UC-NRLF GIFT OF A .V .Stubenrauch r EVERY LADY ADDRESSED TO THE INDUSTRIOUS AND ECONOMICAL. CONTAINING SIMPLE AND PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOE CULTIVATING PLANTS AND FLOWERS IN THE GAKDEN AND IN ROOMS. BY LOUISA JOHNSON. "~ 4 Revised from the Fourteenth London Edition, and Adapted to th» USE OF AMERICAN LADIES. C. M. S A XT ON, PUBLISHER,' 25 PARK ROW, NEW YORK, 1863. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1852, by C. M. SAXTON, ; VI PREFACE. I have endeavored to meet their views ; and my plan 01 Floriculture may be carried into effect by any lady who can command the services of an old man, a woman, or a stout boy. In the present Edition, the publishers have added a paper on WINDOW GARDENING, written by Mr. M'Intosh — and another on DOMESTIC GREENHOUSES, an apparatus by which a small collec- tion of exotics may be given in great perfection, and by a process which any lady may superintend with much gratification. In every other respect the work is the result of my own experience, and I dedicate it to all of ir y own sex who delight in flowers, and yet cannot allow themselves t« entei i»to great expense in their cultivation. LOUISA JOHNSON. CONTENTS. CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION. Pleasures of Gardening — How conducive to health — Early taste for Gardening in England — Pleasure-gardens at Theobalds — Garden- ing for Ladies 9 CHAPTER II. 4 GENERAI HE.MARKS. Situation for a Flower-garden — On improving tbe Soil — Aspect and choice of Flowers— Monthly Roses — Rustic Stages— Garden Tool* and Working Dress — India-rubber Shoes indispensable 13 CHAPTER ill. LAVING OUT. Arrangement of Plants — RooVhouses — Annuals — Biennials — Perennials — Planting out Beds — Amelioration of Soils — Monthly Lists of Flowers — Destructive habits of Hares and Rabbits — Snails, Ear- wigs, Mildew and Blight — Neatness and order indispensable in a well-kept Garden — Spring Plants — List of Perennials 18 CHAPTER IV. BULBS AND PERENNIALS. Transplanting Bulbs — Advantage of Salt Manures — Best arrangement for choice Bulbs — Select Lists — Fibrous-rooted Flowers — Biennials — Their Propagation — Protection necessary 36 CHAPTER V Sowing and gathering Seed — Training and trimming Plants — List of Annuals VT11 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. ROSES AND JASMINES. Po*try of Flowers- -Varieties of Roses — Pyramids — Climbing Varieties Inserts injurious to the Rose — List of Roses— Luxuriant appearance of the Jasmine — Devices for displaying its beauty 62 CHAPTER VIL SHRUBS AND EVERGREENS. On Planting — Distance between each — Various modes of Propagating — List of best Garden Sorts — Pruning 69 CHAPTER VIII. ON HOUSE AND WINDOW GARDENING. Plants proper for Window Culture — Treatment of House Plants — Mode « of Supply — Bulbs in Glasses — Nosegays and cut Flowers — Diseases of Plants '. 70 CHAPTER IX. DOMESTIC GREENHOUSES. Form of Apparatus — Preparing the Soil — Draining— Principles tithe Invention — Situation of Plants . . . 91 CHAPTER x.* MONTHLY NOTICES. Recapitulation of Work to be done in each Month 103 CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. has been well remarked that a garden affords the purest ol human pleasures. The study of Nature is interesting in all her manifold combinations : in her wildest attitudes, and in her artful graces. The mind is amused, charmed, and astonished in turn, with contemplating her inexhaustible display; and we wor- ship the God who created such pure and simple blessings for his creatures. These blessings are open to all degrees and conditions of men. Nature is not a boon bestowed upon the high-born, ur purchased by the wealthy at a kingly price. The poor, the blind. the halt, and the diseased, enjoy her beauty, and derive benerit from her study. Every cottager enjoys the little garden which furnishes his table with comforts, and his mind with grateful fefel- ings, if that mind is susceptible of religious impressions. He contemplates the gracious Providence which has bestowed such means of ^enjoyment upon him, as the Father whose all-seeing eye provides for the lowliest of his children ; and who has placed the " purest of human pleasures " within the reach of all whc are not too blind to behold his mercy. With this blessed view before his mental sight, the cottager cultivates his little homestead. The flowers and fruits of the earth bud, bloom, and decay in their season ; but Nature igain performs her deputed mission, and 1* 10 LADIES' FLOWEK GARDENER. spring succeeds the dreary winter with renewed beauty and two- fold increase. Health accompanies simple and natural pleasures. The culture of the ground affords a vast and interminable field of observation, in which the mind ranges with singular pleasure, though the body travels not. It surrounds home with an