THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
197 
June 27.] 
sure I felt when these sprigs struck root and actually grew. 
Then, how I used to long for cuttings of anything that would 
grow; and how grateful I would have heen for bits of gera¬ 
niums or fuchsias, had such come in my way. Once I re¬ 
ceived a bouquet with some sprigs of heliotrope in it, I stuck 
them into a flower-pot, and covered them with a tumbler, 
and, to my great delight and surprise, three out of the five 
slips struck root, and I had, for the first time, the pleasure 
of giving away a rooted slip of my own rearing. Now-a-days, 
I think every plant seems to be capable of propagation by 
slips or cuttings; and though many require more time, skill, 
and pains than juvenile gardeners have to bestow, yet there 
are many sweet common plants you may thus propagate, 
and get your borders filled. Pansies root easily in a shady 
place without any glass over them—so will pinks ; then you 
may make cuttings of the hardy fuchsias, of penstemons, 
snapdragons, and many others. The common red flowering 
currant strikes root almost whether you will or not, but it 
grows too large for little gardens, though you might amuse 
yourself by striking cuttings to give away. If you have the 
convenience of a hotbed, of course cuttings will strike root 
sooner and more securely ; but then you must trust to the 
gardener, for I think few young people are aware how diffi¬ 
cult a hotbed frame is to manage till they try, and kill all 
their cuttings with over-coddling. There are small frames 
to be got cheap, with glass on one side and zinc on the other; 
these shade as well as shelter the cuttings, and keep them in 
an equal temperature. But, I dare say, many of the young 
readers of The Cottage Gardener have no assistance, and 
can get none from either gardener or frames: well, do not 
despair, bring a good will to the work, aud you will succeed. 
Choose a shady spot, shaded, if possible, by a wall rather 
than by trees or shrubs, dig the ground well, and rake it 
smooth, insert your cuttings, and gently press the earth 
round them; keep them moist, and do not be in a hurry to 
dig them up to look for roots, and I think I may promise 
that enough of your cuttings will take root in a few weeks to 
repay your trouble and rejoice your hearts. When they 
begin to grow at the top, you may hope all is going on well 
at the root; and some moist day, soon after, you may take 
your trowel and transplant them into your own garden; shade 
them for a day or two if the sun is powerful, and I hope 
many of you, even this autumn, may have the satisfaction 
of thus filling up blanks in your little plots. _ 
As to seeds, I have spoken already of sowing annuals, but 
j r ou may get some pretty additions to your stock by sowing 
biennials in beds, apart from your little gardens, and plant¬ 
ing out such as you require in the places where you wish 
them to flower. I suppose you know that biennials do not 
flower the year they are sown, but the next; so you need to 
consult Mrs. Think-in-time in this matter ; and if you want 
wall-flowers, stocks, snapdragons, foxgloves, aud many 
others, you must remember to sow them this year, and wait 
patiently for next summer to see them flower. Those of 
you who have an opportunity may also get many pretty wild 
flowers that will transplant from the woods and fields, and 
grow in the garden. Wood anemones, wild hyacinths, saxi¬ 
frage, primroses, and foxgloves will all transplant easily 
and I do not know any excursion more delightful than 
setting out on a fine spring day with a basket and trowel 
and bringing home a supply of wild plants for the garden. 
Make a yood selection of flowers .—I do not mean by this 
merely what I said before about having your gardens gay 
each month; but what I mean is to select such plants as 
from their size and manner of growth are suitable for small 
gardens. Large plants take up too much room, and also 
exhaust the soil round them ; for instance, hollyhocks, 
dahlias, and flowering shrubs, though beautiful in a large 
garden, are too large and greedy for little plots ; while low 
growing plants—such as lily of the valley, and sweet-scented 
violets, that require to be grown in masses to have any 
effect—are also unsuitable. Many plants spread themselves 
so fast by then- roots that they require to be taken up eveiy 
year, and separated, but this is a pleasant part of your work; 
so I would not cast out all spreading flowers—by the division 
you get two or three plants out of one, and you have also 
the pleasure of planting them in a new bit of your garden, 
and making a variety by this means. You must remember, 
however, to watch plants that have this habit, both for your 
own sake and theirs, and check them in time, lest they en 
croach too much on their neighbours. Many of them run 
thus out of bounds to get fresh soil, when they have exhausted 
that near them; you will observe in these plants- that the 
outside portions look stronger than the middle part. Mimu- 
luses and garden Forget-me-not both grow in this way ; but 
if you lift them in autumn, separate the roots, and replant 
them in a fresh place; I think you will rather prefer plants 
that you can thus increase to those that remain more station¬ 
ary. There is a campanula, however, which has this trick of 
spreading so that it is a perfect nuisance, and more difficult 
to eradicate than even bishop’s-weed, or goul-weed, as some 
call it. I have turned it out of my garden in vain, for its 
small fibres have got in among the roots of other plants; 
eveiy thread of root and bit of stalk grows, and it is a per¬ 
petual work to hoe it up and weed it out. 
