250 JOTTINGS OF A GENTLEMAN GARDENER 



no dearth of land such a course seems to me unnecessary. 

 In most districts there is much land lying in partial or 

 complete waste ; on this we can grow our potatoes and 

 greens ; in our flower garden we may sacrifice to some 

 extent a large border, or even three or four, and grow 

 those crops which possess some beauty of form if not of 

 colour. 



There is another reason why we should not entirely 

 sacrifice our flower garden to vegetables. In these sad 

 times flowers can cheer us up better than any earthly 

 friend can, and a walk up and down the borders, or half 

 an hour's work amongst them keeps us in health in both 

 mind and body. Flowers cheer the home and the hospital, 

 we cannot really afford to do without them. So I would 

 say, " Don't sacrifice your flower garden entirely. Take 

 an allotment under the new scheme organised by the Board 

 of Agriculture for your potatoes and greens ; and in your 

 flower garden leave at least one or two flower borders 

 untouched. On the others you can grow food, and plenty 

 of it." 



Flower Borders and Vegetables : If you devote flower 

 borders to food plants, two problems arise : Which 

 borders to devote to the purpose, and what to grow. 

 Before coming to a decision give the subject careful con- 

 sideration. It would be a pity to break up that " lovely 

 South border/' so let us see whether we can avoid doing 

 so. Perhaps there is a South- West border, or another 

 South border which did not do so well last year. Why 

 not turn these into vegetable borders ? Perhaps there are 

 some beds on the lawn which it is always a difficulty to 

 fill with suitable plants. Why not use these borders for 

 growing saladings ? Or again, we may not want to spend 

 money on half-hardy annuals for new summer bedding ; 

 why not use the borders reserved for summer bedding for 

 the culture of vegetables ? And, lastly, that North or 

 North-West border in which few flowers thrive may be 

 used for vegetables. 



It may be that you have a long narrow border which runs 