un- ceasing interest ; domestic scenes become endeared to the eye and mind ; worldly cares recede ; and we may truly say — " For us kind Nature wakes her genial power, Suckles each herb, and spreads out every flower J Annual for us, the grape, the rose, renew The juice nectarious. and the balmy dew : For us, the mine a tnousand treasures brings ; For us, health gushes from a thousand springs." Eth. ep. i. ver. 129. •The taste for gardening in England began to display itself in the reign of Edward III., in whose time the first work on the subject was composed by Walter de Henly. Flower-gardening followed slowly in its train. The learned Linacre, who died in 1524, introduced the damask rose from Italy into England. King James I. of Scotland, when a prisoner in Windsor Castle, thus describes its " most faire " garden : — " Now was there maide fast by the towns wall, A garden faire, and in the corneris set An herbere green, with wandis long and small Railit about, -and so with treeis set Was all the place, and hawthorn hedges knet, That lyfe was now, walking, there forbye, That might within scarce any wight espie, So thick the bowis and the leves grene Bercandit all, the alleyes all that there were; And myddis every herbere might be sene The scharpe grene swete junipere Growing so fair, with branches h^re and there, That, as it seymt to a lyfe without, The bowis spred the herbere all about." The Quair. Henry VIII. ordered the formation of his garden at Nonsuch about, the year 1509, and Loland says it was a " Nonpareil." INTRODUCTION. 11 Hentyner assures us of its perfect beauty, describing one oi its marble basins as being set round with " lilac trees, which trees bear no fruit, but only a pleasant smell." The pleasure-gardens at Theobalds, the seat of Lord Burleigh, were unique, ace )rding to the report of Lyson. In it were nine knots exquisitely made, one of which was set forth in likeness of the king's arms. " One might walk two'myle in the walks before ke came to an end." Queen Elizabeth was extremely fond of flowers, and her taste ever influenced that of her court. Gilliflowers, carnations, tulips, Provence and musk roses, were brought to England in her reign. William III. loved a pleasaunce or pleasure-garden; but he introduced the Dutch fashion of laying them out, which is still horrible in our eyes. His Queen superintended in person all her arrangements in the flower-garden, — an amusement particularly delightful to her. In those days, " knottes and mazes " were no longer the pride of a parterre, with a due allowance of " pleasant and fair fishponds." Queen Anne remodeled the gardens at Kensington, and did away with the Dutch inventions. Hampton Court was also laid out in a more perfect state in her reign, under the direction of Wise. Since that period, flower-gardening has progressed rapidly; and the amusement of floriculture has become the dominant /as- sion of the ladies of Great Britain. It is a passion most blessed in its effects, considered as an amusement or a benefit: Nothing humanizes and adorns the female mind more surely than a taste for ornamental gardening. It compels the reason to act, and the judgment to observe; it is favorable to meditation of the most serious kind ; it exercises the fancy in harmless and elegant occu- pation, and braces the system by its healthful tendency. A flower-garden, to the young and single of my sex, acts upon the 12 LADIES' FLOWER GARDENER. heart and affections as a nursery acts upon the matronly feelings. It attaches them to their home ; it throws a powerful charm over the spot dedicated to such deeply-interesting employment ; and it lures them from dwelling too deeply upon the unavoidable dis- appointments and trials of life, which sooner or later disturb and disquiet the heart. An amusement whicL* kings and princes have stamped with dignity, and which has afforded them recreation under the toils of government, must become for ever venerated, and will be sought for by every elegant as well as by every scientific mind. Floriculture ranges itself under the head of female accomplish- ments in these our days ; and we turn with pity from the spirit which will not find in her " garden of roses " the simplest aod purest of pleasures. GENERAL REMARKS. 