lor May, 1922 



\41 



Hardy Perennials for the Garden 



JOHN JOHNSON 



NO class of plants are in greater public favor or in 

 greater demand than the hardy perennials. For 

 this reason it might be justifiably claimed for them 

 that few other plants ec|ual their importance in the gar- 



A view ot the perennial garden on the estate ol Mrs. J. A. Spoor, FittsAeld. Mass. 

 The border plantin.as comprise irises and peonies for early summer bloom, fol- 

 lowed by delphiniums, phloxes, veronicas, physostegia, etc., and rambler roses 

 trained on chains in the background. 



dening- \\-orld of today. The ease with which most of 

 them are grown, disparity in height, habit of growth, 

 color and the varied conditions under 

 which they thrive, commend them to all 

 garden lovers, particularly beginners 

 ■who would grow flowers at a minimum 

 outlay of time and money. ( )n account 

 of the steady and ever increasing de- 

 mand for hardy perennials it is not sur- 

 prising that vast improvements have 

 been wrought among certain kinds dur- 

 ing recent years. 



The once despised Michaelmas Daisy 

 has undergone such transformation at 

 the hands of the hvbridizer that it is 

 uow classed among the most desirable 

 of perennial plants. Delphiniums too, 

 always stately, have been wonderfully 

 improved by careful hybridization and 

 selection. AstUbc and Aqiiilcgia are 

 plants whose beauty have been greatly 

 enhanced with the course of time. Be 

 this as it may, it is nevertheless amus- 

 ing, and to some extent provoking, tri 

 the garden enthusiast who has been 

 closely associated with gardens and gar- 

 dening all his life, and who, perchance, 

 might have striven to keep in touch with 

 much really new, to see listed in our 

 catalogues under the title "Novelties" 

 so many plants that were favorites a 

 quarter of a century ago. This is re- 

 grettable in so far as it may sometimes 

 prove misleading. Only the other day 

 there came to mv notice an abridged list 



of so-called "Newer Perennials" comprising names so 

 familiar as to serve only as a most vivid reminder of one's 

 boyhood days. Were this the subject of our text it 

 might be discussed at greater length, but to continue 

 would defeat our aim. 



The mixed border always has been 

 ;ind will probably continue to be the 

 most favored resort for the disposition 

 (if hardy perennials, but an entire gar- 

 den area embracing native landscapes 

 devoted exclusively to their culture is 

 something which has yet to be fully ap- 

 ])reciated here in America. Despite the 

 ])opularity of the herbaceous border 

 there can be no question as to the ad- 

 vantages which a perennial garden of- 

 fers in the way of mass plantings. The 

 gorgeous effect of bold masses is, after 

 all, the pertinent method of growing 

 perennials. Certain kinds planted as 

 single specimens are insignificant, but 

 the same when grouped are very beau- 

 tiful. Of course what appeals to one 

 might not always so favorably impress 

 another, and the method of planting is 

 therefore largely a matter of individual 

 taste. To make the best of the material 

 at hand is the real question, and it is 

 safe to assume that the arrangement 

 of a perennial planting reflects the 

 personality of the owner in the same 

 measure as does the interior decoration of the home. 

 There are those who seem to abhor repetition of the 



Another viezv of the perennial garden which is on a steep hill overlooking Lake 

 Onota. The main pathway passing through the arbors, illustrated, leads to the 

 boathouse by the lake. 