Plant your flowers at regular intervals. —A little formality 
makes small gardens neat; and by placing your large plants 
in the back row, then smaller ones in the next, and little 
low-growing flowers in front, you will both see them all to 
more advantage and have more room. Bo not plant 3 our 
flowers one behind another, but let those of the second row 
come between the spaces of the first: thus, * 
and keep them as nearly as possible at regular " 
intervals. 
Press. —There is no doubt that a lady’s dress is not one 
very well suited for gardening; all we can do to obviate its 
disadvantages is, we will still I fear find, that actual work in 
a garden does not improve its appearance. A large apron 
and gloves are some protection; but what I have found 
better is a dark skirt; this can be put on and taken oft as 
easily as an apron : it protects the dress better and allows 
more freedom in kneeling on the ground or pushing through 
the shrubs. Gloves are indispensable; they should be made 
to come half way up the arm, so as to protect the sleeves 
and to prevent the earth getting in at the wrist. I believe 
these gauntlets are used as riding gloves for ladies ; the kind 
I have are what used to be called York tan, and I got a 
glover to affix gauntlets to them. The advantage of tins is, 
that as the glove, especially the right hand one, wears out 
before the upper part, you can renew the glove at a trifling 
expense, and sew it yourself to the gauntlet. . I have seen 
laches make gauntlets of strong unbleached linen fastened 
to the glove ; this is quite as effectual for protecting the dress 
and for preventing that sun-burning of the wrist which is 
the frequent fate of lady gardeners. A shawl is perfectly 
inadmissible as gardening costume; but a polka jacket is 
convenient when the weather does not admit of 3 our going 
out without any additional wrappings. I may also. give a 
hint, that when a polka jacket is worn and work is to be 
done, it is a good plan to open a few hooks of the gown 
behind, unless my readers are very fond of sewing hooks and 
e 3 'es daily on their dresses. 
Give, if possible, daily attention to your garden .—I am aware 
that while young people have their studies to attend to, the 
time allotted for amusement and recreation cannot always 
be devoted to the garden; but even as a recreation, garden¬ 
ing requires regular attention; and, indeed, I believe most 
who have tried it as such, find the danger of its becoming too 
absorbing a pursuit, and encroaching on the time devoted to 
higher duties. I dare say you have all read of gardens that 
never had a weed to be seen in them, because the owner v\ ent 
round every morning and pulled them up as fast as they 
appeared. This sounds well, but I doubt its practicability. 
There are often weeks of fine weather when the borders, if 
once hoed and raked, remain neat and free of weeds ; .but let 
a wet day or two come, and on revisiting your garden it looks 
as if it had been sown over with little green leaves ; and how 
are you to get them pulled up diming a morning's walk ? 
Still, daily attention will do much ; it will prevent work accu¬ 
mulating on your hand till you know not what to begin 
first, whether weeding, or transplanting, or tying up; and 
then you put off doing anything till you have time for a good 
day’s work; and if you have, as you ought to have, other and 
more important duties to attend to than your gardens, a good 
day’s work in them is an enjoyment not easily attained, try, 
therefore, to do a little eveiy day, and be very particular 
about neatness and order in your little domain, remembering 
that whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. 
Finally, my young friends, never forget that you have work 
of a higher kind assigned you by the Lord of the vineyard, 