18 CHAPTER II. GENERAL REMAKES. the laying out of a garden, the soil and situation must be considered as much as the nature of the ground will admit. Let no lady, however, despair of being able to raise fine flow- ers upon any soil, providing the sun is not too much excluded, for the rays of the sun are the vital principle of existence to all vege tation. The too powerful rays can be warded off by the arts of in- vention, but we have yet no substitute for that glorious orb. Unless its warm and forcing influence is allowed to extend over the surface of the garden, all flowers wither, languish, and die. Sun and air are the lungs and heart of flowers. A lady will be rewarded for her trouble in making her parterre in the country ; but in large towns, under the influence of coal smoke, shade, and gloom, her lot will be constant disappointment. She can only hope to keep a few consumptive geraniums languishing through the summer months, to die in October, and show the desolating view of rows of pots containing blackened and dusty stems. Many soils which are harsh or arid, are susceptible of improve- ment by a little pains. Thus, a stiff clay, by digging well and leaving it to become pulverized by the action of the frost, and then mixing plenty of ashes with it, becomes a fine mould, which ] have ever found most excellent for all flowers of the hardier kind. The black soil is the richest in itself, and requires no assist- ance beyond changing it about a foot in depth every three years, us a flower garden requires renewing, if a lady expects a succes* 14- LADIES' FLOWER GARDENER. sion of handsome flowers. The ground should be well dug th« latter end of September or October, or even in November, and if the soil is not sufficiently fine, let it be dug over a second or third time, and neatly raked with a very fine-toothed rake. Stony ground requires riddling well, and great care must be taken to keep it neat by picking up the little stones which con- stantly force themselves to the surface after rains. Nothing is so unbecoming as weeds and stones in parterres, where the eye seeks flowers and neatness. Almost every plant loves sand ; and if that can be procured, it enriches and nourishes the soil, especially for bulbs, pinks, carna- tions, auriculas, hyacinths, &c. Let it be mixed in the proportion of a third part to the whole. If the dead leaves are swept into a mound every autumn, and the soap suds, brine, &c., of the house be thrown upon it, th« mass will quickly decompose, and become available the following year. It makes an admirable compost for auriculas, &c., mixed with garden or other mould. If the ground be a gravelly soil, the flower-garden should not slope, for stony ground requires all the moisture you can give it, while the sloping situation would increase the heat and dry ness. A moist earth, on the contrary, would be improved by being sloped towards the east or west. The south is not so proper for f?owers, as u glaring sun withers the tender flowers ; but the north must be carefully avoided, and shut out by a laurel hedge, a wall, or any rural fence gainu h'-d with hardy creepers, or monthly roses, which make a gay arid agreeable defense. Monthly roses are invaluable as auxiliaries of all kinds. They will grow in any soil, and bloom through the winter months, always giving a delicate fragrance, and smiling even in the snow. Monthly roses will ever be the float's light : they are the hardiest, .most delicate-looking, and GENERAL REMARKS. 15 leaved of garden productions ; they give no t: v uble, and speedily form a beautiful screen against any offensive object. No flower garden should exist without abundance of monthly roses, It has often been a disputed point whether flower gardens should be intersected with gravel walks or with grass plots. This must be left entirely to the taste and means of the party forming a garden. Lawn is as wet and melancholy in the winter months, as it is beautiful anji desirable in summer ; and it requires great care and attention in mowing and rolling, and trimming round the border. Gravel walks have this advantage : the first trouble is the last. They will only require an old woman's- or a child's assistance in keeping them free from weeds ; and a lady has not the same fears of taking cold, or getting wet in her feet, during the rains of autumn and spring. Many females are unequal to the fatigue of bending down to flowers, and particularly object to the stooping posture. In this case, ingenuity alone is required to raise the flowers to a conve- nient height ; and, by so doing, to increase the beauty and pic- turesque appearance of the garden. Old barrels cut in half, tubs, pails, &c., neatly painted outside, or adorned with rural orna- ments, and raised upon feet neatly carved, or mounds of earth, stand .in lieu of richer materials, such as vases, parapet walls, and other expensive devices, which ornament the gardens of the wealthy. I have seen these humble materials shaped into forms as pleading to the eye, and even more consonant to our damp climate, than marble vases. They never look green from time, and are renewed at a very trifling expense. A few pounds of nails, and the unbarked thinnings from fir plantations, are the sole requisites towards forming any device which a tasteful fancy can dictate ; and a little green paint adds beauty and durability when the bark falls from the wood