14 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 
April 
ing plants, or putting in cuttings, potting them off, 
and doing all the things necessary to be attended to ; 
form a light, pleasant, and health-reviving recrea¬ 
tion, truly valuable to thousands of our industrious, 
sober, and steady mechanics, artizans, clerks, and 
small shopkeepers. For men so circumstanced, the 
instructions contained in the pages of The Cottage 
Gardener are especially useful; and we shall this 
week endeavour to give some hints particularly directed 
to this class of our readers, ancl shew them how to 
lay out that portion of their garden devoted to the 
culture of flowers. 
We will suppose your garden to be a square of a 
moderate size, fenced all round with a low hedge, not 
as a fence of protection but merely of division ; for, 
we trust the occupiers of all such garden allotments 
will act upon that Christian law of “ doing by others 
as they would wish to be done by.” Acting upon this 
principle there is no need of protecting fences. Tour 
garden, then, being, as we suppose, a square, we 
would advise you first to set out a border four feet 
wide next to the fence all round the garden, with the 
exception of the entrance-gate, and a space directly 
opposite to it for a summer house. Plant an edging 
of some kind or other, as recommended in our last 
number; then measure a space for your walk next 
to this border; two feet wide will do for it, but if your 
garden is of pretty good size, say an eighth of an 
acre you may then allow a width of three feet for 
your walks. Then set out a cross walk through the 
centre of your garden, and that will in most cases be 
enough of walks. 
You have now two large quarters, or rather halves, 
to grow your fruit-trees and vegetables in. At the 
end where your summer-house is, take off another 
border seven feet wide. This arbour and border 
should be on the most sunny side of your garden. 
At the back of this border, taken off the main body 
of the garden, form a narrow alley or walk, about 15 
inches wide. This alley you will find very convenient 
to wheel the dung on for your vegetable crops. Now, 
these borders we intend you to plant with flowers. 
Those next the division-fence should be of a mixed 
character, with a shrub or two here and there, and 
your tall-growing kinds of flowers. What dahlias 
you possess may be grown here. The borders near 
to your seat should be planted with flowers of the 
best kinds. The somewhat broad border, namely 
seven feet wide, should be divided across into four 
feet beds, edged with slate or narrow boards, neither 
of which harbour snails or other vermin like other 
things used for this purpose. We intend these beds 
to receive your collections of hardy florists’ flowers, 
such as pinks, pansies, verbenas, anemones, &c., for 
lists of which, we refer you to other parts of this 
work, under the head devoted to them. 
You may, on the north side, set up a little rock- 
work and fernery, if you are so disposed, and can 
procure easily the necessary materials. Plants you 
are sure to obtain, either by presents or purchase, or 
even by collecting the British ferns during rambles 
on long summer evenings. How to obtain other 
kinds of flowers, we have from time to time given 
instruction to our cottage readers, who are more 
fortunately circumstanced than you, in respect that 
their garden is close to their dwelling. Turn back, 
then, to those places for that information. 
Remember that universal favourite, the rose: cul¬ 
tivate this abundantly ; when roses are in flower, you 
may garnish your window or mantelpiece with as 
beautiful and sweet-smelling flowers as those who 
possess larger gardens and employ numerous gar¬ 
deners. Standard roses you may plant amongst the 
row of your gooseberry and currant-trees ; they would 
form a kind of back-ground to your flowers, as you 
might plant a few flowers on that side of the walk 
next the vegetable ground. We hope, with these 
few brief hints, and your own taste and ingenuity, 
you will be able to make your garden ornamental as 
well as useful. 
Training and Pruning Hardy Climbers. —Now 
is a good time to perform this work, if not already 
done. Should your climbers be thick and overgrown 
with wood, and against a wall, take them all down 
carefully from it. Choose healthy clean-grown branches 
to remain, keeping as many as will cover the wall 
well when in full foliage. Generally speaking, six 
inches from shoot to shoot of the stronger kinds will 
be a right distance. For small twiggy growers, lay 
them in four inches apart. Contrive to have shoots 
of young wood of last year’s growth equally distributed 
over every part of the wall. From these shoots you 
will obtain the flowers. The beautiful Wistaria sinen¬ 
sis forms, frequently, its blossoms on short branches 
commonly called spurs. These you will take care to 
preserve. Having fixed on those branches you ought 
to keep, cut all the rest away unmercifully. Clear 
away those prunings, and then nail up the rest in 
their places. Train them in neat straight lines either 
perpendicularly or horizontally, as your wall will 
allow. Pyrus Japonica (The Japan pear) is a beau¬ 
tiful scarlet flowering shrub, shewing its glowing 
blossoms in March and April. This shrub produces 
its flower on spurs as well as the young wood. It 
requires training much like a fruit-tree. There is a 
white variety, but it is not so strong as the scarlet one, 
except it be planted against a dark coloured wall. 
The genus or family of Clematis are nearly all hand¬ 
some climbers, and require at this season severe prun¬ 
ing to keep them within bounds. The sweet smell¬ 
ing honeysuckle is an universal favourite, and should 
be planted in all imaginable corners, against tree- 
stems, buttresses of walls, and trellis-work. It re¬ 
quires the long shoots shortening a little every spring. 
It is a thriving plant, and will twist its shoots round 
small rods. Honeysuckles form beautiful objects when 
planted amongst other shrubs, pruning them in every 
winter like a gooseberry bush, or trained to a stake 
about four feet high, and the long straggling shoots 
shortened in every spring. Climbing roses we have 
already given directions how to preserve, but there is 
one species that requires a more particular notice. The 
Rosa Banksia is the kind we allude to. This rose, 
and its varieties, produce flowers on the small twiggy 
branches of the previous year’s growth; consequently, 
these, in pruning, should be left on the branches 
until after the flowering season, when they should be 
shortened in, and thinned out to produce the small 
shoots to flower the next spring. Should the tree 
produce any strong shoots, these ought to be cut away 
to strengthen the flowering branches. Ivy is a 
truly ornamental climber when properly managed. 
It thrives pretty well even in the smoky atmos¬ 
phere of towns. The variety called Irish ivy pro¬ 
duces the finest leaves, and is the kind mostly 
planted against walls or dwellings. This beautiful 
evergreen is often seen sadly neglected. For want of 
a little trouble in pruning and nailing it hangs from 
the wall in straggling masses; and often, during 
heavy rain and wind, is forced from its support, and is 
troublesome to fasten up again. This may be avoided 
by keeping the superabundant shoots closely pruned 
to the wall. We have seen ivy so neglected that the 
shoots have grown from the wall several feet, affording 
