fire wiles AEN Seat a cc 
planting. . iy : 
Beds containing Roses, Azaleas, Bouvar- 
diias, Ericas, or similarly cultivated plants 
ghould be covered only during the heat of 
gummer, 88 the roots of the permanents.are 
Hiable.to suffer from sourness in the soil due 
@owantof light. te 
One should have a packet of mixed seads, 
sontaining Conyolvulus, Mignonette, Phlox 
Draummondi, Dwarf Nasturtium, Poppies of 
sorts, Petunias, Marigolds, Portulacas, and 
ther similar quick-growing things, and as 
the, summer: advauces, and bate or weak 
atches show, scatter-a few of these seeds. 
t will be an. easy matter to remove those 
which are liable to injure steck plants. Of 
xourse when systematic planting is done for 
the summer these casual plants would 
create wild. disorder, but as systematic 
planting is, yery properly, rare in Australia, 
aye find real beauty and satisfaction, wher- 
ever there is_an abundant vegetation over 
‘all the surface. et - 
The water supply is, next to the nature 
and quantity of the soil, the most important 
Stem in connection with the management of 
a garden. All said and done, gardening is 
entirely governed by ways and means. 
Water. is distinctly expensive, and even 
qhere one does not object to paying for it,. 
it may not be forthcoming in “sufficient 
wyolume at those seasons when it is most 
needed. In every case we must/make and 
manage according to the water supply. In 
abis connection water is used in inverse 
ratio to quantity of soil. The deeper and 
richer the svil the less water will be needed, 
and the less work and anxiety regarding 
the preservation of the garden; therefore 
soil and water are considered together. 
And remember, that a shallow and rich 
soil, with abundant water, will never yield 
the superior garden which results from a 
great depth of well-prepared soil, ae 
Woe are accustomed to spend money in 
watering in the summer only, when it would 
often be found much less expensive and 
Detter, to water in autumn, winter, or early 
spring, and secure a well-saturated subsoil, 
which, quickly covered with vegetation, 
would be conserved and sustain plants at 
very small further outlay during summer, 
Watering at any season implies good drain- 
age; it is especially necessary when given 
during the cold period of the year. Summer 
water does not *' get down,” since the soil 
and atmosphere are so hot that all water is 
quickly converted into vapor and thrown off. 
~ In winter the rains are not sufficient to 
thoroughly saturate the subsoil, and even 
yhere the rainfall is high, established gar- 
dens are so screened by their own vegeta- 
tion that the soil remains dry as dust all the 
year rund, unless artificially refreshed. We 
kayo, therefore, to be constantly on the alert 
4o note the effect of all the phenomena of 
nuiure, and im a general way we should do 
a yood dex! of work in winter, of a kind 
which, under other skies, would be reserved 
solely for the summer months; finally, it 
will be fo.ud infinitely cheaper to water in 
syinter than im summer all those areas 
gyhich call tux Leavy and quick-growing 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
vegetation during. the hot months of the. 
year. Cio pas spare 
_ Those who discuss, and are very fond of 
particular plants, rarely. have gardens. : 
The gardener cannot afford to make any 
special chuice. It is as if an artist should 
say he would. paint only in-blua or red. or 
contend for one shape and size. Our garden 
is made, up of an, infinity” of shapes and 
sizes and colors, and much affected by a 
great deal that is not alive or within our 
grasp, as the outside world (terrestrial or 
celestial). These impress themselves upon 
our garden and ourselves, and compel us if 
we are sane to listen to their united voice. 
_ We must remember that there is a trade 
side [to plant-growing, and that novelties 
aro a necessity to every man’s catalogue. 
But with novelties we shall make.no garden. 
Many plants are of very short duration, or 
die off and leave a gap in the summer (this 
is a very serious defect in a flower), We 
ought always to know, when we put out a 
plant, when it will normally fail in beauty, 
or die, and if it be in summer, then we 
should anticipate the vacancy by planting 
something else near. 1 A 
_ ‘*Common” hardy. plants will make a 
garden, and as we grow in knowledge, or 
means to buy knowledge, in the shape of 
skilled. gardeners, then -we may improve 
our collection. _ x 
The shade garden, wilderness, or covered 
shady walk should be found in every gar- 
den; it need not interfere with the extent 
or value of the more open parts, nor will it 
be difficult to make or maintain. If the dry, 
hungry ground under trees and big shrubs 
is deeply dug in winter, then well watered, 
and if poor given a top dressing of new 
soil, a great variety of shade-loving plants 
will be found to thrive and yield endless 
beauty, besides adding to the size of the 
garden enormously. Winding, unpreten- 
tious paths, such as beaten ways in wood- 
lands, should be cut through big shrub- 
beries, or such belts of trees and shrubs as 
follow boundary lines. The trimming up of 
the branches of occasional trees will admit 
as much light and air as will secure free 
growth aud charming vistas. The shade 
garden would prove a welcome addition 
throughout the hot regions of Australia. 
