Trees and Shrubs for English Gardens

WISTARIA RACEME, SHORT, W. SINENSIS; LONG, W. MULTIJUGA.

CHAPTER XXXVI

Hedges may be of two kinds—the neat trimmed hedge, which serves as an outside line to a garden, and also as a screen or wind-break to small or tender plants growing near it; and the straggling rough hedge, varying from 10 to 20 feet in width, more properly a wide bank made up of all sorts of plants, rambling Roses, ornamental Vines, and other things which usually serve to brighten some spot where colour is desirable, or to shut out an undesirable view. The best plants comprise both evergreens and deciduous, but only one thing should be used, as mixed hedges are rarely a success, and of mingled evergreen and deciduous plants are generally quite a failure. It is right to mention, however, that if a mixed hedge is planted the best results are from White Thorn, Holly, and Common Beech. The best evergreen plants in their order of merit are Holly, Yew, Arbor-vitæ (Thuya occidentalis), Thuya gigantea or Lobbi, Common Box, Cupressus lawsoniana, C. nootkatensis (Thujopsis borealis), Privet (Ligustrum), Common Laurel, Portugal Laurel Pyramid Laurel (Prunus lusitanica myrtifolia), Berberis Darwinii, and Osmanthus ilicifolius.

Holly.—The Common Holly makes one of the best evergreen hedges. Its growth, though somewhat slow, is regular, and it does not mind the shears, but it is costly to use to any extent. It does not move readily, so that for the first year or two there will probably be a few gaps to fill up, but when the hedge is once established it is there practically for ever, and with proper attention will never become rough or unsightly. Before planting the site should be marked out, and the ground trenched 3 feet wide and deep, breaking the subsoil with a fork, and working some well-decayed manure about half-way down. This will tend to draw the roots down, and keep them from running out on either side to the injury of neighbouring plants. Plants should be obtained in the early autumn, as soon as it is safe to move them, and planted at once before the ground gets cool. If this be done they will make fresh roots and get established before winter. Some prefer to move Hollies in May, but much depends on whether artificial watering can be done. If it can, May is quite as good a time as September or October; if not, then choose the autumn.

The size of the plants used depends upon taste and the depth of the pocket, but good plants, 1½ to 2 feet high, with a leading shoot or two on each, placed from 12 to 16 inches apart, can be recommended, as they move readily at that size, and are not so costly as larger plants. Holly hedges should be clipped in late August or early September, when they will make a short growth before winter, and keep in good condition without further attention until the following autumn. The height of the hedge is entirely a matter for the owner to decide, one 30 or 40 feet high, properly feathered to the ground, being quite possible, as we know from some already in existence. When grown to this height, however, the top should be cut to a point to throw off snow. The flatness of the hedge can be broken by allowing a few leading shoots, 20 or 30 feet apart, to run up, budding them in August with some of the variegated varieties. Gold Queen, Waterer's Gold, Silver Queen, and Argentea variegata are good sorts to use for this.

When a Holly hedge has been neglected for some years cut it back to the old wood in March or April, and fork in a liberal dressing of manure around it. It may not make much growth the first year, but will practically re-establish itself the second.

Yew.—The Common Yew is hard to kill, and easy to prune into various shapes, as topiary work suggests. Yew is generally used for the inside of a garden, such as terraces and hedges near the house. It should be treated in the same way as the Holly, with the important exception of being clipped in May, as the Yew makes most of its growth in the early part of the year. In buying Yews, choose rather stunted-looking plants in preference to those of fresher look and freer growth. The former have been moved within the last year or two, the latter have stood for three or four, and become coarse rooted, suffering, therefore, after removal.

Arbor-vitæ.—For a hedge this and Thuya gigantea can be placed together. The common Arbor-Vitæ is sometimes not liked because it gets brown in winter, but this colouring is not so pronounced in Thuya gigantea. In preparing the ground little or no manure need be trenched in, but a dressing of spent manure may be added with advantage. The soil should be as good as possible, but not too heavy. They may be clipped at any season, and for the first two or three years twice annually will not be too often. It is wise to cut off from six inches to one foot of the leaders every year, otherwise the plants attain a great height without breadth. If a hedge of these conifers is allowed to become rough and ragged, it is almost impossible to restore it, as it will not, except in special cases, break from the older wood.

