The Ins And Outs Of Gardening

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

isolated cases), and yet it is a favourite practice with amateurs, who

call it treating their flowers tenderly! But, as with the human kind, =a

judicious mixture of firmness and tenderness= is the happy medium to be

aimed at, and which alone insures success.



=A good watering= helps to make the soil settle as much as anything;

therefore, when put into the ground the plants should be well soaked,

after which they should be left for a few days, with the exception of

=overhead watering=, which is most refreshing. In very hot weather, it is

often possible to transplant with perfect safety, if the roots are put

into "puddle."



=PLANTING IN "PUDDLE."= "Puddle" is a very expressive gardening term,

which signifies soil mixed with so much water as almost to have acquired

the consistency of a paste. =Operation 1=--well water the plant to be

removed; =operation 2=--dig the hole which is to receive it; =operation

3=--fill the same with water up to the rim; =operation 4=--carefully take

up your plant with plenty of soil round it; =operation 5=--gently place it

in hole prepared, the walls of which will then be thoroughly soaked;

=operation 6=--fill in with the "puddle" above referred to; =operation

7=--tread gently but firmly down; and, lastly, scatter a little dryer soil

on the top. Flowers planted in this fashion can be taken up even during

June, July and August; and, if properly looked after, will scarcely flag

at all.



=EFFECTS OF ASPECT.= The influence of aspect on plants is an interesting

study; we all know that a shrub on a south wall is practically in a

different climate to a shrub on a north wall. One reason why tender plants

do so well on a =south or west aspect= is because the sun does not reach

it till some hours after it has risen and warmed the air. The =sun shining

on half-frozen buds= often has a disastrous effect on plants climbing

walls with an eastern aspect; consequently, a north wall is often better

for a delicate plant, if the warmest aspect cannot be given it; camellias,

for instance, when outside prefer it to any other. =If a succession of one

kind of flower is desired=, a group facing each corner oL the compass will

often accomplish this, sometimes as much difference as a month being

noted. Certain unimpressionable plants refuse to alter their season of

blooming, but, as a rule, it is a sure method of attaining this object.

=Colouring is also vastly influenced by aspect=; such things as pansies,

for example, never show such rich markings under a hot sun, but require an

east border to bring out their true beauties. Scotland suits them

admirably, with its cool summer nights and moist atmosphere.



=THE IMPORTANCE OF SHELTER.= Shelter has a great deal to do with success

in a garden; in the ordinary town garden, the builder has generally been

only too obliging in this respect, but in bleak hilly spots it might

almost be called the gardener's watchword. Few things except Scotch firs

and the like will stand a =long-continued high wind= with impunity; not

only does it wrench the plants out of the soil, but, if it comes from a

cold quarter, both flowers and leaves curl up at its approach and refuse

to thrive; they become nipped in the bud, as at the touch of frost.

Everyone has experienced the meaning of shelter when out in a cold

nor'-easter; how it bites one, making the blood stand still with its fury!

then, all at once, we round the corner, and hey presto! all is changed;

the air is quite caressing, and the blood tingles to our very finger-tips

from the sudden reaction. With due regard to shelter, then, =climates can

be "manufactured" without glass=. In extensive grounds, these wind-breaks

are made by planting lines of trees, but in smaller spaces it may be done

differently. The construction of =light fences=, not over five feet in

height, run up inside the compound, accomplish a good deal, as may be seen

by any visitor to the nurseries of Messrs. Barr, at Long Ditton; they are

=not ugly if well clothed=, and make an effectual break in a much shorter

time than would be the case if fruit-trees were planted, though there is

nothing prettier than a row of apple or pear trees, grown espalier

fashion, if time is no object. Many things will nestle beneath them, and

flower beautifully for months together, for, though these fruit-trees are

deciduous, the force of the wind is considerably lessened by them, on the

same principle that =fishing-nets are such a protection from frost= to

wall-climbers; and this again may be compared to the veils which ladies

use to protect their skin. Though of wide mesh, the fishing-nets will keep

off five or six degrees of frost, and in certain cases are better than a

closer protection, like tiffany, which sometimes "coddles" the trees too

much.



=A few words on the respective qualities of youth and age= may not be

amiss. Amateurs are so often disappointed in their garden purchases,

because they will not allow the plants sufficient time to demonstrate

their capabilities. =Catalogues are much to blame= in this respect; an

enticing description of a shrub is given, and the confiding amateur orders

it, believing that in a year or two it will fulfil its character. How can

he be expected to know that that particular variety never bears any

flowers worth speaking of till it is at least seven years old! In the long

run, I think nurserymen will find it pay to tell the whole truth regarding

each plant they send out, not merely in a negative way either. If an

alpine, for example, like linnea borealis, is extremely difficult to

grow and flower in this country, it is only fair to say so; to place it

amongst a lot of easily-cultivated plants without a word of warning is

=not straightforward dealing=, moreover is apt to make people disgusted

with the whole thing. Some plants bloom much the best when in their first

youth; this is the case with many of the soft-wooded plants, which soon

give signs of exhaustion, especially in a light soil. When it is noticed

that the outside flowering stems produce finer blossoms than those from

the centre, it is generally =a sign that division is required=, and that

the soil wants enriching.



=THE CALENDAR.= That there is =a time for everything in gardening= is

almost a truism; the calendar is considered one of the most important

parts of a technical book on this subject. It is advisable for an amateur

gardener to =have a note-book=, in which he jots down what he has to do

several weeks or months in advance; so often some fault easily remedied is

left over from year to year, because perhaps it is only observed in the

summer, and cannot be mended till winter. Recently, the calendar has not

been given quite so much prominence; gardeners find out more and more that

the weather is not governed by it, and that though one year it may be best

to sow a certain seed at the beginning of February, another season may be

so cold that it will have to go in at least a fortnight later.

Nevertheless, taken roughly, this diary of events, as the dictionary calls

it, holds good for most years, and it is wise to stick to it as far as

possible.