194 



HOETICULTURE 



March 6, 1920 



RAMBLING OBSERVATIONS OF 

 A ROVING GARDENER 



With the increasing attention which 

 Is being given to garden refinements, 

 more interest is being shown in dwarf 

 border plants and in edgings. This 

 applies not only to the kinds of flowers 

 and plants chosen, but also to the 

 manner in which they are used. I 

 think It must be admitted that English 

 gardeners are far ahead of those In 

 this country In matters of this kind. 

 It is with pleasure, therefore, that I 

 give here the results of experiments 

 made over several years by Mr. W. 

 Robinson, long known as one of the 

 most expert British gardeners, and 

 chronicled in Gardening Illustrated. 

 Some of the plants mentioned by him 

 are not very suitable for use in New 

 England gardens, but most of those in- 

 cluded In the list here given will 

 thrive in this climate What is said 

 from here on is in Mr. Robinson's 

 words: 



In my youth I saw many miles of 

 Box edgings being clipped, and also 

 endless labor bestowed on the clipping 

 of Yews for hedges — a mean, wasteful 

 work for the most part, and often done 

 at a season when good work might 

 have been done. This was the sort of 

 plan of work shown in the old garden 

 designs, which might well be mis- 

 taken for patterns on a wall. When I 

 had a garden of my own I made up my 

 mind to si op all such waste and ugli- 

 ness, and so got some old York stone 

 paving, which, broken up, made edg- 

 ings to last for hundreds of years. 

 Also, I had in the place -rough sand- 

 stone rock, which gave bolder edgings 

 for rougher shrubs. Given these stone 

 edgings, I enjoyed much beautiful lite 

 of alpine and rock plants, which 

 seemed to like the edging-stone as 

 much as in any rock garden. In this 

 way may be grown numbers of beauti- 

 ful plants, which, though not in place 

 In the bed itself, will give an added 

 grace of color and flower. 



The Wall Hairbell (Campanula mu- 

 ralis). — Of all the things used, this Is 

 the most long-lived and useful. Other 

 Hairbells of the mountains and Alps 

 are difficult to grow, and even In care- 

 ful hands are lost, but this lovely Hair- 

 bell Is difficult to kill. It creeps up 

 rocks, and even penetrates walls. This 

 has been my best edging plant, flower- 

 ing for years, and so densely that the 

 number of bells In one foot of the line 

 could not be counted. 



Australian Everlasting (Hellchry- 

 sum bellidloides). — A newly come 



plant, this surprises me by its fitness 

 for the work, being dwarf, ajbundant in 

 bloom, and free-growing anywhere on 

 walls and as an edging. 



Rocky Mountain Phlox (P. subulata 

 and other dwarf kinds). — I have had 

 these for many years now on the top 

 of a dry stone wall dividing the lower 

 garden from the rising ground, and 

 their fine colors and other qualities 

 have pleased me well in groups, which 

 last for years in good health. Quick 

 to grow, they are among the good edg- 

 ing plants that help to keep down the 

 weeds. 



Gauze Plant (Gypsophlla repens). — 

 Of all I have tried, this has been the 

 best as to endurance, being good in 

 color and long in bloom. It has been 

 more than ten years in one edging 

 without it ever showing any sign of 

 weakness. It flowers all through the 

 summer and right into the autumn, 

 and Is a great gain. The pink variety 

 is just as useful as the white. Some- 

 times other plants, as the wall Hair- 

 bell, stray into It, and that Is an added 

 charm. 



The Dwarf Lavender. — Of my edg- 

 ings none meets with more approval 

 than the Dwarf Lavender. It is not 

 only more compact than the usual 

 forms, but the flowers are of a deeper 

 color. The Lavender, growing and 

 seeding freely over a vast area on the 

 warmer slopes of the Alps and in 

 many lands around the great sea. va 

 rles much, and to that habit we owe 



this and other forms. The Dwarf Lav- 

 ender makes a neat edging in the fruit 

 or kitchen garden where the large 

 forms might be in the way. 



Mountain Sandwort (Arenaria mon- 

 tana). — This very fine rock plant 

 makes the loveliest edging of the bold 

 kind that one could desire. Put over 

 a line of sandstone blocks it flowered 

 very beautifully, and is, so planted, 

 very well fitted as a frame for shrubs. 

 It is perfectly hardy and long-endur- 

 ing. 



Tufted Pansles (hybrids of Violas). 

 — A fascinating host of these, of sim- 

 ple and often exquisite colors, makes 

 lovely margins to flower-beds of roses 

 or other favorite plants. Easy of In- 

 crease and culture in cool soils, and 

 best in the cool northern hill land, 

 many fine kinds, like John Quarton 

 and Lady Knox, are well known. This 

 should not prevent us raising from 

 seed, as in that way we get vigorous 

 plants to form edgings or carpets, and 

 may chance to raise a good thing now 

 and then. In that case choose seed of 

 the smaller race rather than the 

 showy garish pansy. 



An Alpine Toadflax (Llnarla palli- 

 da). — A modest, patient, and delightful 

 little creeper In and out of the stone 

 edging, always Increasing and always 

 In flower bordering the Carnation bed 

 or other not robust plants as It is so 

 very dwarf. It is easy of Increase as 

 ir It enjoyed the garden. 



Pinks (Dlanthus plumarius). — The 

 welcome fragrance and pretty gray 

 color of these make them welcome as 

 edgings, and they often give us good 

 effects. In my soli they are not so en- 

 during as on calcareous or free, sandy 

 ."loU. The Maiden Pink (Dlanthus del- 

 toides) Is a hardy and bright-flowering 



Kock Cinrden .Along a Path 



