66 FLOWER GARDENING 



One of the most frequent errors is to make them 

 too narrow two feet or so in width. This does 

 not seem narrow when the ground is prepared ; but 

 it is. Aside from the impossibility of obtaining 

 scarcely more than a ribbon effect, there is scant 

 room for the spread of the plants which must be 

 kept clear of the grass or walk, though some may 

 hang over the latter if there is room enough. Four 

 feet will be found a convenient minimum where 

 there is access to the border from only a single 

 side. 



This for small plants, either in rows or massed 

 in sections of broad and drift forms. Many of the 

 large plants, as well as dwarf shrubs, can be massed 

 in clumps in a four- foot border; or they can be 

 placed in three rows if the plants in the center one 

 are set opposite the space in the other two. 



Borders on a small place, as may be observed by 

 a study of cottage gardens, are exceedingly attrac- 

 tive when run along the foundation wall of the 

 house, or the edge of the piazza. If the border 

 turns a corner it will be all the more satisfying to 

 the eye. Choose the south and east walls wherever 

 possible, for the sun. If the shade is there, or only 

 the west or north wall is available, you can always 

 get around the difficulty by using shade-loving 

 plants. Borders such as these need not come down 

 to, or even near, a path if the latter is some distance 

 from the wall. Lay out the border with reference 

 to the line of the wall and let the outer edge of it 

 be parallel pr not, as circumstances warrant, 