it protects. I have seen fir ualls nailed on to these forrr.s in tasteful patterns ; and creeper* 16 LADIES' FLOWER GARDENER. being allowed to fall gracefully over the brims, give a remark ably pleasing and varied appearance to the parterre. Where mould is not easily to be procured — as, for instance, in towns — the tubs or receptacles may be half filled with any kind )f rubble, only space must be left to allow of two feet of fine nould at the top, which is quite sufficient for bulbous roots} •reepers, &c. These receptacles have one powerful advantage over ground plots ; they can be moved under sheds, or into out- houses, during the heavy rains or frosts of winter ; and thereby enable a lady to preserve the more delicate flowers, which would deteriorate by constant exposure to inclement weather. A lady requires peculiar tools for her light work. She should possess & light spade ; two rakes, one with very fine teeth, and the other a size larger, for cleaning the walks when they are raked, and for raking the larger stones from the garden borders. A light garden fork is very necessary to take up bulbous or other roots with, as the spade would wound and injure them, whereas they pass safely through the interstices of the fork or prong. A watering-pot is indispensable, and a hoe. Two trowels am like- wise necessary ; one should be a tolerable size, to transplant pe- rennial and biennial flower roots ; the other should be pointed and small, to transplant the more delicate roots of anemones, bulbs, &c. The pruning-knife must b"e always sharp, and, in shape, U should bend a little inwards, to facilitate cutting away straggling or dead shoots, branches, &c. The " avroncator," lately so much in request, is an admirable instrument ; but it is expensive, aim ;>f most importance in shrubberies, where heavy branches are to be cut away. The Sieur Louis d'Auxerre, who wrote a work upon gardening in 1706, has a sketch of the avroncator of the present day, which he designates as caterpillar shears, A light pair of shears, kept always in good order, is necessarr GENERAL REMARKS). 17 to keep privet or laurel hedges properly clipped ; and a stout deep basket must be deposited in the tool-shed, to contain the weeds and clippings. These are the only tools absolutely essen- tial to a lady's garden. I have seen a great variety decorating the wall of an amateur tool -house, but they must have been in- tended for show, not for use. A real artiste, in whatever pro- fession she may engage, will only encumber herself with essen- tials. All else is superfluous. I have reserved two especially necessary recommendations to the last, being comforts independent of the tool-house. Every lady should be furnished with a gardening apron, composed of stout Holland, with ample pockets to contain her pruning- knife, a small stout hammer, a ball of string, and a few nails and snippings of cloth. Have nothing to do with scissors ; they are excellent in the work-room, but dangerous in a flower garden, as they wrench and wound the stems of flowers. The knife cuts slanting, which is the proper way of taking off slips ; and the knife is sufficient for all the purposes of a flower garden, even for cutting string. The second article which I pronounce to be indispensable is a pair of India rubber shoes, or the wooden high-heeled shoes called " sabots " by the French. In these protections, a lady may indulge her passion for flowers at all seasons, without risk of rheumatism or chills, providing it does not actually rain or snow : and the cheering influence of the fresh air, combined with a favorite amusement, must ever operate beneficially on the naind and body in every season of the year. 18 LADIES' FLOWER GARDENER. CHAPTER III. ON LAYING OUT. are many modes of adorning a small piece of ground, so as to contain gay flowers and plants, and appear double its real size. By covering every wall or palisade with monthly roses and creepers of every kind, no space is lost, and unsightly ob- jects even contribute to the general effect of a "Plaisaunce." The larger flowers, such as hollyhocks, sunflowers, &c., look to the best advantage as a back ground, either planted in clumps, or arranged singly. Scarlet lychnis, campanula, or any second- sized flowers, may range themselves below, and so in graduated order, till the eye reposes upon a foreground of pansies, auriculas, polyanthuses, and innumerable humbler beauties. Thus all are seen in their order, and present a mass of superb coloring to the observer, none interfering with the other. The hollyhock does not shroud the lowly pansy from displaying its bright tints of yel- low and purple ; neither can the sturdy and gaudy sunflower hide the modest double violet or smartly clad anemone from observa- tion. Each flower is by this mode of planting distinctly seen, and each