My own views on the correct season for planting open-ground-raised shrubs fluctuate with the weather. In a wet season I have successfully moved rhododendrons, junipers, and laurel in June and July. However, pinned down to a single season I would settle: for early spring. Winters on my exposed garden can be brutal in the extreme and linked with a cold wet clay soil the shock is too much for all but the most robust genera. I prefer to let .the nurseryman carry my charges through the worst months, then as the soil warms give me the responsibility.

In fact, I proved to my own satisfaction that just five minutes exposure to a drying March wind reduces the viability of woody plants appreciably. In the case of conifers the dehydration proved fatal in one out of every four seedling thuja lined out as a hedge.

Choose a day when the stubbornest clay runs like silk from the spade, then fine root hairs can be firmed into position with the least damage. I prefer a dull humid day if there are several shrubs to plant up as strong winds or bright sunshine will dry exposed roots in a matter of minutes.

A small prostrate yew, Taxus baccata horizontalis, performs a similar function under a solitary Field Maple on the lane border in this garden. Strange that it took a friendly visitor’s appreciation to draw my attention to the service the native Blaeberry, Vaccinium myrtillus, gives as sub-scrub in the woodland.

To prevent primulas seeding under some shrubs growing only a path’s width away I carpeted the soil beneath the shrubs with Lithospermum Heavenly Blue. The mat of leaves was covered with a mass of blue flowers in early summer. Indeed, these continued intermittently until the autumn. This plant is difficult to root and started to take extra care with the cuttings. I lost all but three from one batch so that now I continue my old practice and once again the cuttings root with perfect composure and no difficulty.

The growth of the Butcher’s Broom, Ruscus aculeatus, is closely packed, and the spine- tipped leaves appear highly polished as if they were varnished. Though extremely shade tolerant it resents a very wet acid soil, and berries sparsely in poor light conditions. Only once, in Northumberland, have I seen the bright red marble fruits really thick on a bush which was sited on the west face of a low wall.

Few shrubs can amass such an array of blackfly as the viburnums and these must be dealt with, for over two or three years the shrub will be reduced to a mass of stunted twisted twig-like growths.

Possibly the safest general feeds are those based on organic substances which in addition to feeding have no detrimental effect on soil texture. The release of the nitrogen, phosphates and potash takes place over a long period so that very little is lost by the plant through being leached away in soil drainage.

Bonemeal, hoof and horn, and fish meal, together with mixtures based on seaweed can be used over almost the whole garden without fear of harmful side effects. Usually, as well as the nitrogen, phosphates and potash, they contain a whole series of trace elements which though required by the plants in parts per million rather than ounces per square yard are never the less essential if the plants are to grow well.

There are, of course, the paraquat-based chemical weedkillers which can be used amongst established shrubs if the border is very dirty. Providing these do not come into contact with the leaves they will not harm the cultivated plants. The chemical acts only through the chlorophyll in the leaves so it can be sprayed right up the stems of the shrubs.

I would consider a garden without evergreens, especially conifers, to be incomplete. Throughout the year they play an important role in providing a subtle contrast in shape and foliage texture and they are very valuable when the cold ngers of frost have stripped the foliage from -deciduous trees.

There are species and varieties so slow growing that they will grow contentedly for a generation with the modest dimensions of a trough garden. At the other extreme the family includes trees mat soar, 100 to 120 ft., majestic in their perfect -Fymmctrical outline. No matter the size of garden – be the landscape formal or designed to Iarmonise with the natural scenery around are conifers of the right shape and foliage colour to fit and enhance the picture.

I would hesitate to suggest planting bamboos in a small garden were it not for the fact that one of the finest specimens I know grows in a small garden where the soil is so well drained even the worms carry water bottles.

The species in this case, and my own favourite, is Arundinaria nitida. The long gracefully arched branches are the epitomy of elegance and the canes which are flushed purple are furnished with long thin foliage.

Nothing will make a newcomer to gardening an outcast of society quicker than to be continually borrowing tools. There is no need, however, to rush into buying one of everything and a good collection can be built up slowly as required ; some being needed immediately while others can wait for a birthday.

The tools described will make up a modest collection and they will certainly be adequate to maintain the largest shrub border. To the basic outfit could be added a manure fork and shovel which would make the annual mulching of the border with manure or compost rather less of a labour.

At long last the gardener can don heavy boots and take a spade in hand to make a start on preparing the soil to receive the chosen shrubs. Newly planted shrubs will establish rapidly if they are provided with a soil. which has been worked some fifteen inches deep. First take out a trench across one end 15 in. wide, placing the soil to one side for filling up the final trench when the work is completed.

The cambium is a thin layer of tissue composed during the growing season of actively dividing cells. Only these cells of both the scion and rootstock are capable of joining one to the other into an indissoluble whole.

