SS 
8 THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
D eR 
fawecuwel i: 
r 
ISO GAWLER PLACE. 
‘enow.ed fo his Watches. Jewellery, and Nepairs. 
December 1, 1907 
ADELAIDE 
out instructions, but definite knowledge 
of the habits of the different shruhs to 
be employed is essential to enable one to 
make a planting which will develop con- 
sistently as they increase in age and size. 
That such information can only be ob- 
tained successfully by observation and ° 
experience is evidenced by the very large 
number of inharmonious combinations 
that are seen in shrubberies all about the 
country. Probably rhododendrons are 
treated injudiciously and are a source of 
disappointment and waste of money more 
than any other shrub, largely through 
misunderstanding. Rhododendrons are 
sociable individuals, liking the companion- 
ship and protection of other plants. Their 
fine, fibrous roots delight in cool moist 
soil, but do not want to go very deep in 
earth to find these conditions, and are 
particulariy sensitive to excessive heat or 
droughtin midsummer. A situation where 
the shadows of large trees or buildings 
winter, and from severe winds, is an ideal 
will shield midday sun in summer and 
position. A perpetual mulch of leaves 
renewed each autumn, and with a light 
coat of stable manure on top of the leaves 
to keep them from blowing away, is most 
congenial to them. Mulching and shelter 
from wind are the most essential con- 
ditions. 
One of my most satisfactory plantings 
of the rhododendrons was a small béd at 
the south corner of a residence. They 
were wanted in this position. but the 
owner had been told that they would not 
succeed in a southern exposure. Recog- 
nizing the fact thata large pear tree, 
south-east of this bed, would afford mid- 
day shade, and groups of large forest trees 
and neighboring buildings not far away 
would afford shelter from wind, the lo- 
cation was considered eligible. The natural 
soil was quite sandy, but by generous ex- 
cavation two feet deep, and filling with 
vegetable mould taken from ditches ona 
nearby farm, and a few barrels of Jersey 
peat, a soil was prepared which proved 
suitable. The rhododendrons were planted 
four or five feet apart. and all vacant 
spaces filled in with Mahonia aquifolia 
and M. japonica and the heath Arbor vitze 
until the bed was a solid mass of foliage, 
effectually shading the stems of the plants 
and the ground around them. The ground 
was then covered with a mulch of leaves 
a foot deep, with instructions to keep it 
there all the time, renewing it every 
Autumn, and that as the rhododendrons 
grew and spread, the nurse plauts should 
be cut back or removed. This planting 
was made nine years ago, and has been 
successful. 
TREATMENT OF SMALL Yarps. 
A most difficult problem in shrub 
arrangement, more frequently met with 
in the practical experience of florists and 
jobbing gardeners than in the laying out 
of large lawns where general rules of 
landscape gardening might be applied, is 
the requirement of owners of small yards, 
who want one dozen of their old favorites 
set in a bed or along a garden fence. Per- 
haps it will be a lilac, forsythia, snowball, 
cydonia, weigelia, spire, dogwood, hyd- 
rangea, purple filbert, or other such incon- 
gruous neighbors. He who can arrange 
such a group as this tastily and so as it 
will continue attractive throughout the 
year, is a master in the art of shrub 
arrangement, Hopeless as this task may 
seem there are plants which we may always 
look to for help in such emergencies. The 
slender sprays of feathery foliage of the 
tamarix, the graceful drooping branches 
of Spirea Thunbergi, Stephanandra 
flexuosa, the single flowered kerrias in- 
cluding the white form known as Rhodo- 
typus kerroides, with its crinkled foliage. 
are all gentle inoffensive subjects willing 
to help fill up a gap and hide from public 
gaze the awkwardness of their fellows 
wherever such services is needed, By add- 
ing a few plants of this slender species, 
the stiffness of a group may be much 
relieved and some of its awkwardness 
softened, 3 
A VALUABLE’ Lesson. 
One of my most valuable lessons aboat 
planting was learned in walking through 
a lawn with an old gardener whu remarked 
‘‘The man who planted this place under- 
stood his business. See every tree is set 
ona little hill or mound.’ The next 
time you have the opportunity, compare 
the difference in appearance of a lawn 
where trees and shrubs stand in mounds 
slightly raised above the level of the sur- 
rounding lawn and other plantings where 
the lawn level is carried up to the reots 
of the plants, or as is sometimes seen, 
where plants stand in a depression. See 
which you like best, and then judge of 
the wisdom of the above suggeston. 
A bed or border. of shubbery should be 
heavily manured and dug or ploughed 
deeply and prepared as carefully as for 
corn or potatoes, or any other crop which 
is wanted to grow well. If I tell you to 
not ram the roots into a little hole in the 
ground, but to set them on alittle mound 
you will tbink I am joking, but that is 
pretty nearly what I mean. 
Bia Hotes Necessary, 
It would seem as though every gardoner 
should be tired of hearing the trite advice 
to dig big holes for shruds and trees, but 
the innumerable evidences of violations 
of the rule show that many planters have 
not yet learned this lesson. Some shrubs 
as forsythias, spirzeis deutzias, etc, may 
flourish if stuck in tne ground any way 
but many others need the best of care to 
insure saccess, and carlessness in setting 
discredits good material and a job which 
in other respects may be all right. Dig 
holes larger and deeper than the roots 
require, and larger in diameter at bottom 
than at top, then fill in some of the best’ 
soil sbtainable, making a little cons or 
mound in the centre of the hole. Then 
spread out the roots of the plants around 
this mound of earth so that all the roots 
tend downward rather than horizontally 
or upward. Fillin the richest soil first 
tramping firmly as the filling proceeds, 
Remember | eter Henderson’s chapter on 
tde “use of the foot in planting.” Also 
bear in mind that it is results that count 
and five minutes spent in care of planting 
may mean one or two years saved in at- 
taining the desired end. 
Manurina, Moutcuina, Prounina. 
Under the heading ‘*How to Treat 
Shrubs’ { willallude to mannring, mulch- 
H. Berriman & Co 
Tailors ana 
Shirtmakers, 
CITIZENS’ BUILDINGS, 
(OPPOSITE TOWN HALL), 
ADELAIDE. 
A Complete Range of Seasonable Goods. 