Box.—The dwarf edging so largely used for borders and paths needs no description, but the Common Box is not so largely used because it gets yellow, the result of sheer starvation, the Box being a gross feeder, requiring plenty of feeding at all times. It should have a dressing of manure annually, or at least biennially, to keep it in good health and colour. It should be clipped in the spring, April or May being the best months, and a top-dressing about the same time will be very beneficial to it. Box is a good shrub for an inside hedge, but should never become overgrown, as, in addition to the hard cutting necessary to bring it into shape, it is a terrible plant to cut, even the small wood being very hard and tough.

Lawson Cypress.—Cupressus lawsoniana and C. nootkatensis (Thujopis borealis) can be treated together, as, in addition to their natural relationship, both require the same treatment as a hedge. Neither makes a good flat-topped hedge of the ordinary kind, as the growth is distinctly pyramidal, and unless kept to a point is apt to get injured by snow. They should be cut to a point, and a hedge 12 to 20 feet high of this shape is very handsome and effective in a garden, as well as forming a first-rate screen. They can be trimmed at any time preferably in the spring or early summer, care being taken not to cut the base too hard, and the leading shoots top annually. In planting no manure need be used, provided the ground is good, and it is not required later on unless the hedge shows signs of starvation, when a good top dressing may be given with advantage. Plants 2 or 3 feet in height, placed about 18 inches apart, are a good size to use, as they move readily and are not expensive.

Privet.—The oval-leaved Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) is a native of Japan, and makes a fairly good hedge about 5 or 6 feet high. It grows readily, and moves without any trouble at almost any time. It can be bought cheaply. The ground should be well treated in the first place; afterwards it will require little attention in the way of feeding. It can be clipped at almost any time, but for the first year or two should be cut hard back before growth begins in the spring. Neglect of this leads to a hedge that is leafy at the top but bare at the bottom. In this note the use of Privet is not wholly condemned, but it must be understood its use is not recommended. There is no doubt whatever that for town gardens the Privet is of the greatest service, enduring smoke and fog with impunity. It is vigorous, and soon becomes established in the most dreary gardens.

Laurels.—Any of the various forms of the Common and Portugal Laurels with the types are suitable for what may be called second-rate hedges, the best being the Pyramid Portugal, which is a smaller-leaved and more upright-growing kind than any of the others. With the exception of the last-named, all the Laurels make hedges rather wide for their height, and all require much attention to keep them in proper shape. All should be clipped in June, after the first growth is made; they will then make another short growth, which will keep the hedge in good condition until the following year. The Pyramid Portugal has leaves about half the size of those of the type and quickly makes a hedge. It is rather more expensive than the commoner Laurels, but it moves well, and does not become bare at the bottom.

Osmanthus ilicifolius.—This plant has not been much used for hedges, but it makes a very good one if carefully looked after during the first year or two. It somewhat resembles the Common Holly, and requires much the same treatment. It is not very expensive to buy, and the hedge should be kept to a height of 3 or 4 feet.

Deciduous Hedges

Many deciduous plants can be used for hedges, but a good selection comprises Beech, Hornbeam, Quick, Myrobalan Plum, and Sweetbriar. The first two require practically the same treatment, the most important part of which is to procure good two or three years old transplanted plants, and to treat them liberally at first. Beyond an annual trimming they will not require any further attention, except to tie or peg down a branch or two where gaps may occur. A well known gardener, writing in the Garden, says: "We often find the Holly and the Yew largely used in gardens as hedges, but they are not quite so good under all conditions as the Beech or Hornbeam. The Beech is one of our many hardy trees both for screens and hedges. The Copper Beech is seldom used for this purpose, but this is a mistake. We have a fence of the Copper Beech, dividing the kitchen garden from the pleasure grounds, 138 yards long, 18 feet high, and from 4 feet to 5 feet through. It forms a perfect wall on either side, and in spring is one of the most interesting features of the place. It would be useless planting the Copper Beech on a wet or heavy soil—a light soil suits it best. The hedge is now in perfect health, and all that is necessary is an annual clipping about the end of August, before the wood gets hard."

GREAT BEECH HEDGE AT MICKLEOUR, N.B.

Quick and the Myrobalan Plum should be planted in double rows to form a hedge, and be cut back hard at the time of planting to form a bottom to the hedge, which would otherwise become leggy and bare at the base. If they should happen to get into this state most of the growth should be cut away, and the main branches tied or pegged down in the direction of the hedge. In a year or two it will be practically as good as ever.

