, 1884-11-22
Gardening.

glance at his garden we may know whether
things are going we'll with him, SO that he
is happy, bright and active or whether
he is going down hill, losing courage, hope
and energy, sinking into gloom and nissan
thropy. Now it is to be feared that II we
in Santa Cruz were measured by our gar
dens, by far the majority of us would be
found to be nOn-exiStent. To a stranger,
who arrives here in a time like the present,
when the few gardens that are to be found
are so beautiful, and when the luXuriance
of the cane, the grass and the wild vegeta-
ton seems to beSpeak a fertile soil and all
favourable conditions for vigorous growth,
it no doubt seems surprising that so little
is done in the way of flower cultivation
compared with what may be seen in more
temperate and apparently less favourable
climes. The conclusion drawn would doubt
less follow the principle laid down by the
e~ssayist, there are few gardens because the
Inhabitants have little energy and perhaps
little taste for the brighter and less sordid
side of life. Would q visitor drawing such
a conclusion be right or wrOngf Partly
he would be right. There is no doubt
that much more might be done in this way
if only a little more taste and energy were
exhibited. Suppose that | possess or have
command of IL small plot, say a yard i'll the
town, it depends greatly upon my wishes
and leanings whether that yard shall be Il
weedy, rubbiShy space or whether it shall
be a pretty flower garden, giving pleasure
to my family and myself and delightlng
every passer by. Even where there is no
ground space at command there may be
places where a Towering plant in a tub or
D OF may ornament a gallery, give bright
ness to a dull corner, or break the mono
tony of a straight piece Of wall. OF course
fhopn rOuln Iva Soma little frOuhIP III
getting these things established, but
the pleasure Of watching the result would
be a very delightful reward, as everybody
who has once taken an Interest IN such
matters very we'll knows. We say then
that the visitor whom we have supposed to
draw unfavOurable conclusions from the
limited extent of our gardening would be
partly right. Partly, however, he would be
wrong, in this namely. that he would form
too favourable an estimate OF the ease OF
maintaining gardens III this climate, See
ing everything now so furnishing, he would
not make allowance for the very great dis.
%couragemrnt Of dry times, when we have
to see some OF our most valued plants pe-
IRISH for want of water. water which cannot
be spared from the ciSternS for fear that
the dry weather may continue and cause it
10 be needed for more essential purposes.
We have heard the most enthusiastic anna
teuTS declare under such circumstances
that they would give up gardening altOge-
ther, though the first succeeding rains
have brought them quickly back to a bet.
ter state of mind. 1t is plain, however,
that our visitors opinion would be SO far
correct as to make it worthy of notice, and
/ if it is true that the best friends are those
who point ont our faults, we should take
his criticism in good part and see whether
y co.N0kIin,r could ,,At IL 1O.,n ~, .o,U YNnpf
to merit a more favourable Judgment.
The present is a capital time for making
an effort in this direction. Most plants are
propagated easily from cuttings, and there
is no time so favourable for most cuttings.
rs the cool season of the year, say from
now to February or March. Some cuttings,
such as those of the beautiful varieties of
Coleus, are very easily grown. We have
only to break off a few pieces Of the plant
and stick them in the ground where we
intend them to grow, and we have a gar
den ready made, The leaves with their
great variety OF colour, being as beautiful
AS many flowers. Roses are not so easy,
and they are what most people who try
gardening like to succeed with. What is
the secret? From our W experience We
are inclined to think that the chief point is
the choice of a shady situation, one which
at most is only exposed to the early morn
ing sun. The books on gardening give nu-
merOus rules for raising roses and other hard
wooded. plants from cuttings; but some
very successful amateurs pay little atten.
ton to these, and their success probably
arises from their correct choice of a shady
SifuafiOn for fhoir puttinUS Tho ruloc IN