contributes its beauty and its scent, by receiving the beams of the sun in equal proportions. If the trunk of a tree stands tolerably free from deep over- shadowing branches, twine the creeping rose, the late honey- suckle, or the everlasting pea round its stem, that every inch of ground may become available. The tall naked stem of the young ash looks well festooned with roses and honeysuckles, ON LA YIN & OUT. 19 Wherever creeping flowering plants can live, let them adcrn every nook and corner, stem, wall, and post ; they are elegant in ap- pearance, and many of them, particularly clematis, are delicious in fragrant scent. If flowers are planted in round or square plots, the same rul< applies in arranging them. The tallest must be placed in thi center, but I recommend a lady to banish sunflowers and holly hocks from her plots, and consign them to broad borders again^. a wall, or in clumps of three and three, as a screen against the north, or against any unsightly object. Their large roots draw so much nourishment from the ground, that the lesser plants suf- fer, and the soil becomes quickly exhausted. Like gluttons, they should feed alone, or their companions will languish in starvation, and become impoverished. The wren cannot feed with the vul- ture. The south end or corner of a moderate flower garden should be fixed upon for the erection of a root house, which is not an expensive undertaking, and which forms a picturesque as well as a most useful appendage to a lady's parterre. Thinnings of plantations, which are everywhere procured at a very moderate charge, rudely shaped and nailed into any fancied form, may supply all that is needful to the little inclosure ; and a thatch of straw, rushes, or heather, will prove a sure defense to the roof and back. There, a lady may display her taste by the beauty of the flowers which she may train through the rural frame-work. There, the moss-rose, the jessamine, the honeysuckle, the convol- vulus, and many other bright 'and beautiful flowers, may escape and cluster around her, as she receives rest and shelier within their graceful lattice-work. There, also, may be deposited the implements of her vocation ; and during the severe weather, its warm piecincts will protect (he finer kinds of carnations, pinks. 2(f LADIES FLOWER GARDENER. auricuiasr, &c., which do not bear the heavy rains, or frosts of lengthened duration, without injuring the plant. Flowers are divided into three classes : — annuals, biennials, and perennials. Annuals are those flowers which are raised from seeds alone, in the spring, and which die in the autumn. They are again divi- ded into three classes : — the tender and more curious kinds ; the less tender or hardier kinds ; and the hardiest and common kinds. Biennials are those flowers which are produced by. seed, bloom the second year, and remain two years in perfection, after which they gradually dwindle and die away. Some sorts, however, of the biennials, afford a continuation of plants by offsets, slips, and cuttings of the tops, and by layers and^pipings, so that, though the parent flower dies, the species are perpetuated, particularly to continue curious double-flowered kinds, as for instance, double rockets, by root offsets, and cuttings of the young flower-stalks ; double wallflowers by slips of the small top shoots ; double sweet-williams by layers and pipings ; and carnations by layers. Perennials are those flowers which continue many years, and are propagated by root offsets, suckers, parting roots, &c., as will be more fully particularised under the head of Perennials. It has been a debated point among florists whether plots or baskets should be devoted each to a particular variety of flower, or receive flowers of different kinds, flowering at separate seasons. Thus, many ladies set apart one plot of ground for anemones only — another plot receives only pansies, and so on. There is much to be said on both sides the question. If a plot of ground is devoted to one variety of flower only, you can give it the appropriate mould, and amuse your eye with its expanse of bright coloring. Nothing is more beautiful than a bed of runsies, or a bed of the bright and glowing scarlet vcr- ON LAYING OUT. 21 bina ; nothing can exceed the gay and flaunty ;ints of a b«nl of tulips, or the rich hues of the lilac and the white petunia. A large space of garden allows its possessor to revel in separate beds of flowers, whose beauty is increased twofold by masses ; and from that very space, the eye does not so easily discover the melancholy appearance of one or more plots exhibiting nothing but dark mould, and withered stems, arising from the earlier sorts being out of bloom. But in less spacious gardens, this gloomy and mournful vacuum must be avoided. Every border and plot of ground should ex- hibit a gay