IRISH GARDENING. 



37 



The Herbaceous Border. 



By Frank Hidson. 



HERBACEOUS plants have become in recent 

 years extremely popular. In the first place, 

 they are easy to grow ; a well laid down 

 border will give bloom of some kind for at least nine 

 months in the year. Ag-ain, the border is a really more 

 natural form of flower g-ardeninj^ than any othei*, for 

 once the plants are put into their quarters there is vei'\' 

 little care required for some \'ears after being- planted. 



The planter must also remember that (his is a bit of 

 work to last for years, and that when it is done well there 

 will be very little labour afterwards, with the exception 

 of slight forking-, mulching, staking tall varieties, and 

 the keeping down of annual weeds. Compare this class 

 of flow er gardening to the stiff, unnatural beds of carpet- 

 work or the ordinary show of summer or spring bedding 

 plants which, as a rule, would not last six weeks at a 

 time ; and again, the labour of keeping these plants, as 

 well as the fuel that has to be burned to keep them alive 

 throughout the winter, not to mention the lifting, planting. 



The East Garden at xi|nj4noi|i, Fovnes, 



With wood and hill bej-ond. The lady sitting slightly apart on the right is Miss O'Brien ; a fine specimen of New Zealand fla 

 left. The Memorial Cross (to Lord Monteagle's father) is a prominent object on the distant hill top. 



The first essential is a good site facing south or south- 

 west if it is possible. A background of evergreen or 

 deciduous flowering shrubs will give a good effect, or a 

 high wall covered with creepers would suit admirably. 

 The border should be some distance from tall-growing 

 trees, as the roots of them would penetrate into the soil 

 and rob the plants of their food. The next thing to 

 consider is proper drainage. The intending planter 

 must remember that it will pay to spend time and money 

 in the thorough making of a border. If the soil is shallow- 

 add clean soil from an old pasture ; see that all under- 

 ground weeds are cleared out ; manure thoroughly with 

 farmyard manure — in fact, a border should get the same 

 treatment as a border prepared for vine growing. 



propagating, &c. March is an ideal month for planting 

 an herbaceous border, as the plants are just beginning to 

 get active in growth. 



Several nurserymen are now making a speciality oi 

 herbaceous plants, as the other forms of spring and 

 summer bedding are going out of fashion in many places. 

 The intending planter should write at once for catalogues 

 of herbaceous plants, and he need not leave Ireland 

 to find nurserymen supplying this class of plant. We 

 have several nurseries in this country devoting a 

 lot of labour to this particular department, and I am 

 certain the purchaser will get all the assistance in 

 regard to selection, culture, iVc, gratis from any of 

 these firms. 