Prepare the stocks for budding by clearing the soil away from around the base of the stem and wipe the exposed area clean with a moist cloth. Make a cross cut on the prepared surface, then an upward cut to meet it, drawing with the knife blade a letter T. The bark should lift easily with the knife handle if the stock is fit to bud. Remove the bud by starting a slanting cut one inch below the chosen bud and coming at the same distance above. The shield can be trimmed to size after insertion.

Where the T-shaped cut is made depends on what type of tree is required. If a bush form is wanted then the cut is made 4 in. above soil level but with half or full standards from three to six feet of clean stern must be left. The bark is lifted, the bud inserted and bound exactly in the manner described for roses.

Not all gardens can support the bulk of forest trees, yet it is still feasible to achieve a very satisfactory winter landscape in miniature. Various forms of Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum, even grown in pots will soon develop the mushroom-like, slightly windswept outline which makes them excellent plants for the heather or rock garden.

Sixteen years ago I planted a few specimens of the arboreal alpine to add height to a corner of the heather garden. Now the plants 4 ft. high and the soft green foliage on erect is seen in contrast to the bare branches of the birch woodland beyond adding a touch of some green to the inhospitable winter scene.

Wandering amongst them all is a yellow-flowered Clematis tangutica which is better used as ground cover than grown in the traditional way over a trellis.

Cornus canadensis is not I suppose in the strict sense of the word a shrub as it dies back to soil level each year. I planted this along the beech hedge which borders one side of the plot, and now from a carpet of leaves it is starred with white flowers from late spring through to mid-summer. I also get the clustered heads of scarlet fruits.

Cytoplasmic male sterility in Capsicum was discovered by Peterson (1958) and can now be used for producing hybrid seed.

A few F, hybrids have been obtained in crosses involving C. annuum, C’. frutescens, C. baccalum var. pendulum and C. chinense, but the plants secured were usually highly sterile. Thus there appears to be genetic grounds for the recognition of five distinct cultivated species. Heiser and Smith (1953) show that in inheritance studies the red colour of the mature fruit is a single dominant to yellow; the pendant position of the fruit is dominant to erect; the deciduous ripe fruit is dominant to non- deciduous; and the pungent fruit is dominant to mild; all in a simple 3 : 1 ratio.

Capsicums are killed by frost. They are grown in the tropics from sea level to 2 000 m or more. The quick-maturing sweet peppers can be grown in warm-temperate countries, although it may be necessary to raise the seedlings in heated seed beds or glasshouses. They do not thrive well at low temperatures. Boswell et al. (1964) give the optimum temperature of 24 C and say that the crop will fail to thrive at temperatures between 4 C and 15 C. Deanon (1967) states that the maximum set of bell or sweet pepper occurs at temperatures of 16 C to about 23 C, but adds that night temperatures below 16 C and day temperatures above 32 C prevent fruit-set. Low humidity and high temperatures will cause abscission of buds, flowers and small fruits.

A polythene sleeve, made by slitting a suitably sized bag along the bottom, is then slipped over to enclose the wound and firmly bound at the base with electricians’ tape. Pack moist sphagnum around the wound then seal the top of the bag. By moist I mean that a handful of the moss when squeezed just oozes water. To make certain the weakened stem does not break I tie the whole contraption firmly to a cane.

Not all are so obliging and must be helped in a small way. This process is known as layering and the main requirements are patience and a soil in good physical condition. A few weeks prior to layering work in a liberal quantity of peat and sharp sand around the selected plant.

Eventually the keen gardener will want to try a few buds or grafts, and these arc no more difficult than many other garden tasks. My first attempts at grafting resulted in one of my father’s treasured James Grieve apple trees producing not only typical fruit but several branches of Laxtons as well. A sharp knife is of the utmost importance, indeed, the ability to maintain a keen edge on the blade makes the difference between success and failure.

The owners of small gardens need to utilise every scrap of space and they, therefore, must be more selective in their choice of plants. Climbers and wall plants will provide the answer to many problems for they will add both space and height to congested sites and will bring colour to every available wall.

However, enthusiasm should be tempered with discreet understanding for there are climbers which love to be baked into brilliance of flower by hot sun, whereas others must be soothed by moist shade. Some climbers, of which ,,Actinidia chinensis and Polygonum baldschuanicum are prime examples, will swallow a house completely so quickly do they grow. Others like wisteria or clematis must be carefully pruned and trained, or the gardener is left to contemplate a naked expanse of stem.

Some climbers like ivy need no support other than that provided by their aerial roots whereas others, as for example the climbing roses, need tying in with string, plastic ribbon, webbing or a similar artificial aid. I always use a soft string which will not chafe even the most tender bark and, which is perhaps more important, it will rot after a year or two.