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Shannon News, 3 July 1928, Page 4

an opportunity of getting re-establish-ed quickly. Slugs play havoc with the scabious, and a good handful of lime should bo thrown over the crowns of the plants. There are several varieties which differ in shades from soft, pale mnuve tone* to almost sky blue tints, while others have much deeper tones in similar colourings. The Summer Garden.

Many long wintry evenings arc passed by garden lovers in dreams of and plans for the "summer garden." The summer garden should be all beauty, and what is impossible to obtain from the hand of a paid gardener is often accomplished by those who work for love. A poet has wrongly said that the most supreme joy anyone can ha"ve is to sit under trees and watch the flowers bloom. This may be a pretty idea, but it is uot the feeling of those who truly love flower?. There is a desire to do more than watch them grow, and that is to be amongst them. These are far greater joys, and a perfect garden is more precious than riches.

The plants in this perfect summer garden should be the picture of health; they should show that personal love and care have been showered upon them by some one who loves each of them individually. There should be no dots of indefinite, undecided colours in this garden. Such are not worthy of a place. There should be splashes of colour, and though there ,<may be fewer varieties this way, there will be more beauty, which, after all, is what is wanted.

There should be long, long borders, with winding walks or little paths, down which one can wander in the cool of the evening. As one stands at the end of any of these borders one should be able to sec flowers everywhere.

There should be perfect Mjgolas in this lovely garden, where Ihasses of pink, crimson, yellow, and white roses, of delicious scent, hang 'down on all sides. In a low. part of the garden there should be a cool glade, and a delightful pond or stream of water, wherein water lilies bloom, with quantities of showy water plants adorning tho edges, and where an added beauty is gained by their reflections in the water beneath.

All unsightly places should be covered with entrancing rambler roses to turn ugliness into loveliness. In one part of this perfect garden, at the end of a long walk., there should be a spot set apart for fragrant plants. Such a corner should contain all the older herbs which are quite attractive plants an'd eas-y to grow. Fragrance stimulates both mind and body, and often encourages greater things. Adjacent to the cool refreshing pond there should be a rock garden, built and planned with a careful insight into the needs of the lovely alpine plants which grow in its pockets and crevices. Here, one shall learn again of the glory of form, and of the magic of colour —sheets of superb colour, bands of blue, yards of yellow, splashes of purple, oceans of white, ridges of rose, carpets of crimson, and captivating comers of every other lovely colour. If one has not already learnt what colour means, from the flower borders, one cannot help but learn it here. Throughout this rambling sketch, the writer has but touched the fringe of this great subject, but garden lovers, dream your dreams, plan for perfect beauty in your summer garden, always bearing in mind that the garden beautiful, is the result of careful planning and a careful study of all plant life. Learn to keep things at their best for the longest possible period, by avoiding neglect at any time; but let things grow their own way and give support only as they require it. Get into touch with nature, and plan accordingly, whether it be a rock garden, pond, or flower border.