2i6 THE COMPLETE GARDEN 



pinks and whites. It is essential that one should be able to readily 

 and definitely select plants for these different purposes. 



The woodland wild garden becomes an important problem because 

 the selection of material adapted to partially shaded conditions existing 

 in such garden areas does not present the same problems as the selection 

 of a type of material adapted to a sunny, open exposure. The term 

 "wild garden" applies to the use of plants which can be naturalized; 

 plants which, when once planted and given normal care during the 

 first year, will become thoroughly acclimated and continue to grow 

 vigorously and multiply as the years go by. In the selection of 

 material there are two types of plants which can be selected: the 

 tall-growing types and the low-growing types. The low-growing 

 types are adapted for use in the more intimate, small garden areas, 

 where the taller types should be used with great care. It must be 

 remembered that many types of wild garden perennials, such as the 

 day lilies, the bergamot, and the Japanese loosestrife, will multiply so 

 rapidly that they will crowd out many of the less vigorous plants 

 such as hepatica and spring beauty which are not able to survive such 

 competition. Consequently it is not safe to say that material se'^cted 

 for wild garden areas does not require a certain amount of care after 

 the first planting of the garden. It should also be borne very definitely 

 in mind that plants such as the cardinal flower, some irises, the blazing 

 star, the lily-of-the-valley, the cowsHp, and the violet require partial 

 shade and a moist condition of the soil, while such types as the bee- 

 balm, sweet william, asters, and moss pink thrive in a much more ex- 

 posed and lighter soil. The success of a wild garden, either large or 

 small, depends very largely upon the proper selection of materials to 

 produce the required effects. The development of wild garden plant- 

 ing requires a series of years in which to complete it and bring it to 

 perfection. It is a process, beyond a certain point, of the survival of 

 the fittest, and the elimination finally of those plants which prove 

 through the first few years their inability to meet the soil and exposure 

 requirements of the local situation. A successful wild garden area 

 never shows the amount of work that has been expended in its develop- 

 ment, because every detail looks 'finally as though nature had pro- 

 vided it without the assistance of man. 



Perennials for wild garden planting are not in use as much as they 

 should be even in extensive estate development, because of the 

 lack of knowledge concerning the ability of many of the wild flowers 



