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Terms Used By Gardeners
The General Arrangement Of The Garden
Lawn Paths Beds And Border
On The Duty Of Making Experiments
Some Neglected But Handsome Plants
The Conservatory And Greenhouse
The Tool Shed And Summer-house
Roses For Amateurs
Enemies Of The Garden
The Rockery
Least Viewed
Terms Used By Gardeners
The General Arrangement Of The Garden
Lawn Paths Beds And Border
On The Duty Of Making Experiments
Some Neglected But Handsome Plants
The Conservatory And Greenhouse
The Tool Shed And Summer-house
Roses For Amateurs
Enemies Of The Garden
The Rockery
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The Tool Shed And Summer-house
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
necessity to the would-be gardener. Of course a good many of them can be
hired; it is not everyone, for instance, who possesses a =lawn-mower=, but
if the owner of a garden is ambitious enough to wish to do without a
gardener altogether, a lawn-mower will be one of the first things he will
wish to possess himself of. In that case he cannot do better than invest
is one of Ransome's or Green's machines. Their work is always of a high
standard and the firms are constantly making improvements in them. The
newest ones are almost perfection, but it is better to get a second-hand
one of either of these firms than a new one of an inferior make. A
=roller= is useful too, but, as these large implements run into a good
deal of money, it may be as well to state that, on payment of 2d. or so,
any of them may be borrowed for an hour or two. Ladders can be had in this
way; also shears, fret-saws--anything that is only wanted occasionally.
A =spade= is a daily necessity, however. Has not one of our most learned
divines exalted the art of digging by his commendation thereof, and who
shall say him nay? It is expedient to wear =thick boots=, however, during
this operation, not only on account of the earth's moisture, but also
because otherwise it is ruinous to our soles. To preserve the latter, a
spade with a sharp edge should never be chosen, but one which has a flat
piece of iron welded on to the body of it. Digging is good because it
breaks up the earth, and exposes it to the sun and also to the frost,
which sweetens and purifies it; care must be taken however, in doing it,
as so many things die down in the winter and are not easily seen. The
ordinary hired gardener is very clever at =burying things so deep that
they never come up again=!
Most people abhor =weeding=, yet if done with a Dutch hoe it is rather
=pleasant work=, as no stooping is required. After a few showers of rain
the hoe runs along very easily, and the good it does is so patent that I
always think it very satisfactory labour indeed. These hoes cost about 1s.
6d. each.
=Raking= is easy work, and very useful for smoothing beds or covering
seeds over with soil. English made, with about eight or ten teeth, their
cost is from two to three shillings. One of the most necessary implements
is a =trowel=, in particular for a lady, as its use does not need so much
muscle as a spade; their price is from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d. each.
Where there are many climbers =a hammer= is wanted, not a toy one of
German make; these are sometimes chosen by amateurs under the mistaken
idea that the lighter the hammer the lighter the work. One of English
make, strong and durable, is the kind of thing required, and costs about
2s. or 2s. 6d. =Wall-nails=, one inch long (the most useful size), are 2d.
a pound, and may be had at any ironmongers. The =shreds of cloth= may be
bought too, but anyone who deals at a tailor's can procure a mixed bundle
of cloth pieces for nothing, when there is the light labour of cutting
them into shreds, work of a few minutes only.
In choosing =watering-cans=, see that they are thoroughly good tin, as a
strong can will last for years; moreover, when it begins to leak it will
bear mending; they cost from 3s. upwards, the roses should be made to take
off as a rule, and a special place assigned to them on the shelf of the
tool-shed, as they readily get lost. =Syringes=, much used for washing off
insects, are rather expensive, consequently are not to be found in many
small gardens; a more fortunate friend will sometimes lend one, as there
is a good deal of freemasonry amongst people who indulge in the hobby of
gardening.
A thing everyone must have is =a thermometer=, in greenhouses they are
indispensable; the minimum kind are the most useful, telling one as they
do exactly the degree of frost experienced during the preceding night.
They may be bought at a chemist's for 1s. each, and must be re-set every
day; the aforesaid chemist will show any purchaser the way to do this--it
is quite simple.
