February  15,  1901). 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
or  the  dead  rustle  of  winter.  There  is  no  need  to  do  much  in  such 
a  woodland  as  this.  A  flowering  shrub  here,  or  a  coloured  foliage 
tree  there,  to  lend  variety,  but  any  more  elaborate  attempts  at 
fnrnishing  detract  from  rather  than  add  to  the  appearance.  But  Nature 
is  not  equally  lavish  with  her  gilts,  and  I  havfe  walked  out  of  gardens 
into  neighbouring  woodlands  where  the  change  has  been  anything 
but  cheering..  Beneath  the  trees  there  is  nothing  more  pleasing  to 
hide  the  bareness  of  the  ground  than  clumps  of  luxuriant  Nettles ; 
dead  trees  and  broken  branches  give  the  place  an  uncared  for  look, 
and  you  search  in  vain  for  that  ftilness  of  vegetation  which  is  usually 
connected  with  woodlands. 
Obviously  there  is  something  wanting  in  such  a  spot,  and  what 
shrub  n;ore  suitable  for  supplying  the  need  than  the  Rhododendron  ? 
You  may  keep  the  choice  hybrids  for  more  conspicuous  places  within 
the  limits  ol  the  garden,  as  the  old-fashioned  Rhododendron  ponticum 
is  the  shrub  for  furnishing  wood  and  wilderness,  for  which  purpose 
ia9 
old  stems,  and  wait  till  growth  again  commences;  but  if  there  is  any 
objection  to  the  bareness  in  the  meantime,  it  may  be  obviated  by 
starting  at  one  side  of  the  clump,  thinning  out  the  majority  of  the 
branches  and  pegging  the  others  down,  by  which  means  the  bushes 
instead  of  being  done  away  with  are  simply  lowered.  For  planting  in 
game  preserves  and  exposed  positions,  nothing  is  more  suitable  than 
R.  ponticum.  Rabbits  will  strip  all  the  bark  off  young  Laurels,  but 
they  never  interfere  with  Rhododendrons,  nor  do  the  plants  succumb  to 
frost  in  the  same  way  as  other  shrubs. 
There  is  another  position  for  which  Rhododendrons  are  invaluable, 
and  that  is  for  the  margins  of  woods  and  plantations.  When  a  car¬ 
riage  drive  runs  through  a  woodland  it  is  desirable  to  furnish  the 
sides  with  shrubs,  particularly  if  the  plantations  are  of  Firs  which 
permit  no  undergrowth.  For  this  purpose  the  common  Rhodo¬ 
dendron  is  invaluable,  as  it  forms  a  natural  belt.  I  know  of  nothing 
more  pleasing  than  a  long  winding  carriage  drive  with  a  broad  margin 
Fig.  35.— rhododendrons  AT  SUNNINGDALE  PAEK, 
nothing  is  more  accommodating.  If  the  soil  is  of  light  character 
and  suits  them  they  flourish  and  increase  rapidly.  They  need  little 
attention,  and  the  leaves  which  fall  from  the  deciduous  trees  pro¬ 
vide  a  natural  manure  for  the  Rhododendrons  beneath,  as  they  root 
freely  in  the  decayed  foliage.  One  of  the  greatest  mistakes  with 
timber  trees  is  that  of  growing  them  too  thickly.  How  often  does 
one  see  breadths  of  line  timber  entirely  spoiled  by  being  so  crowded 
together  that  it  is  quite  impossible  for  any  specimen  to  reach  its 
proper  dimensions  ?  Where  such  is  the  case  it  would  be  beneficial 
in  many  instance  if  the  trees  were  thinned,  ana  the  spaces  between 
were  planted  with  clumps  of  Rhododendron  ponticum,  There  are 
places  where  the  shrub  is  perfectly  at  home,  and  in  such  instances 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  any  number  of  seedlings  tor  woodland 
planting. 
Over-luxuriance  is  very  often  a  fault  of  the  common  Rhododendron, 
and  I  have  had  to  deal  with  immense  clumps  which  were  at  one  time 
effective,  but  had  grown  out  of  bounds  and  become  nothing  more 
than  impenetrable  thickets.  In  such  cases  a  drastic  measure  is  to 
boldly  cut  them  dowm  to  the  ground,  plant  seedlings  in  between  the 
of  turf  on  each  side,  then  a  belt  of  Rhododendrons,  with  a  background 
of  tall  trees.  In  the  early  part  of  June  when  the  Rododendrons  are 
in  full  bloom,  the  effect  is  charming,  and  is  greatly  enhanced  if 
variety  is  thought  of  by  planting  here  and  there  a  yellow  Laburnum, 
a  Gueldres  Rose,  and  scarlet  Thorn. 
No  one  can  have  a  taste  for  natural  gardening  without  also  being 
embued  with  a  weakness  for  the  woodland — not  the  impenetrable 
thicket  of  crowded  forest  trees,  which  wrongly  bears  that  name,  but  the 
natural  picturesque  woodland,  where  giants  of  the  forest  tower  up, 
where  the  ground  beneath  instead  of  being  bare  and  monotonous,  is  a 
wealth  of  undergrowth  in  which  the  common  but  indispensable  Rhodo¬ 
dendron  ponticum  finds  a  place. — G,  11.  H. 
[Though  the  photograph  reproduced  in  fig.  35  does  not  actually 
illustrate  Rhododendron  ponticum  in  the  woodland  as  so  ably  advo¬ 
cated  by  our  correspondent,  it  shows  how  these  magnificent  plants 
may  be  employed  in  the  adornment  of  pleasure  gardens  in  the  imme¬ 
diate  vicini  yof  mansion-.  The  photograph  was  taken  in  the  grounds 
of  Sunnin.  dale  Park,  and  is  reproduced  by  the  kindness  of  Mr.  F.  J. 
Thorne,  Major  Joicey’s  able  gardener.] 
