the possession of these intruding roots. I 
have had to do with this kind of annoyance as much as 
most gardeners; hut I never yet met with a case 1 could 
not cure, if I had sufficient money to go to work with; 
and I always went on the principle of cutting oft all 
communication between the roots and the flower-beds, 
hut with cheaper materials than bricks and cement, like 
my friend the “ practical man.” 
On thin dry soils, and on heavy undrained clay, this 
kind of warring against immediate neighbours is not at 
all a difficult operation, because in the former case 
rambling roots are compelled to run near the surface, 
and a trench a foot wide and, perhaps, not more than 
18 inches deep, opened just a little beyond the bed or 
beds, and filled with concrete, generally settles the 
matter for many years. A couple of careful hands, to 
whom this kind of defence is entrusted here, say that it 
all our trenches were reduced to one uniform standard 
of a foot deep and twelve inches wide they would reach 
from here to—I am afraid to say how far, for people will 
talk wide, even of narrow trenches, and it will be 
enough if I say we have many of them which keep back 
the roots very effectually, and one small fancy garden 
of about 30 little beds is entirely surrounded by a deep 
trench filled in this way, and some parts of this trench 
are seven feet deep, and the shallowest part of it is a 
yard deep and full two feet wide, because the men could 
not work so deep in a less width. Our manner of filling 
up these trenches with concrete is simple enough; we 
take so many cart-loads, or barrow-loads, as the case 
may require, of the finest chalk—that which the frost 
crumbles down from the face of a deep bed of chalk is 
the best and easiest to work,—and for every load of this 
we put five loads of unsifted gravel, both chalk-gravel 
and pure white sand being close at hand; a layer of 
nine or ten inches of the chalk is first thrown in, then a 
quantity of water, sufficient to make a soft puddle, into 
this six inches of gravel is thrown, and a man on each 
side of the trench follows with long poles, with which 
they poke the gravel and chalk-mud until they are well 
mixed; after that true proportions of one chalk and 
five gravel are thrown in, with water enough to keep 
the whole very soft; indeed, so soft that one of the 
poking sticks may bo thrust down a yard through the 
mass with very little effort. In summer it takes a week 
to dry this kind of concrete, but after it is once dried it 
sets as hard and close as cast-iron, and a castle might 
be built over it; and yet, where rough coal-ashes and 
lime would be cheaper than chalk and gravel, they 
would form a still harder concrete, and seven parts of 
cinders to one part of lime would then be about the 
proper proportions. 
Where the whole side, or end, of a flower-garden is 
exposed to the roots of neighbouring trees, instead of 
cutting a circle round each bed, or some particular beds, 
to keep them back, the cheapest way will be to run a 
trench in the shortest direction round the outside of 
the garden, or part of it if that will do. J know so 
many nice flower-gardens that are entirely ruined by 
the roots of old trees, and that might thus be effectually 
relieved from such invaders, and at a very small cost, 
comparatively speaking, and, moreover, I find the com¬ 
fort of the plan so enjoyable myself, that I cannot 
recommend the plan too strongly. 
Between old tar barrels, new barrels made of elm 
staves, and concrete trendies, we set all the old trees at 
defiance in this garden; and in a few days I shall make 
a new bed—and, may be, a set of new beds, for when one 
finds time to begin fancy things in a garden the diffi¬ 
culty is to know when and where to stop—in the close 
vicinity of some old trees and largo Portugal laurels; 
and I know we shall have to cut through large roots in 
digging out the beds, but concrete will make short work 
with them. These new beds—that is, if we make more 
than one of them—are for an entirely new bedding plant, 
a most noble plant to the bargain, and a most novel 
bed it will make no doubt ; and I speak of it thus early 
that all those who can afford it may have the chance of 
an equal start with myself. And lest some should 
suppose that this is like calling “ chick, chick,” before 
the eggs are hatched, I must remark that this very 
noble bedding plant has been fully proved in Suffolk to 
be really a good thing, and no one need be apprehensive 
of the bed answering well. This new bed should be 
made where a dark mass of foliage comes in behind it, 
and, if possible, it should be seen from the living rqoms; 
and if it could be so placed fib at it could be viewed not 
against the sun after midday, all the better. What gar¬ 
deners call “with the sun,” and “ against the sun,’ is 
this:—on this side of the line when one looks due north 
at midday the sun is striking against the back of the 
head, and the person is said to look “ with the sun;” 
and if he turns the other way the light, or rays of the 
sun, strike him full in the face, and he is looking 
“ against the sun.” Now the best situation for the bed 1 
contemplate is where one could see it from the windows, 
looking “ with the sun” at four o’clock in the afternoon, 
and with a dense mass of foliage behind it. The bed 
will be splendid in the autumn; in the forenoon the 
shade of the trees and shrubs behind it will throw a 
softness into the mass that will really be most charming, 
and altogether I anticipate a very favourable opinion of 
this bed, once we get it fairly afloat. 
The old Datura, or Brugmansia arborea, is the plant 
I have in view for this new bed; it has been already 
sufficiently proved to be as capable of being left in the 
ground from year to year as the fuchsias or any other 
half-hardy plants. With it I propose to plant, and re¬ 
commend others also to plant, the red and the yellow 
sorts of Brugmansia; and next week I shall give all the 
rules that I think necessary for managing this and 
similar plants under this system. D. Beaton. 
GREENHOUSE AND WINDOW 
GARDENING. 
Azalea Indica: Hints on Shading, Abbanging, &c. 
These beautiful plants must be treated according to the 
state they are in, and what you expect from them in 
future. We fear that, to some of our readers, we may 
seem to be harping over an old tune, and laying our¬ 
selves open to the imputation ot giving “ Cauld kail, 
het, again”—the usual designation given in Scotland to 
hearing a sermon a second time, either in a similar or a 
different place of worship. I have little faith in the old 
a( j a ge—“ A good story is none the worse for being twice 
told,” especially if I should be the narrator. My reason 
for adverting to these plants again, arises from the desire 
to meet the case of the many inquiries that have lately 
been made respecting Azaleas. 
b'irst, then, with respect to those plants now in bloom 
or just coming into it, if it is desirable to prolong the 
flowering period, they should be kept shaded, and as cool 
! as possible. A place out of doors, against a north wall, 
I and covered with glazed calico, it not with glass, would 
i just be the situation for them. A greenhouse kept mode- 
I rately hot, to forward fuchsias, and the early-blooming 