For a dividing line between the flower and kitchen gardens, or for some spot where too much formality is not required, the Common Sweetbriar makes an excellent hedge, although it requires much attention for the first few years. If planted without support, such as a wooden railing, it should be kept tied or pegged down almost to the ground for the first two or three years, using practically every growth that is made by the plants. By this means a good foundation is laid for the hedge, which will, when made, merely require an annual trimming. We plant Sweetbriars everywhere. Its leaves in the early morning, or after a warm summer rain, saturate the air with their fragrance.

Hedges of Flowering Shrubs

It often happens that some kind of hedge is wanted in a garden, either as a screen to hide vegetable ground, or as a wind-break, or some kind of partition. When this is the case, it is a good plan to plant hardy flowering shrubs about 4 feet apart, and so to train and trim them that they grow into a compact hedge, and yet have enough lateral play to allow them to flower. Two years ago we privately advised some friends who were planting new gardens where such dividing hedges were wanted, and the hedges are already coming into use and beauty.

Such a hedge is not only ornamental, but it yields endless material for cutting. It should be allowed to grow quite 4 feet thick, and is best formed with a backbone of stiff woody shrubs, such as Guelder Roses, Ribes, and Lilac, while between the stiffer shrubs might be some that are weaker, such as Kerria, Rhodotypus, and Leycesteria. Plants of rank rambling growth, such as free Roses and double-flowered Brambles, Aristolochia, Wistaria, Virginia Creeper, and the rambling Honeysuckles, are not in place in such a hedge; they are more suitable for rough hedge banks, walls, or for arbour and pergola; the flower hedge wants true shrubs. The bush Honeysuckles, such as Lonicera fragrantissima and L. tatarica, are just right, or any woody, twiggy bushes of moderate growth, or such as are amenable to pruning and thinning, such as Deutzia and Snowberry, shrubs that so often get overgrown in a shrubbery. In the hedge these would do well, as they could easily be watched and thinned; also many true shrubs that flower all the better for reasonable pruning.

HEDGE OF MAIDEN'S BLUSH ROSE (6 feet to 7 feet high).

Any one would be surprised to see what a quantity of useful flowers such a hedge would yield, while, if there is another of foliage for winter use, it will be invaluable to the indoor decorator. We have just planted a hedge for this use, all of golden variegated or yellow-leaved shrubs, those chosen being the Scotch Gold Holly, Golden Euonymus, Golden Privet, yellow variegated Box, and Golden Tree Ivy, all shrubs of the utmost value for winter cuttings. Though they are barely 2 feet high as yet, the slightly varied golden hedge is already a pleasant, cheering sight in the quickly-shortening November days.

Other flower hedges are also delightful possessions. Hedges of China Rose, of Lavender, of Sweetbriar, of old garden Roses, or of climbing or rambling Roses trained down, of Honeysuckles, of Jasmine; some of these are occasionally seen, but of a good selection of true shrubs hedges are rarely if ever made.

Any of the shrubs recommended for the mixed flowering hedge could, of course, be used alone; and excellent it would be to have a hedge of Guelder Rose or flowering Currant or Japan Quince, and how much more interesting than the usual hedge of Quick or Privet or Holly. Both sides of the flower hedge should be easily accessible, not necessarily by a hard path, but by a space just wide enough to go along comfortably. An additional advantage well worth considering would be that, supposing the direction of the hedge to be east and west, the south side would flower in advance of the north, and so prolong the supply of bloom.

CHAPTER XXXVII

A NUT WALK.

The green alley differs from the pergola in that the pergola has solid and permanent supports, its original purpose, in addition to the giving of shade, being to support vines. The green alley, being made of stiffer and more woody growths, only needs a temporary framework to which to train the trees till they have filled the space and formed the shape. Hornbeam was the tree most used in former ages, and for a simple green alley nothing is better. Beech is also good. Several other of the smaller trees of weeping growth should be more used for this and the allied uses of training for arbours and other shelter-places in the garden.

The common Plane is much used on the continent for green shelters; the trees are pollarded at about eight feet high, and the vigorous young growths trained down horizontally to a slight framework.

It would be interesting to make a green alley with two or perhaps three kinds of plants whose leaf form was of the same structure. For instance, a groundwork of Weeping Ash could soon be trained into shape, and Wistaria would be best to grow all over and through it. The more stiff and woody Ash would supply the eventual solid framework, as by the time the Wistaria was making strong growth (for it is very slow to make a beginning) the whole would be well in shape, and might dispense with the framing of "carpenters' work" that is necessary for its first shaping. It would be best to plant the Ash zigzag across the path so that the main of the head of each tree might be trained across the path and down to the ground on the opposite side, when it would occupy the space between the two opposite trees.