succession of flowers in bloom ; and that object can only be effected by a pretty equal distribution of flowers of early and late growth. As the May flowers droop, the June produc- tions supply their place ; and these, again, are followed in succes- sion, till the Golden rod and Michaelmas day daisy announce the decadence of the parterre for the year. Yet every flower may be supplied with its favorite soil with a little patience and observation. A light soil suits all descriptions very well ; and I never yet found disappointment in any descrip- tion of earth which was thoroughly well dug, and dressed yearly from the mound of accumulated leaves and soap-suds, alluded to in the first chapter. I particularly recommend a portion of sand mixed with the heap. All bulbs, carnations, pinks, auriculas, ranunculuses, &c., love a mixture of sand. I know no flowers of the hardy class which reject it. Mix sand well into your borders and plots, and you will not fail to have handsome flowers. I subjoin a list of common flowers appertaining to each month, in order to fill the borders with one or more roots of each variety. I do not iff-clude the annuals. 22 LADIES' FLOWER GARDENER, JANUARY. In ;his month the following flowers are in blow :— Single Anemones I Primroses Winter Cyclamens Winter Hyacinth Michaelmas Daisy L Narcissus of the East Hepaticas | Christmas Rose Single Anemones Forward Anemones Persian Iris Spring Crocus FEBRUARY. Single Yellow Gilliflower Single Liverwort Winter Aconite Hepaticas Bulbous Iris Anemones of all sorts Spring Cyclamens Liverwort of all sorts Daffodils Crowfoots Spring Crocus MARCH. Hyacinths of all sorts Jonquils Yellow Gilliflower Narcissus of several kinds . Forward Bears'-ears Forward Tulips Single Primroses of divers cc'ort Daisies Yellow Gilliflowers Narcissus of all sorts Forward Bears'-ear Spring Cyclamens Crocus, otherwise called flowers Anemones of all sorts Iris Pansies Daffodils Saffron- Double Liverworts Primroses Honeysuckles Tulips Hyacinths Single Jonquils Crown-Imperial Yellow Gilliflowers, single Pasque-Flowers March Violets double tnd Anemones Gilliflowers of all sorts Yellow Gilliflowers Columbines Asphodils Orange, or flame-colored Lilies Double Jacea, a sort of Lychnis Cy anuses of all sarts Hyacinths Day Lilies Bastard Dittany Daisies Lily of the Valley Mountain Pinks Pansies Peonies of all sorts Ranunculuses of all sorts Some Irises : as those which we call the Bulbous Iris, a?id the Chamae-Iris Italian Spiderwort, a sor< of As- phodil Poet's Pinks Backward Tulips Julians, otherwise < ailed English Gilliflowerg ON LAYUSTG OUT, JUNE. Snap-drauons of ail sorts Wild Tansies Pinks, otherwise cabled Lychnises Irises Roses Tuberoses Pansies Larkspur Great Daisies Climbers Cyanuses of all sorts Foxgloves of all sort* Mountain Lilies Gilliflowers of all sort* Monk's-hoods Pinks of all sorts Candy-tufts Poppies JULY. Tessamine Spanish Brown Basils Bell-flowers Indian Jacea Great Daisies Monk's- hoods Pinks Scabiuses Nigellas Cyclamens Lobel's Catch-flies Lilies of all sorts Apples of Love Comfrey Poppies Snap-dragons Double Marigolds Amaranthuses Hellebore Ox-eyes Pinks of the Poets Bee-flowers Sea-hollies Foxgloves Wild Poppies Everlastings Roses Dittanies Bindweeds Lilies of St. Bruno Tricolors Squills Motherworta Climbers Oculus Christ! Camomile Sunflowers Belvederes Gilliflowers of all sortt Thorn-apple Valerian AUGUST. Oculus Christi, otherwise called Starwort Belvederes Climbers of all sorts Apples of Love Marvels of Peru Pansies Ranunculuses Double Marigolds Candy-tufts Autumn Cyclamens Jessamines Sunflowers, vivacious and annual Indian Narcissus Foxgloves Cyclamens Passion-flowers Everlastings Tuberoses Monk's-hood Indian Pinks of all kind* Bindweed Passvelours Great Daisies White Bell-flower Autumnal Meadow Sairroe Giilifloweiu 24 LADIES' FLOWER GARDENER. SEPTEMBER. Tricolors Love-apples Marvel of Peru Monk's-hood Narcissus of Portugal Snap-dragons Oculus Christi Basils Belvederes Great Daisies Double Marigolds Monthly Roses Tuberoses Tricolors Oculus Christi Snap-dragons Colchicums Autumn Crocus Autumnal Cyclamens Monk's-hood Indian Pinks Amaryllis Autumnal Narcissm White Bell-flowers Indian Pinks Indian Roses Amaranthus Pansies Passion-flower Autumnal Crocus Thorn-apple Carnations Ranunculuses planted in May Colchicums OCTOBER. Pansies that were sown in August Passion-flower Passvelours Double Marigolds Some Pinks Amaryllis Autumnal Narcissus NOVEMBER. Snap-dragons Double and Single Gilliflowers Great Daisies Pansies sown in August Monthly Roses Double Violets Single Anemones of all sorts Winter Cyclamens Forward Hellebore Golden Rod Rabbits are an intolerable nuisance in a flower garden, and in some country places they abound most destructively. A light wire fence about two feet high, closely lattice-worked, or