This includes all the capital cities, and the 
oldest and most neglected gardens hold 
most material for the skilful remodeller, 
Uhe shade garden means nature, or it means 
nothing, All growth must be prodigal aud 
wild. Flowers will not be so rare, bright 
foliage so wanting, or the air so still aud 
cold that the shade garden will in winter 
prove a dreary affair, Shatts of light are 
made to fall where a splash of color is 
wanting, and narrow windings, now opening 
to the sky, and now leadiug to broad 
carpets and vanits of varied green, keep 
one interested and secure. 
Kyen where a few trees or shrubs are~ 
placed against a solid background, the soil 
at their basé may be covered with creeping 
aud low-growing woodland plants. In 
brief, we must waste no spuce, as (*'in the 
economy of nature there are uo fallows’”) : 
we are sternly reproved when we essay to 
improve on nature, and yet leave the 
greater part of the ground exposed and un- 
attractive. ree 
shar aecciie eae Vebtuary 41905 
‘The natural forees acting against Austra- 
lian garden work are to be found in ex~ 
tremes of climate, which severely try the 
constitution of most plauts, and render 
them liable to dixease, pests, and’ irregular 
growth. Excessively-heated and badly- 
drained soils furnish extremes beneath the 
surface, and demand such attention at all 
seasons as will prevent any wide difference- 
in soil temperature. Hot, drying winds, 
droughts, poverty and shallowness of soil, 
and the disproportion of the wasting and 
gathering seasons, are defects to be met in 
various ways. By recognising the causes of 
each and all of these adverse forces we are 
‘in a position to give such attention to the: 
soil and plants as will secure a wholesome- 
abundance at all seasons. ‘ 
- If you would have a: good garden, first 
learn to work, then work to learn. A super- 
ficial and theoretical. knowledye is useless, 
since real hard work, calling for muscle as- 
well as brain, has to be put int» each foot 
of ground if it is to, yield up anything 
worthy the name of beauty. 
Of books, those which have most literary 
charm are most helpful to the amateur,. 
since they create a mood which is inspiring 
and more definite in its aim than books. 
which are mero catalogues of plants and 
directions for managing them. ; 
Tho general effect of climate on the posi- 
tion you wish to deal with should be fully 
grasped; also the climate and position as it. 
affects your health aud desires. : 
Well-made public and priva‘e gardens, 
which appeal directly to the sosthetic taste 
or imagination, will be worthy of study, and 
in some measure of imitation. Every local 
beauty which has come into existence un— 
aided by man will be a clue, which, fol- 
lowed, will lead to some appropriate effect 
in the garden. Make yourself thoroughly 
familiar with the characteristics of the local 
climate, got the best local calendar of gar- 
den operations, and write in all your expe- 
riences and impressions regarding your own 
work, ‘This calendar shoula svon be found 
in one’s head, and the possessor should 
usually be reading a few weeks or months. 
in advance, so as to anticipate and provide 
for each season’s demands. 
‘THE GOLDEN BELL AS A BUSH. 
The graceful flowering, deciduous Japan- 
ese shrub Forsythia suspensa is fairly well 
known as a covering for walls and house 
fronts, but is rarely met with in bush form 
in the open garden. When so grown, how- 
ever, and its {éafless flower decked shoots 
are secn against a background of some 
evergreen, there are few plants, at its time 
of flowering, to equal it: Every garden. 
should possess it, as its cultivation and pro- 
pagation are of the simplest, the latter 
Jooking after itself, as the shoots that reach. 
the ground take root if the earth 1s mo- 
derately loose, and for the former any well- 
manured ordinary soil, deeply dug, will 
suffice. Grown naturally, the form of the 
plant is most pleasing, yet it can be re- 
stricted in growth to suit almost any nook. 
by judicious thinning of the shoots. The 
flowering shoots last well when cut for 
house decoration. 