It is important to further maintain the distinction between green alley and pergola by using in the green alley only things of a permanent and woody character; no Roses or Clematis, or any other plants of which portions are apt to die or wear out. These are proper to the pergola, whose permanent substructure makes it easier to cut away and renew those of its coverings, whether structural or growing, that are liable to partial decay.

A great many delightful things may be done with these green alleys and green shelters. Much interest is already aroused in the pergola, and when thinking of this it is well to consider these other ways of adding to the comfort and charm of our gardens. One thing, however, should be carefully considered. It should be remembered that where a path is made more important by passing under trained green growths it should have some definite reason for being so accentuated, certainly at one and desirably at both ends. It often occurs that in laying out ground the owner wishes to have a pergola, as it were, in the air, and when there is nothing to justify its presence. It should not be put at haphazard over any part of the garden walk. If of any length, it should distinctly lead from somewhere to somewhere of importance in the garden design, and should, at least at one end, finish in some distinct full-stop, such as a well-designed summer-house or tea-house.

Another important matter is that a pergola or green alley, in the usual sense, should never wind or go uphill. It is not intended by this that shading coverings cannot be used in such places, but that they would want especial design, and it is altogether a matter of doubt if these could not be much better treated in other ways.

The circumstances of different gardens are so infinitely various that it is impossible to lay down hard rules; only general rules can be given and exceptional circumstances dealt with by exceptional treatment.

Green alleys require some attention. In winter the oldest of the wood must be cut out to make room for the young growth, and when this is lengthening vigorously it must be carefully laid in.

If the alley has an iron framework, which is necessary when such strong growing things as Wistaria are used, this may be clothed during the first few years, until the Wistaria is growing strongly, with annual climbers such as Cobæa scandens, lophospermum, Mina lobata, and even varieties of the large-flowered Clematis, which must be removed when the Wistaria covers the alley.

OLD APPLE WALK (Helmingham Hall).

Very charming alleys are sometimes formed of fruit trees—Pear, Apple, Cherry, and Plum making delightful spring pictures, and almost as much so when in fruit in autumn. Where fruit and flower are desired every shoot must be exposed to sun and air. When densely shaded by other growths the wood does not ripen, and therefore flowers badly, if at all.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

OLD MULBERRY AT SYON, MIDDLESEX.

If the orchard is of some extent its standard trees of Pear, Apple, Cherry, and Plum may be varied by three or four bush trees, or by some of the beautiful fruit trees of lower growth, such as Medlars and Quinces. There may also be breaks of cut-leaved Blackberry and a thicket of Crabs or Filberts, and on some one side, or perhaps more, a shady Nut alley. There is no need to be always moving the garden orchard. One wide, easy, grassy way might well be kept closely shorn, but much of the middle and side spaces had better not be cut until hay-time, for many would be the bulbs planted under the turf, great drifts of Daffodils and Spanish Scillas, and Fritillaries for the larger effects, and Colchicums and Saffron Crocus for the later months. If the grass were mown again in September, just before the Colchicums appear, it would allow of easy access to the fruit trees in the time of their harvest, and in those interesting weeks immediately before the Apples ripen.

OLD MEDLAR TREE ON EDGE OF GARDEN ORCHARD.

