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Mulching —Term used for applying manure in a thick layer round the roots of shrubs, as a protection from frost. Pricking off —Transplanting seedlings into separate pots. “Eyes” —Incipient leaf-buds. “Heel” —The hardened part of a cutting, formed where it is joined to the original plant. Annual —Lasting one year. Biennial —Lasting two years. Perennial —Lasting several years. Herbaceous —Term applied to plants which die down completely every winter. Deciduous —Not ever-green; this term is applied

What to go in for, and what to avoid—Brick walls—Trees, their advantages and disadvantages, etc. It is imperative that a small garden , such as one generally finds attached to suburban or small houses, should be made the very most of. Frequently, however, its owners seem to think that to attempt to grow anything in such a little plot of ground is a veritable waste of time and money, as nothing ever comes of it. The aim of this book is to show that even the tiniest piece of land can be made prett

How to keep a lawn level—Paths, how to lay them—Beds and bedding—The new style versus the old—Flower-borders and their backgrounds—Improvement of the soil. THE AUTOCRAT OF THE GARDEN. We have spoken of the general arrangement of the suburban garden, and must now proceed to particularize. First as to the lawn : It might often be described as a thing invented to keep the journeyman gardener in constant work, for where that individual only comes for a day or even half a day each week (on which basi

Description of a small yet lovely garden—Colour schemes—The spring dell—A novel way of growing flowers—Variety in flower-gardens. “Be original!” is a motto that every amateur gardener should adopt. Far too few experiments are made by the average owner of a garden; he jogs along on the same old lines, without a thought of the delightful opportunities he misses. Each garden, however small, should possess an individuality of its own—some feature that stamps it as out of the common run. I remember s

The sweet old columbine — Bocconia cordata at Hampton Court — Campanulas as continuous bloomers—The heavenly larkspurs—Christmas roses—The tall and brilliant lobelias—The Chinese-lantern plants—Tufted pansies. We will begin alphabetically, therefore I will first say a few words regarding the pink-flowered anemone japonica . Though the white variety ( alba ) is to be seen in every garden, the older kind is not grown half enough; perhaps this is owing to the peculiar pinkish shade of the petals, a

Mistakes in staging—Some suitable climbers—Economical heating—Aspect, shading, etc.—The storing of plants—No waste space—Frames. A well-kept conservatory adds much to the charm of a drawing-room, but requires careful management. Potting and the like cannot very well go on in a place which must always look presentable. A conservatory, of course, is tiled, and therefore every dead leaf and any soil that may be spilled show very much; it is therefore advisable to have a greenhouse as well, or, fail

Spades and the Bishop—Weeding without back-ache—The indispensable thermometer—Well-made tools a necessity—Summer-houses and their adornment. Though it is true enough that the best workmen need little mechanical aid, yet a well-stocked tool-shed is not to be despised. Sometimes it may only be a portion of a bicycle-shed which can be set apart for our implements, or the greenhouse may have to find room for a good many of them, but certain it is that a few nicely-finished tools are an absolute nece

Teas—Hybrid perpetuals—Some good climbing varieties—Treatment and soil—Rose hedges—Pillar roses. The reason for the heading given to this chapter is that growing roses for show will not be mentioned, as it is quite a separate branch of the art and would require a book to itself to do it full justice. Blooms of a fair size, but in abundance during five months of the year, that is what most amateurs need, for, after all, the amount of disbudding that has to be done when growing roses for show quit

Slugs, and how to trap them—Blight or green fly—Earwigs—Wireworm—Snails—Mice—Friends mistakenly called foes. The best garden as a rule has the fewest insects , indeed, no foe is allowed to lodge for any length of time without means being taken for its extermination. Some enemies are more easily got rid of than others; for instance, green fly, or aphis (to give it the scientific name), rarely attacks healthy plants to any extent; it goes for the sick ones, therefore good cultivation will speedily

A few hints on its construction—Aspect and soil—A list of Alpines—Other suitable plants. A well-constructed rockery filled with a good selection of Alpine plants is a never-failing delight to anyone fond of a garden. Yet how rare a thing it is! most of the erections one sees are mere apologies for the real thing. The truth is not one gardener in a hundred knows how to make a rockery, though he does not like to say so! An artistic mind is needed to construct one that will be pleasing to the eye,

Some good plants for growing beneath them—Selection of hardy shrubs—Enriching the soil—Climbers. Forest-trees in a small garden are somewhat out of place, but as they are often found in such positions, I will deal with them here. It is to be remembered that though they give most grateful shade, not only do they rob everything beneath them of sunshine, but also take so much out of the soil , that, unless constant renewals are made, very little can be grown in their immediate vicinity; the class o

Planting—Watering—“Puddling”—Aspect—Shelter—Youth and age in relation to plants—Catalogue defects—A time for everything. Now that we have seen what to plant, it will be advisable to learn how to plant it . Perhaps the most important point to be taken notice of is the necessity of firm planting . Watch how a clever gardener presses the earth well round the roots of everything he puts in, where the plants are large, treading the soil down with his foot. Loose planting is ruinous (except in a few i

Fruit—The best kinds for a small garden—Avoidance of size minus flavour—Vegetables—Herbs. If a small garden has room for any fruit-trees, apples are the most useful kind to grow; they can be so trained as to take up little room; for instance, in espalier fashion, down each side of a sunny walk. These apple-hedges are a lovely sight in spring and also in the autumn, when the ruddy fruit is waiting to drop into the outstretched hand. Though names can easily be given, it is generally a good plan to

How to grow annuals—Some good kinds—Some good biennials. Many amateurs look upon annuals as rubbishy things to grow, and only suitable for the children’s gardens, but that is because they have generally failed to grow them properly. With the improved kinds now in cultivation, it is possible to make the portion of the flower-garden devoted to them “a thing of beauty” if not “a joy for ever.” As it is more satisfactory to bring them up from the beginning, I have described in Chapter XVI . a method

How to make them—Relation of box to residence they are intended to adorn—Suitable soil—Window plants for different aspects. Where gardens are small, one seems to need window boxes more than where there is land and to spare. They add to the number of one’s flowers, and, if carefully looked after, decidedly improve the appearance of a house . That is a large “If” though, for unkempt boxes only make it look untidy. FLOWERS FIRST, BOX SECOND. Though the tiled sort obtain a good deal of patronage, no

Graceful arrangement—How to manage thick-skinned stems—Colour-schemes—Bad colours for artificial light—Preserving and resuscitating—Table of flowers in season. The fashion of decorating tables to the extent now done is of comparatively recent date. When the duties were taken off the importation of foreign flowers, they became so much lower in price that the great middle-class could afford to buy some even in mid-winter. In the British Isles themselves, too, the carriage of flowers is much cheape

By dividing—By cuttings—By seeds—By layers. Propagation may be affected in various ways , of which division is perhaps the easiest. It must be done very carefully, or decay will set in. Some plants lend themselves to this form of propagation very readily; in others, the root stock is single and obviously resents division, wherefore it is better to try another plan. The Michaelmas daisies are good instances of the first kind; their roots are fibrous, and soon take to the new soil; it is tap-roote

Best kinds for “roughing” it—Importance of cleanliness—The proper way of watering them. The majority of English women like to see their rooms, and specially their drawing-rooms, adorned with growing plants . Nevertheless, a great many do not cultivate them successfully, so a few hints will not be amiss. Constant attention is needed to keep plants in perfect health, and this is exactly what is so often denied them. A lady buys two or three ferns that take her fancy, and feels for a while quite in