MANAGEMENT OF TOPIARY GARDEN 73 



the borders, the result will be disastrous to the more 

 important part of the garden, viz., the Topiary work. 

 But as bare patches are always unsightly in the border, 

 they should be avoided as far as possible by planting the 

 very dwarf growing herbaceous plants in close proximity 

 to the trees. It is a plan that can very well be followed 

 in perennial planting, but it is more difficult to manage 

 in the more important work of bedding out for the 

 summer months, especially if large and tall growing 

 plants are extensively used. 



If it should happen, as I remarked before in this 

 chapter, that the glass accommodation is limited, it is of 

 particular importance that the utmost use be made of 

 what there is at hand for the storing and propagating of 

 bedding plants, more especially if the requirements of 

 the place are such as to make an autumn display of bloom 

 one of the most important features in the garden. If 

 such is the case, it will be necessary when the bedding 

 season arrives, to be careful that only such plants are 

 used as will be at their best in the autumn, more 

 especially in the most important beds. No attempt 

 whatever should be made at carpet bedding ; it is a 

 style of bedding that has very little to recommend it at any 

 time and certainly none in the Topiary garden ; for one 

 reason it is much too stiff for a garden where there are 

 a great many clipped yews. Of course in a new garden 

 that has been recently laid out and where both the trees 

 and the box edging are in a small state, the system of 

 carpet bedding may be practised by those who wish to 

 entirely discard Nature from their gardens. But if the 

 garden is an old one, full of old specimen yews, the 

 larger and taller growing the bedding plants are that 

 are used for bedding out purposes, the better. I will 

 name a few of the bedding plants that are extensively 

 used in the gardens here at Levens ; but of course, as 

 is well known, the gardens here are among the oldest 