It must not be forgotten that the best use of many fruit-bearing trees is not restricted to the kitchen garden only, for many of them are beautiful things in the most dressed ground. Few small trees are more graceful in habit than the old English Quince that bears the smooth, roundish fruits. It is not only a pleasant object in leaf and flower in early summer, and in autumn glory of golden fruit, but even when bare of leaves in winter a fully matured tree is strikingly beautiful, and in boggy ground where no other tree would thrive it is just at its happiest and is most fruitful. Then many Apples are extremely ornamental, and there is a whole range of Crabs; Siberian, Chinese, and home-raised hybrids that are delightful things both in flower and in fruit. Pyrus Maulei, vieing in beauty of bloom with its near neighbours, the Japanese Quinces, quite outdoes them in glory and bounty of fruit, which in October is one of the most brilliant things in the garden. There are no better garden ornaments for foliage than Figs and Vines, and though the needful pruning of a Vine for fruit takes off somewhat of its pictorial value, which depends in some measure on the wide-flung, luscious summer growth and groping tendril, yet in any shape the Grape Vine is a thing of beauty. Some of its garden kinds also show how, in distinct departures in colour and shape of leaf, it is always beautiful; for the Parsley-leaved Vine, with its dainty and deeply-cut foliage, is a suitable accompaniment to the most refined architecture; while the red-purple leaf of the Claret Vine and its close clusters of blue fruit are richly ornamental in the autumn garden. A Medlar tree, with its large white bloom and handsome leaves, is desirable, and several of the Services are ornamental small trees. Every one knows the lovely pink bloom of the Almond in April, but few may have tried something that is not an experiment but a certainty—namely, the successful culture of the hardier Peaches, near relatives to the Almond, as standards in the south of England. A Peach of American origin, the Early Alexander, bears full or fair crops every year. The only danger is from leaf blister from sudden cold in May, but if its position is sheltered, or if it can be afforded the protection of a net, it will suffer but little, and perfectly ripened peaches, red all round, may be had at the end of July. The beauty of Cherry blossom is so well known that it needs no extolling; and any great high wall looks the better at all seasons for a well-trained old Pear.

A free planting of the cut-leaved Bramble is pleasant to see on the outskirts of the garden, and is beautiful in leaf, in flower, and in fruit.

CHAPTER XXXIX

It is now many years since the late Henry Bennett raised such lovely hybrids as Grace Darling and Mrs. John Laing, but the parents of these were still among the well-known H.P.'s and Teas and Chinas. But of late years hybridists have taken in hand some of the handsomer of the species, and by working them with well-established favourites have produced whole new ranges of fine Roses. Of these the most prominent have been products of R. multiflora, rugosa, rubiginosa, and wichuraiana. The striking success of many of these later hybrids is encouraging in the highest degree, and the field for future work is so immense that the imagination can hardly grasp the extent of the prospect that these earlier successes seem to open out.

There are so many ways in which Roses may be beautiful. Even in the varied form and habit possessed by the types some special kind of beauty is shown and some special garden utility is foreshadowed. And then we think of the future possibilities of the Rose garden! Already—we say it with deliberation and a feeling of honest conviction—the Rose garden has never been developed to anything like its utmost possible beauty. The material already to hand even twenty years ago has never been worthily used.

The Rose garden to be beautiful must be designed and planted and tended, not with money and labour and cultural skill only, but with brains and with love, and with all those best qualities of critical appreciation—the specially-cultured knowledge of what is beautiful, and why it is beautiful—besides the indispensable ability of the practical cultivator.

There are in some places acres of Rose gardens, many of them only costly expositions of how a Rose garden had best not be made. The beautiful Rose garden, that shall be the living presentment of the poet's dream, and shall satisfy the artist's eye, and rejoice the gardener's heart, and give the restful happiness and kindle the reverent wonderment of delight, in such ways as should be the fulfilment of its best purpose, has yet to be made.

It matters not whether it is in the quite free garden where Roses shall be in natural groups and great flowery masses and arching fountains, and where those of rambling growth on its outskirts shall clamber into half-distant surrounding trees and bushes, or whether it is in the garden of ordered formality that befits a palatial building; there are the Roses for all these places, and for all these and many other uses. Indeed, for reducing the hard lines of the most formal gardens and for showing them at their best, for such enjoyment as they may give by the humanising of their rigid lines and the softening of their original intention as a display of pomp and state and the least sympathetic kind of greatness, the beneficent quality of age and accompanying over-growth may be best shown by the wreathing and clambering cluster Roses, whose graceful growth and tender bloom are displayed all the better for their association with the hard lines and rough textures of masonry surfaces.

Some Beautiful Wild Roses

No family of hardy shrubs is more bewildering in the multiplicity and intricacy of its nomenclature than Rosa. Although there are many species now accepted by botanists, yet the pseudo-specific names may be counted by hundreds. Fortunately for those interested in their cultivation, a good many of these names refer to plants with very unimportant distinctions (many of them, indeed, are minor forms of our native Dog Rose), and the best of the wild species are mostly grown under the names applied to them in the following notes.

