22 
HO USE & GARDEN 
' 
For years Frau Karl Druschki 
has been a leader among 
white hybrid per pet uals 
Ijitgl 
A rich, satiny-pink color, 
large size and fragrance 
mark Mrs. John Laing 
No hybrid perpetual bed is This is a bed of Frau Karl Druschki in its prime. Captain Hayward is a 
complete without XJlrich Compare the full-bloivn blossoms with the opening buds bright scarlet “June rose” 
Brunner, a superb red sort V in the upper picture of the most attractive form 
THE BEGINNER’S ROSE GARDEN 
Practical Instructions to Enable Anyone with a Bit of Spare Room in the Garden 
to Raise Successful Blossoms 
ROBERT STELL 
S URELY you can have one! Roses are not restricted to 
huge beds, a head gardener, five under gardeners, and a 
general atmosphere of landed aristocracy. A 20' bed of them 
will produce just as many and just as fine blooms per plant 
as a twenty-acre one, and it is a great deal more homelike. 
Forget the idea that rose growing is a delight for kings and 
a delusion for ordinary mortals, and begin it this spring. 
In setting down these hints for the inexperienced rosarian, 
I am considering primarily the requirements of that large class 
whose allotment of flower garden space is limited and who 
wish to devote perhaps a large proportion of it to the growing 
of other things. There is no necessity of sacrificing the 
unquestioned pleasure of annuals and perennials of the rose 
garden whim, no necessity for hybrid teas or hybrid perpetuals 
to be the dominant feature of the 
flower landscape unless you wish 
them so. The general principles 
here given would, indeed, apply to 
operations on a much larger scale, 
but that is not the point. What 
we want to know is where, when 
and for how much the beginner’s 
rose garden can be established. 
The Matter of Location 
Success in growing these plants 
depends more than anything else 
upon certain fundamental rules 
governing the location and con¬ 
struction of the bed. The subse¬ 
quent care of the bushes—pruning, the use of insecticides, and 
other details—wall be of small service in producing abundant 
bloom if the literal groundwork of the whole effort is faulty. 
First, if you can, choose a place where the soil is naturally 
well drained. Roses will grow on a windy hilltop or in a 
fairly dry hollow, but such situations are not ideal because of 
the undue exposure in the first case and the settling of cold 
air in the second. A happy medium between these two ex¬ 
tremes is the best, especially if there be added a generous 
amount of sunshine and on the north the protection of a house 
wall or dense shrubbery border. The sunny side of an ever¬ 
green windbreak is often a good place for the rosebed, but in 
every case remember that it must be located far enough from 
other plantings so that the roots of the latter cannot reach it. 
Size and Construction 
The specific dimensions and 
form of the bed may to a great 
extent be governed by circum¬ 
stances. So long as 20" width is 
allowed for a single line of plants, 
and 4' for a double line, the shape 
of the bed is comparatively unim¬ 
portant. If it is to be viewed and 
reached from one side only, it 
should contain but a single row of 
bushes; if designed to face both 
ways, plant it double. In no case, 
however, is it advisable to have the 
bed more than two rows wide, be- 
Hdve you a strip in your garden, 30' x 2'f Would you 
like to start a rose garden there? Properly planted it 
would hold twelve two-year old budded bushes. The 
bushes, which are high grade stock, sell for 75 cents 
each, and the entire rose plot, including tools, powder 
and spraying solution, and fertiliser should not cost 
more than $10. We cannot tell you how many blossoms 
you will gather from this bed, but we can tell you where 
you can buy the plants, or, you may purchase them 
through the House & Garden Shopping Service, 440 
Fourth Avenue, New York. 
