April 25, 19U& 



HORTICULTURE 



557 



The Present Importance of Hardy Perennials 



When as far as fifty 3'ears agn an 

 experienced gardener and general 

 horticulturist in mature years frank- 

 ly admitted that his days of learn- 

 ing never ceased his fellow crafts- 

 men perhaps thought him a modest, 

 unassuming gentleman. In our 

 present age of specialization and 

 consequent rapid development, when 

 even the specialist, unless he is 

 open-eyed and ever alert, is apt to 

 become rusty, we consider such ut- 

 terances as solely sensible and noth- 

 ing more. A strong pretension as 

 to practical mastery of the whole 

 field arouses the reasonable doubts 

 of the serious-thinking and is taken 

 with indulgence by the optimistic 

 listener. Professionl training on a 

 broad scale and subsequent practical 

 experiences in the various branches 

 of horticulture can not be valued too highly, still 

 initiative power and innate capacity to quickly 

 grasp the essentials of a new situation are equally 

 important. The former are the main resources of 

 the grower, while the success in the management 

 of a large concern to a greater extent depends on 

 the latter qualities. There are always a number 

 of horticulturists who by virtue of extraordinary 

 results have proven themselves in more than one de- 

 partment equal to the specialist; still human faculties 

 are limited, while the present horticultural possibilities 

 appear well nigh unlimited, hence the ever present ne- 

 cessity for the gardener to learn. One of the floricul- 

 tural branches which today should be made a general 

 object of study is the growing and the advantageous 

 use of perennials. Not alone the fact that we have 

 comparatively few specialists with thorough and com- 

 prehensive knowledge of the vast number of species of 

 this class of plants, but also the frequent lack of effec- 



Spir«a filipendula 



Uelpiiiniums 



A Revelrtfioii of Beauty, 



tive arrangement and the want of proper care are evi- 

 dences for an urgent need of learning for many of us. 



A COMMON MISCONCEPTION 



It seems that in the opinion of quite a number of gar- 

 deners the hardy perennial is still a side issue of little or 

 no consequence. I should be glad to hear I was mis- 

 taken, for indiiference toward such an important branch 

 is today, to say the least, untimely. How often is in 

 the imagination of garden owner and even gardener the 

 planting of a herbaceous border first and last a labor 

 saving scheme. "Perennial flowers thrive in any sort 

 of soil and need very little care. They come up and 

 spread out year after year and save the bother of rais- 

 ing a lot of annuals needing watering and hoeing and 

 constant looking after." When, then, this very border, 

 after a prolonged drought, without ground cultivation 

 and irrigation, turns to be an eyesore instead of an 

 ornament the disappointment is complete. "It looks 

 so unsightly, scrubby and shabby and is not fit for a 

 garden at all." 



Indeed the perennial flower border as a labor saving 

 scheme had better never be planted, for it is detrimental 

 to the interests of the firm that furnishes first-class 

 plant material, it reflects badly on both garden and care- 

 taker, and in the given shape, constitutes a serious ob- 

 stacle in the path of our general horticultural advance- 

 ment. More thoroughness in the preparation of the 

 ground before planting and a liberal amount of care 

 afterward is my advice — to those who wish to derive 

 credit and pleasure out of their herbaceous plantations. 



CARE IN GKOUPING 



Among the multitudes of patrons and visitors year 

 after year a lady last summer, when placing her orders 

 for a number of recent introductions of perennials asked 