Their cultivation is simple. They are like the Hybrid Perpetuals in their love for a rich loamy soil—one inclining to a clayey rather than to a sandy nature. Loving abundant sunlight, they are not happy in shady spots. The commonest mistake in their cultivation is in pruning. The notion that they have to be cut back like Hybrid Perpetuals and such-like Roses has often resulted in the loss of a season's flowers, besides destroying for the time the peculiar beauty of habit that many species possess. The shoots, often long, sucker-like growths that push from the base in summer, supply the flowers of the following year, and until they have flowered should not be touched with a knife. Whatever pruning is necessary—and it is, as a rule, a mere matter of thinning out of old worn-out stems—is to give the young growths more air and freedom. No shortening back is needed. It may always be remembered that some of the most beautiful specimens of Wild Roses in existence, especially those of rambling growth, have never been pruned at all. The chief thing is always to retain the free, unfettered grace natural to the plants. Pruning will help to do this, but it must be pruning of the proper kind.

In the wilder parts of the garden the common Dog Rose (R. canina) and its numerous varieties are worth a place; they flower well, and are always beautiful in fruit. The same may be said of the Sweet Briar (R. rubiginosa), the fragrance of whose young growths is always a delight, whether in garden or hedgerow. R. hibernica, a British Rose, thought to be a hybrid between the Scotch Rose and R. canina, comes in the same category. It flowers earlier than the Dog Rose.

For the wild garden also there are several other Roses that may be mentioned, such as cinnamomea, with rosy-red flowers and crimson fruit; nutkana, acicularis, pisocarpa, and californica. Only those are mentioned that from their greater beauty and distinctness deserve a more detailed notice.

R. alba.—Although found wild in several parts of Europe, this, the "Common White Rose" of Linnæus, is supposed to be a hybrid between R. gallica and the Dog Rose. It is always found in places which lead to the belief that it is not truly indigenous, but an escape from cultivated grounds. The typical plant has white flowers that are considerably larger than those of the Dog Rose, and the petals have more substance. There are now numerous double-flowered varieties in gardens, some beautifully tinged with rose.

R. Alberti.—A native of Turkestan, where it was discovered by M. Albert Regel not many years ago. This is one of the rarest species of Rosa in cultivation. The flowers are bright yellow, the leaves small and much divided.

R. alpina.—This is the species from which the Boursault Roses have been derived. It is a native of the Alps and Pyrenees. The stems are 4 to 5 feet high, and have few or no spines except when young. The flowers are rosy red; the fruits red, often pear-shaped, and covered with bristles, which, when rubbed, have a turpentine-like odour.

R. arvensis (or R. repens).—From this species the Ayrshire Roses have been obtained. It is naturally a trailing or climbing plant, having long thin shoots and white flowers. When trained over tree stumps or rough stakes and ultimately allowed to grow at will, it forms tangled masses which are very pretty. But the double forms—even the common variety, flore-pleno—are to be preferred, being especially useful in semi-wild spots. The type is wild in England, and frequently to be seen in hedges and thickets.

R. carolina.—For certain positions this is a useful Rose. It has erect stems and forms dense thickets, spreading rapidly by means of the numerous underground rhizomes it sends out in all directions. The flowers are purplish-rose. A later-flowering variety known as nuttalliana is a stronger grower and has larger flowers. This will flower up to September. R. lucida and R. nitida are, like R. carolina, natives of North America, and are of similar habit, but they are dwarfer and the leaves are more glossy. All these are apt to become crowded with old stems, and, besides an occasional thinning out, are much improved by dividing up every three or four years.

R. ferruginea (R. rubrifolia).—This species, which comes from the Pyrenees and Alps, is remarkable for the reddish-purple colour of its leaves and young shoots. Groups of half-a-dozen or more plants give a striking colour effect. The flowers are similar to the Dog Rose, but red.

R. lævigata (R. sinica).—Except in the south and south-west or in similarly favoured localities, this is not really hardy, but where it thrives it is a singularly beautiful Rose, perhaps unsurpassed among single Roses in the size of its pure white flowers. It is known as the Cherokee Rose, and is naturalised in some of the Southern United States. A lovely hybrid between it and R. indica has been raised and named Anemone. Its flowers are soft rose.

R. lutea (Austrian Briar)—Of all the Wild Yellow Roses this is the most beautiful. The yellow-flowered species do not, as a rule, thrive so well as the others in gardens—one has only to mention such species as berberifolia, sulphurea, xanthina (or Ecæ) to recall that. But R. lutea, in strong loam with plenty of lime added, generally thrives well. The copper-coloured varieties are more difficult to deal with in suburban districts. The flowers of the typical R. lutea are of the brightest rich yellow. When in good health it produces each year long arching shoots, wreathed from end to end with blossom. This species comes from the Orient.

