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Roses and rose gardens need never be an extravagance, or be regarded as a luxury to be indulged in only by the wealthy members of a community. Actually, it seems that these people enjoy their roses in almost inverse ratio to the amount of money they lavish on them, and the results seldom persuade others to plant large areas under roses. Any garden can be almost a reflection of its owner. A garden of trees can be restful, peaceful, and almost lazy, but still very beautiful. A garden of annuals demands a great deal of minute attention, frequent watering, and exactitude in tidiness.

Most of us find it imperative to consider some degree of economy in upkeep, design, and construction. A garden must be an integral part of a home. Any worry about expense and excessive work will spoil gardening as a hobby or as a source of satisfying enjoyment. The man who owns a garden and never works in it is missing one of the greatest things in life. The more he works among his plants the more he will understand and cherish them. He can spend relatively little money, and get great returns. This is true of rose gardens even more than of other kinds. There are many gardens where the cost of the rose plants has been a small item compared with that of pergolas, arches, rest huts, stone paving, and statuary, most of which are not only quite unnecessary, but often detract from the beauty of the garden.

Fortunate is the man whose daily task is from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. five days a week, for he can be in his garden at the best times of the day and all through the week-end, if he so chooses. He knows every individual plant and its behaviour; he gets to know his roses as changing, living creatures. It is a knowledge that cannot be gained in any other way. He enjoys every bloom, the revitalizing of his plants by the removal of old wood, the stimulating of new growth by removal of flowers and by watering and manuring, the tidying of his climbers, the improvement of his soil, and even the preparing of his compost. It is all enjoyment to him, and for that reason he must never plant so many roses that they become a burden to him. There is always the temptation to add a few more each winter, but no man who attends a daily calling can care for more than four or five hundred plants, and very few can manage more than half that number. Excessive zeal can lead to an excessive number of plants, and then to excessive work, with final loss of interest.