=Raffia=, or =bass=, for tying flower-sticks, and =labels= are minor
necessities which cost little, though sticks may run into a good deal if
bought prepared for staking. Personally, I dislike both the coloured kinds
(never Nature's green) and the white. Both show far more than the
=unobtrusive sticks= obtained by cutting down the stalks of Michaelmas
daisies, for instance. =Galvanised iron stakes last practically for ever=,
and if they are of the twisted kind, no tying is required, greatly
lessening labour. It is a curious fact that though =arches made of iron
set up electrical disturbance= and injure the climbers, these stakes seem
to have no bad effect whatever. At the end of the autumn they should be
collected, and stored in a safe place till summer comes round again. Thin
ones suitable for carnations, etc., may be procured from A. Porter,
Storehouse, Maidstone, for 1s. a dozen, carriage paid. The thicker ones
can be made to order at small cost at any ironmonger's.
A handy man can often make =frames= himself, especially if they are not
required to be portable, and really these home-made ones answer almost as
well as those that are bought. Good frames can sometimes be had at sales
for an old song, and only require a coat of paint to make them as good as
new.
Here I will end my list, only reiterating that, however few tools you may
have, it is foolish to get any but the best.
A =summer-house= need not necessarily be bought ready-made. I have seen
many a pretty bower put together in the spare hours of the carpenter of
the family. There is one advantage in these =home-made summer-houses=,
that they are generally more roomy than those which are bought, and can be
made to suit individual requirements.
=HOW TO COVER A SUMMER-HOUSE.= Of course, it is more necessary to cover
these amateur and therefore somewhat clumsy structures with creepers, but
that is not difficult. Even the first summer they can be made to look
quite presentable by planting the =Japanese hop=. The leaves are
variegated, and in shape like the Virginia creeper. Messrs. Barr, of Long
Ditton, Surrey, told me it grew 25 feet in one season. It can be had from
them in pots, about the first week in May, for 3s. 6d. a dozen. Then there
are the =nasturtiums=, always so effective when =trained up lengths of
string=, with the dark back-ground of the summer-house to show up their
beautiful flowers. If the soil in which they grow is poor and gravelly,
the blossoms will be more numerous. The =canary creeper= is another plant,
which is so =airy and graceful= that one never seems to tire of it. Get
the seeds up in good time, so that when planted out they are of a fair
height, else so much of the summer is lost.
There are so many =uncommon climbing plants= which should be tried,
notably eccremocarpus scaber, cobea scandens, and mina lobata. The
last two are annual, and the first can be grown as such, though in mild
winters and in sunny positions it is a perennial. It =flowers whenever the
weather will let it=, and its blossoms are orange-yellow in colour, very
curious and invariably noticed by visitors. Reliable seeds of all three
can be had from Messrs. Barr, at 6d. a packet. The cobea bears pale
purple bell-shaped flowers, and is a quick grower. Mina lobata is
generally admired, and though of a different family bears a slight
resemblance to an eccremocarpus, both in the shape of its flowers and in
the way they are arranged on the stem. It is only half hardy. Clematis
jackmanni and montana are good for this position too. Jackmanni is
the well-known velvety purple kind, and must be cut down to the ground
every autumn, and well mulched; that is because it flowers on the new
growth of each year. Montana, however, flowers on the wood of the
previous year, and therefore must be cut back about the end of June, if at
all, as May is the month it blooms.
The Dutchman's pipe, or aristolochia sipho, is not to be altogether
recommended, as =its huge leaves always seem to make small gardens appear
smaller still=, which is not desirable; otherwise, it is a splendid plant
for covering summer-houses, as it is a rapid climber. It is wise to plant
some of the =decorative ivies= as well, so that, if the flowering plants
fail, it will not be of so much consequence. The =varieties with pointed
leaves= are exceedingly elegant, and are much more suitable than the
common sort for decorating churches and dwelling-house, and cost no more
to buy.
=FRAGRANT ODOURS.= At =the base of the summer-house= there should be
quantities of sweet-scented plants, as this will make the time spent there
all the pleasanter. There are lavender, rosemary, thyme, bay, sweet peas,
stocks, and mignonette, besides the oak-leaved geranium, tobacco plant,
marvel of Peru, and, of course, roses, though the latter do not give off
scent quite so much as the other plants mentioned.
The =position of the summer-house= is important. I have seen some divided,
but where there is no partition it should generally face west. It is
delightful on a fine evening to sit and watch the clouds change from glory
to glory, as the sun gradually sinks to its rest, and the stars gleam out
in the darkening sky.
Next: Roses For Amateurs
Previous: The Conservatory And Greenhouse
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