R. microphylla—This interesting species is closely allied to R. rugosa, and is a native of China. It has a sturdy bushy habit, few spines, and the curious habit of peeling its bark. Its foliage is very handsome, the leaflets being small and numerous. The flowers are rose coloured and very fragrant. The shrub is interesting for its fine fruits, which are of large size, very spiny, and of a yellowish colour when ripe. Although some other species surpass this in showiness, it is one of the most distinct.

R. moschata (Musk Rose).—When seen at its best, few of the rambling species are more beautiful than this. It is not, however, so hardy as some, especially when young, in which state it makes long, succulent shoots during summer and autumn, which are apt to be killed back in winter. Old plants do not suffer in the same way, or not so severely. Its flowers are borne in great clusters, and are notable for their pure whiteness and conspicuous bunches of bright-yellow stamens. The best plants often of this species are in shrubberies, where, no doubt, the other shrubs afford it some protection. It is a native of the Orient and India. The name "Musk Rose" refers to a perfume which may occasionally be detected in its flowers after a shower, but is never very apparent. Nivea is a beautiful form.

ROSA MULTIFLORA

R. multiflora.—This, the Polyantha Rose, the wild type of the group so named and the progenitor of many graceful Roses, is a native of Japan and China. It is a shrub 8 feet or more high, forming a dense thicket of arching branches. Its flowers individually are small, but they come in large dense clusters and so abundantly as to transform the shrub into a mass of white. They are very fragrant. This is an admirable plant for putting at the top of a wall or steep bank which it is desirable to drape with vegetation. The Polyantha group of Roses can always be distinguished by the stipules at the base of the leaf-stalk being fringed.

R. ochroleuca.—In stature, foliage, and mode of growth this is like the Scotch Rose, but its flowers are of as bright and rich a yellow as those of the Austrian Yellow (R. lutea). Where R. lutea does not grow well, this will be an excellent substitute. A native of Siberia.

R. pomifera (Apple Rose).—This is, perhaps, the most striking of Roses in regard to its fruit. The hips are 1 to 1½ inches long, apple or pear-shaped, of a fine bright red, and covered with bristles. It is a species that requires generous conditions at the root to be seen at its best. R. mollis and R. tomentosa belong to the same group, and have also fine red fruits, but they are much smaller than those of R. pomifera.

R. rugosa (Japanese Rose).—No plant has come to the front more rapidly in recent years than this Rose. It was introduced from Japan in 1845, but appears to have been neglected. It is one of the very hardiest of Roses, as well as one of the sturdiest and most robust. The leaves are very handsome, the leaflets being of a rich green and wrinkled. The flowers in the wild type are rosy crimson, but there is also a white variety, and seedlings give quite a variety of shades. It hybridises freely with other species and garden varieties, and has in this way enriched our gardens with many good hybrids, Mme. Georges Bruant and the Coubert Double White among them. The fruits of R. rugosa are orange-shaped, scarlet red, and of large size—altogether very ornamental.

HYBRID ROSE UNA, A SHRUBBY GROUP ON GRASS.

(Bed is 70 feet in circumference and contains 15 plants.)

R. sericea.—For some reason this Rose has never obtained the recognition it deserves. Perhaps its comparative rarity may account for this. It is the earliest of all Roses to flower out of doors, its first blossoms opening as a rule towards the latter end of May; the flowers are creamy white. In the cooler days of May and early June it lasts longer in bloom than many of the later flowering species do. It has one very distinctive character, in the petals being nearly always four (instead of the usual five) to each flower. Sometimes the bark of the young shoots is a bright red. A native of North India.

R. setigera.—Of the North American Roses none has proved more useful in this country than the Prairie Rose. A rambler in habit, it is valuable for its vigorous growth and late flowering. The flowers are large, deep rose, and appear in July and August.

R. spinosissima (R. pimpinellifolia).—The Scotch Rose is one of the earliest species to bloom; it is also one of the prettiest and most distinct. The stems are dwarf and covered with bristles, the leaves small, and the flower white and cup-shaped. There are several wild varieties of it, the two most noteworthy being altaica (or grandiflora) and hispida. Both these grow 6 feet or more high, and the flowers of both are larger than the typical Scotch Rose. Those of altaica are creamy white; those of hispida a lovely cream yellow. The garden varieties of this Rose are numerous—some double, some single, and varying in colour from yellow to white and from pink to purple. The type is found wild in several parts of Britain.

