TWELVE MONTHS OF SUBUEBAX ( AEDE.VIXCi. 
7 
TWELA'E ]\[0NT1I8 OE 
t UTSIDE, the Ice King holds all Nature 
in his grasp, and sensitive bronchial 
tubes wairn me to avoid his contact. 
But winirj- as is the aspect I'roni the window 
of my apartment, my chamber is furnished 
with vivid pictures of departed beauties, and 
in the hope that it may be a help to some 
fellow-florist like myself, bound to contend 
with difiiculty in the pursuit of the objects of 
his aspiration, I propose briefly to recount the 
work and the results of twelve months of 
suburban gardening. 
Those of ni}^ readers familiar with the 
subscription attached to this ]iaper will know 
that the chief objects of my devotion are 
Carnations and Picotees. But mj- admiration 
is not confined to those flowers, and we seek at 
all times to have the garden neat and clean, 
and as fully furnished as may be consistent 
with narrow means ami limited opportunity. 
Bremising, then, that the garden is a narrow 
strip, seven and a half yards Avidc and eighty 
in depth, is bounded on either side by a fence 
five and a half feet in height, so that we obtain 
very little more than half the light of the sun, 
even when that luminary is above the horizon, 
and is eastwards twenty yards of a busy railway, 
on which some five hundred trains per diem 
pass and rcpass, so that when favourable airs 
for growth prevail, west and south-west, we are 
exposed to all the dust and smoke of this 
enormous trallic, and thus have much difficulty 
to contend with, I commence at once with my 
relation. 
Not myself only, but my family, are passion¬ 
ately fond of flowers, and all desire to have 
them as late in the autumn and early in the 
spring as possible. Two yeais since, an old 
friend, a practical florist, suggested that for an 
inconsiderable outlaj' a fine display of Crocuses, 
Narcissi, and Tulips could be olitained. So the 
experiment was made, but truth compels me 
to tell that the results have been anything but 
satisfactory, the second year less so than the 
first. Crocuses were fairly good, but lack¬ 
ing the advantage of free air, were wrecked 
grievously with the first windy day. Here, per¬ 
haps, I may remark, that wind is one of the most 
adverse influences the suburban florist has to 
encounter; and it is astonishing to note the 
mischief it will work, when once it has forced 
SUEUKllAN (lAKDENING. 
its way inside these narrow enclosures. Wo 
make every effort, by clothing the boarded 
fences with foliage, to break the force of its 
blows, but season by season we have to deplore 
its evils, and learn ly painful experience that 
nothing can compensate for a free, open situa¬ 
tion, sheltered in the distance by chimps or 
lines of trees. 
Narcissi and Tulips had a struggling exist¬ 
ence, and we were well on in May before some 
double Wallflo wers gave us their beautiful 
bloom and fragrance. Thenceforth, however, 
we had flowers, though in ny experience, all 
out-door suburban gardening is a trial and a 
difficulty until midsummer is approached. Boses, 
even the very few that will survive—dear old 
Gloire and Souvenir de laMalmaison occupying 
the foremost place in this respect—giv'ing no 
flowers until the summer growth is made. 
From the- middle of Ma}-, howevei', we had 
flowers. The first seedling Carnation opened 
on the 12th. Then with early June came 
Pinks—seedlings and established varieties— 
and from June 20th to July 20th, Carnations 
and Picotees—seedlings and varieties lonu well 
known—were grand. 
In July, hiVtinn aurattun —though some 
bulbs of these dwindled away mysteriously 
just when the bloom appeared most promising— 
were very fine ; and in August and early in Sep¬ 
tember JJliiun ffpeciosKin rubnuii, rO{<eiiin, and 
other varieties of that section, were superbly 
beautiful. In late Juh', and August also, 
my score of Boses were delightful, banishing 
all remembrance of the cruel nippings of 
the spring. But for town flowers, rich alike 
in fragrance and the highest order of beaut}', 
after the Dianthus I know no tribe to ecyal 
the Liliums. Grown in good, sound loam, with 
a fair admixture of leaf-mould and peat, in 
pots plunged around shrubs, they had a vigour 
and gave a life and variety to the foliage 
which was most delightful. hi-eitcli- 
h^yensis^ treated in a similar fashion, was very 
beautiful;and especially serviceable for boucpiets. 
Then in late August and through September 
we had many fine blooms of Picotees from 
plants propagated from late pipings ; and 
these, with Boses from Gloire and Souvenir, 
carried us onwards to the Chrysanthemums. 
But here I must confess to failure—the natural 
result of imperfect attention. 
