OctozER 2, 1905 
Tie Boe 
(BY A. H. SCARFE.) 
Ve A. H. SCARFE is admittedly one of 
the best authorities upon the cultiva- 
tion of the rose in South Australia. 
This gentleman recently delivered an address 
upon the subject at the School of Mines, and we 
extract the following from the report of the- 
Register :— 
Soil and Situation. 
The choice of soil and situation as regards 
most of us is, I apprehend, beyond our control. 
We have established onr homes, and therefore 
have to adapt ourselves to existing circum- 
stances. All rose experts, however, agree that 
roses should be planted in an open position and 
yet sheltered from strong winds by hedges, trel- 
lises or belts of trees, care being taken that the 
roots of any trees or shrubs are not allowed to 
interfere with the flower borders. Roses can be 
grown where the soil is comparatively poor, 
because this can have quality given to it by judi- 
cious cultivation ; but roses cannot be grown to 
perfection unless they can have the ground to. 
themselves. Some enthusiasts, finding them- 
selves located amongst the most unpromising 
surroundings, would not be deterred from trying 
toform a garden, Certain conditions we cannot 
alter —climate, for example—but soil can be pre- 
pared by expense and labor, and is very often 
done. Dean Hole relates—‘A gardener re- 
marked to a friend of mine who had won a first 
prize for roses, ‘ I believe, sir, that you have got 
the only rose garden in Lincolnshire which 
could grow such blooms. ‘ And I brought it 
there, my friend responded, ‘in a wheelbarrow.’ 
Mr Epwarp Mawtey, 
one of the best authorities in Great Britain, 
says—The best site for roses is an open yet 
sheltered one, though as little shut in by trees or 
buildings as may be. On the other hand, it 
must not be too much exposed, for although 
roses delight [in a free atmosphere they have a 
great objection to be frequently swept by high 
winds, Shelter from the north and east is most 
necessary, but exposure to strong winds from 
almost any quarter is undesirable. Bearing these 
facts in mind the position best complying with 
them should be chosen, and if necessary a high 
hedge or belt of trees planted on the side where 
shelter is most needed. .Care must, however, be 
taken that this hedge of tree belt is sufficiently 
distant from the roses to prevent the possibility 
of its roots finding their way at some future time 
into the rose beds. Wherever it is possible roses 
should be allowed a separate bed or beds to them- 
seives, and not be planted with other flowers. 
Rev. Foster MELLIAR 
says—lixposure to strong winds is very hurtful 
to roses in the flowering season, and at sucha 
time an exhibitor will be more distressed to be 
awoke at night by a gale of wind than by a 
storm of rain. Anything that rubs or chafes 
against a petal will injure and spoil it; and to 
tie every bud up so that nothing can possibly 
touch it is among alarge number almost an im- 
possibility. Strong winds are so injurious that 
shelter should be sought for, and that not only 
on the north and east, but also on the south- 
west, from which the strong winds usually come 
from. Belts of close-growing trees or thick and 
tall hedges will be the sort of hedges usually 
available, but it is most important that they be 
not close enough, either to shade the roses or for 
their roots to enter the beds. 
- Hints about Shelter. 
Buildings or walls are the best shelters, as. : 
the protection they: give is real, with some re-. 
Sraeted warmth; they drop: no seeds or leaves 
\ 
-shine and shade. 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
5 
and especially they have no robbing roots, 
Apart from walls or tenements, the question of 
shelter is a difficult one: for it must be carefully 
remembered that the vicinity of trees, shrubs or 
hedges whose roots can reach the beds, and also 
all actual shade should be sedulously avoided. 
Then, again, the situation must be quite free 
and open, not close and stuffy ; and if no shelter 
whatever can be had, the finest nurserymen, 
even those who are most successful at the shows, 
are absolutely “open and exposed to the four 
winds of heaven. After all it is better to be 
moderately high anil exposel than tobe too 
sheltered and too low, purticularly if the shelter 
consist of growing trees and shrubs which stand 
too close; but if thus unsheltered, extra and 
constant care must be bestowed in the growiag 
season to tying and supporting. The majority oi 
the H.Ps should be grown as dwarfs, and stout 
bamboo stakes should support the standards. In 
many cases, however, the would-be grower of 
roses has no choice of a situation, but has to 
make the best use of the land at his disposal. 
Dean Hore 
expresses himself as follows—The rosarium must 
be both exposed and sheltered, a place of sun- 
The centre must be clear and 
open, around it the protecting screen. It must 
be a fold wherein the sun shines warmly on the 
sheep and the wind is tempered to the shorn 
lamb ; a haven in which the soft breeze flutters 
the sail, but over which the tempest roars, and 
against whose piers the billow hurls itself in 
vain. And this may, I think, be taken conse- 
quently as a golden rule in the formation of a 
rose garden. So lay it out that a large propor- 
tion of your trees may have the sunshine on 
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“* Pillar,’Roses in Mr, Scarfe’s 
them from its rise to the meridian, and after 
that time be in shadow and in repose. To effect 
this the garden must extend in lougitude from 
north to south rather than from east to west— 
the form being oblong or semicircular. The 
west wall or fence should be from 8 to 10 ft :. 
the northern tall and dense, but not necessarily. 
s) high as the western ; th3 eastern such as will 
keep out cold, cutting winds, but not one ray of. 
sunshine —say 5 ft. To tha south the rosary may 
be open; but evan then, s> hurtful here is a 
rough wind, which occasionally >lows from this 
quarter, that I prefer some slight protective 
screen, such as a low bank or bed. : 
Soil and Manures. 
Mr E. Mawtey 
writes —A deep. strong loim is the best land for 
roses, land on which an exceptionally excellent 
crop of wheat could be raised, But as this ideal” 
soil for a rose garden is seldom to be found ready’ 
to hand, an endeavor must be made to supply’ 
the soil with those inyredients and physical’ 
qualities in which it is most deficient. For in- 
stance, should it be a stiff clay it must, if neces- 
sary, be drained. If not so retentive as to re- 
quire it, a liberal quantity of burnt earth and 
long stable manure, saud, etc., must be incorpo- 
rated withit. If, on the other hand, the soil be 
too light and porous, some heavierloam should 
be mixed with it, and cow, instead of stable 
manure introduce. If, on examination of the 
soil, it be found not only porous, but also shal- 
low, some of the chalk, gravel or sand beneath 
must be entirely removed and replaced by 
heavier soil, not absolutely clay, obtainable in 
the vicinity. 5 
Garden cis ak 
