54 HERBACEOUS PLANTS 



The present scheme of the Herbaceous Beds is as follows 



Laboratory Main Entrance Herbarium 



Of the eight plots into which the main walks divide the 

 Garden, the Polypetalae occupy A, B, C ; the Gamopetalae, 

 D, E ; the Apetalae, F; and the Monocotyledons, G, H. 



There is no doubt that from a purely horticultural point of 

 view, the practice of retaining herbaceous plants year after 

 year in the same beds is bad for many species. The soil 

 gets exhausted, and in a state of nature, the plant would spread 

 to pastures new. But this collection is primarily a teaching 

 collection, and for the student there is great value in retaining 

 plants in their relative systematic positions. A sickly plant 

 can always be moved for a change to the rich and regenerative 

 earth of the southern herbaceous borders or be sent for a 

 holiday to another garden. Even tutorial plants benefit by 

 an occasional change: perhaps they like to get away from 

 their Latin names. 