R. webbiana.—Coming from some of the highest elevations on the Himalaya at which shrubby vegetation exists, this species is the hardiest of the Indian Roses. It has a thin, graceful habit, and its spiny stems are blue white when young. This year it has been very pretty in the unusual profusion of its bluish-tinted flowers, each of which are about 2 inches across. The leaves are of a blue green, and are similar in size and division to those of the Scotch Roses. But it is quite distinct from them or any others, for which reason it is worth the notice of lovers of these wild types.

R. wichuraiana.—It is not many years since this Japanese Rose was first introduced, but it is now fairly well known. It is a perfectly prostrate plant, and is remarkable for the shiny, varnished appearance of the leaves. It is one of the latest species to come into bloom. The flowers are pure white, and appear during July and August in clusters resting on the carpet of glossy foliage. It makes an excellent covering for sunny banks where the soil is good. Old tree stumps are also pretty when covered with this Rose. It has already been hybridised, and among its progeny are Pink Roamer, Manda's Triumph, South Orange Perfection, and Jersey Beauty. There is a very distinct cross between it and R. rugosa at Kew.

CHAPTER XL

The time to plant is of much importance, for though deciduous trees may be transplanted throughout winter, October, November, February, and March are preferable to December or January. October and November are the two best months, as then the ground is warm and root action begins before winter sets in.

If the trees are simply to be transplanted from one position in the garden to another, the work may be begun in the case of deciduous trees as soon as the leaves turn colour and commence to fall. In lifting, take care not to injure the roots. When putting the spade into the ground the edge should be to the tree, not the face. Digging must begin at a reasonable distance from the tree, and if a ball of soil is not required, the soil should be forked from between the roots into a trench which has previously been made round the stem. If, while lifting, any of the main roots have suffered, cut the injured parts away with a sharp knife and tar over the wounds. When planting, the tree should be stood in the hole, and a stick laid across the top of the hole near the tree to ascertain whether the depth is right, sufficient space for an inch of soil over the uppermost root being allowed. The centre of the hole should be filled in slightly higher than the sides, and on the little mound the tree should be stood, laying the roots out carefully all round. When filling the soil in, some fine material should be worked in among the roots with the hand, and before the hole is fully filled in give a good watering; this has the effect of settling the soil well about the roots. The amount of ramming necessary depends on the consistency of the soil. After a tree is planted in early autumn a mulching of rotten manure may be given, but if the planting is done in spring the mulching is better left until early summer when the ground has become warmed.

STAKING TREES.

After planting, staking, where necessary, should be attended to. It is not necessary to stake every tree that is planted. When it is sturdy, with a well-balanced head and set of roots, and the position is not exposed to rough winds, staking is needless. If, however, the stem is weak or the roots are mostly on one side, not spread round the tree, or the position is very exposed, staking for a time will be necessary. In the case of young trees little difficulty will be experienced, as good straight stakes can be easily got. As a rule, one stake is quite enough for a tree, and that should be driven in as close as possible to the trunk without injuring it or the roots. To the stake the tree should be secured with wire or stout tar string, using thin cushions of felt, leather, or old hose-pipe to keep the wire or string from cutting into the bark. Allow a little room between the stem and stake for growth. Two or three ties are usually sufficient, and these should be examined and loosened once or twice a year until the stakes can be dispensed with. The habit of putting in stakes in such a way that they cross the trunk, and that when the wind blows there is sufficient play for the stem and the stake to rub against each other, is a bad one, the chafing often causing serious wounds. In exposed situations, or when there is danger of the tree rocking about and becoming loose at the collar, put in three stakes in the form of a triangle, the stem fitting in the space left between the three stakes at the top, while the bottoms of the stakes extend some 2 or 3 feet from the tree. For this purpose wires fastened to stakes driven in the ground are useful, and neater than stout stakes. When wires are used, however, take care to provide a good soft pad between the tree and the wire. For trees with large heads, or those not well furnished with roots, this way of staking will be found very useful. When inserting stakes they should be properly sharpened for the sake of straight driving. The staking of trees which have the lower parts of their trunks straight and their leaders crooked differs from other staking, as the stakes should not be driven into the ground, but tied firmly to the trunk below the bend, the leader being then drawn to the stake. In all cases, however, where staking is done the stakes should be removed as soon as the trees are able to do without them. A stake is not beautiful. There is always the chance of the tying material being left a little too long without examination, and therefore it cuts into the bark. Ties also harbour insects.

CHAPTER XLI