124 



IRISH GARDENING. 



The Herbaceous Border. 



THERE will be very little to do in the 

 border this month, with the exception 

 of cutting- away withered flower stalks, 

 dead flowers and leaves ot" plants, and the 

 keeping down of w-eeds. Continue to stake all 

 tall-flowering plants when necessary, also 

 to take notes of all misplaced plants in regard to 

 colour and height. If the weather continues 

 dry for any length of time, give the layered 

 carnations a few good wateringfs, and see that 

 there is plenty of fine soil around each layer. If 

 wallflowers and 

 other biennial 

 plants are not yet 

 transplanted the 

 work should be 

 done at once. 



F. Hudson. 



Flax. 



The gfeiuis Liuum 

 (Latinforflax)contains 

 about eig-hty species, 

 ranging- over the tem- 

 perate and warm 

 regions of the g-lobe, 

 but especially abund- 

 ant in the Mediter- 

 ranean reg-ion and 

 Western Asia. They 

 are mostly perennial, 

 although the two best- 

 known species in this 

 country (the common 

 and the scarlet flax) 

 are annuals. The flax 

 here illustrated (the 

 perennial flax, L. per- 

 enne) is a native (al- 

 thoug-h rare) of Bri- 

 tain, affecting- lime- 

 stone districts espe- 

 cially. The flowers 

 are blue, as a rule, but 

 some varieties are 

 pink or white. When 

 any species of flax is 

 cultivated it ought to 

 be sown in broad 

 patches to be really effective. They will grow in any 

 ordinary garden soil, but they seem to prefer a sandy 

 loam intermixed with leaf-mould. They love the sun. 

 L. arhureum is a pretty dwarf shrub, with yellow flowers, 

 and is a native of Crete. It is very suitable as a pot 

 plant. Z. flaviim is a handsome, g-olden-yellow flowered 

 shrub from central Europe. Its stems die down in the 

 winter. It is a good border plant. A very suitable 

 subject for the rockery is Z. viscosu>?t, a Pyrenean per- 

 ennial species, one to two feet high. 



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Harmonious Grouping. 



The mixed flower border, when intelligently planted 



forms one of the most pleasing- pictures in the gfarden. 



Unless, however, one has had long- practice, tog-ether 



■with a gfood knowledg-e of plants, it is impossible to 



obtain the best effects until after a few years' study and 

 re-arrangement. How often one sees borders in which 

 the plants are arranged anyhow, and apparently without 

 the least concern as to size, height, colour, or 

 time of flowering of the different subjects. We are now 

 addressing- the ordinary man or woman who takes an 

 interest in the garden and delights in the variety, colour,, 

 and fragrance of the mixed flower border. To such, 

 then, we would suggest that at this season of the year^ 

 when the plants are fully developed, a careful study 

 should be made of the border as a whole, with a view ta 

 its future improvement. First, as to arrangement — are 

 all the plants so placed with respect to one another that 

 none are completely hidden ? Are those that love shade 

 or shelter and those that love sunshine properly 

 provided for? Then, as to grouping — are plants 

 of the same kind, such as larkspurs and asters, 



dotted here and 

 there over the border 

 as isolated specimens, 

 or are the}' massed in 

 imposing groups of 

 colour? Furthermore, 

 have you g-ot the col- 

 ours right ; do they 

 harmonise pleas- 

 ing-l}' ? Have you the 

 deep-blues, for ex- 

 ample, effectively set 

 off with white, and 

 are the reds, orange, 

 and yellows so placed 

 as to form a combined 

 colour scheme ? In 

 other words, the effect 

 of the border as a, 

 whole is to be con- 

 sidered and not in- 

 dividual flowers. A 

 misplaced plant, no 

 matter how beautiful 

 in itself, is an eye- 

 sore, a jarring note, 

 where there should 

 be perfect harmony. 

 Another point to be 

 considered is the time 

 of flowering- of the 

 different subjects, so 

 as to secure a uniform, 

 flowering all over the 

 border during- the 

 whole season. These 

 are mere hints indi- 

 cative of the lines 

 along which you 

 should labour to g-et 

 the most useful and 

 charming effect out of that most interesting- of all 

 features of the garden, the herbaceous border. 



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I Keep Cutting the Flowers. 



It should be remembered that when growing plants 

 for their flowers alone, the resources of the individual 

 plant can be materially strengthened by preventing the 

 formation of fruits. The reason of this is obvious when 

 we consider the great saving in food and vital energy 

 effected by relieving the plant of the exhaustive work 

 associated with the rearing of young, which seed- 

 formation, of course, really means. It will be noticed 

 that when a particular plant in the border has produced 

 its complement of flower spikes all growth is practically 



Linum Perenne. 



