22 FLOWER GARDENING 



is not altogether a question of dividing the labor, 

 though that is important enough; you learn a lot 

 as you proceed with the work and'the final shaping 

 of the plan will be easier as well as more satis- 

 factory for the experience. If it is convenient to 

 make ready the parterre plot the first spring, fill 

 it up with annuals as a temporary measure. 



Greater restraint than this may be exercised, and 

 it is good advice to follow where pretty nearly 

 everything is to be learned about plants color 

 value, foliage effect, manner of growth, hardiness 

 in a given locality and the season and duration 

 of bloom. These things are best learned by doing 

 all the initial planting in some out-of-the-way place 

 like one end of the vegetable garden. Lay out 

 long beds about six feet wide and grow your flow- 

 ers there for a season, or even two or three 

 until you feel competent to handle them with in- 

 telligence. Plant in transverse rows, wide enough 

 apart to use a hoe, where rapid increase of hardy 

 stock is desired and in small groups to experiment 

 as to color combinations and other effects. It 

 takes courage and patience to do this, but it pays 

 in the end. 



These are more thoughts for winter evenings. 

 Meanwhile, the paper plan is only an outline of 

 boundaries. The filling in of the details is simple 

 or complex, according to the variety of plants used 

 and the character of the color scheme. A border 

 of Canterbury bells, white in front of pink, may 

 be indicated on cross-ruled paper in this manner 