a net of the same height, carried round the garden, is a sure defense from these marauders. But where these conveniences are unat- tainable, there are other modes which answer the purpose, but they require a little trouble and patience. It is the well-known nature of Rabbits and Hares to dislike climbing or entangling their feet; and very simple inventions deter them from attempting to gnaw the roots and hearts of ON LAYING OUT. 25 flowers. They will not walk upon straw or ashes strewed thickly round any plant : they equally dislike a fence of sticks placed round a plot, with bits of white paper or card fastened to each stick ; or a string carried round the sticks a foot or two high. If they cannot creep under a slight fence, they never attempt to leap over it. If a stick is run into the ground close to a plant, and other sticks are slanted from the ground towards the center, the plant will remain untouched, be the frost of ever so long duration. Snails are disagreeable intruders, but the following method is an exterminating war of short duration : — Throw cabbage leaves upon your borders over night ; in the morning, early, you will find them covered underneath with snails, which have taken refuge there. Thus they are easily taken and destroyed. Earwigs are taken in great numbers by hanging gallipots, tubes, or 'my such receptacle, upon low sticks in the borders over night. In these they shelter themselves, and are consequently victimized in the morning. The gallipots, broken bottles, &c., should be placed upon the stick like a man's hat, that the vermin may ascend into them. Ants are very great enemies to flowers ; but I know no method of attacking them, except in their own strongholds, which I have always done with cruel intrepidity and success. My only plan was to lay open the little ant-hill, and pour boiling water upon the busy insects, which destroyed at once the commonwealth, and the eggs deposited within the mound. In some places ants are extremely large and abundant, and they quickly destroy the beauty of a flower by attacking its root and heart.* * The Emperor Pagonatus, who wrote a treatise upon agriculture, assure* us, that to clear a garden of ants, we should burn empty snail shells with storax wood, and throw the ashes upon the ant-hills, which obliges them to remove. I never tried this method. 2 26 Mildew and blight infest roses and honey-suckles. Soap-suds thrown over rose bushes ; heavy waterings with tobacco-water, or the water in which potatoes have been boiled, is successful in a degree, but the best way is a very troublesome one to perse- vere in. Pinch every leaf well which curls up, by which you may know a small maggot is deposited therein. By so doing you destroy the germ of a thousand little monsters. Mildew and blight come from the east ; therefore honeysuckles should be sheltered from that aspect ; for, as they rise and spread widely, they are not so manageable as a rose-bush. A mass ot luxuriant honeysuckles is beautiful to the eye and delicious in frao-rance : but covered with mildew, it is a blackened and miser- able object. Mildew, fortunately, does not make its appearance every spring ; but once in four or five years it comes as a plague, to desolate the garden. A great deal may be raked away it taken off as soon as it spreads its cobwebs over these lovely flowers ; but it should be done without delay. I cannot lay too great stress upon the neatness in which a lady's garden should be kept. If it is not beautifully neat, it is nothing. For this reason, keep every plant distinct in the flower- beds ; let every tall flower be well staked, that the wind may not blow it prostrate ; rake away dead leaves from the beds, and trim every flower-root from discolored leaves, weeds, &c. ; re- move all weeds and stones the moment they appear, and cleai away decaying stems, which are so littering and offensive to the eye. There is always some employment of this kind for ever/- week in the year. Old iron rods, both large and small, are to be procured cheay at the ironmongers. These old rusty rods, painted green, or lead color, are 'excellent stakes for supporting flowers, and do not wear out. The slighter rods are very firm upright support irs for Carnations, Pinks, &c., while the taller and larger rods aro ON LAYING OUT. 27 the firmest and best poles for hollyhocks, sunflowers, and tli€ larger class of plants. Fix the flower stem to its stake with string, or the tape of the bass matting, soaked in water to pre- vent its cracking, and tie it sufficiently tight to prevent the wind tearing it from its position. Tie the large stems in three places for security. The term Deciduous, applied to shrubs, signifies that they shed their leaves every winter. Herbaceous plants, signify those plants whose roots are not woody, such as stocks, wallflowers,