THE HARDY GARDEN 85 



few of the advantages that evergreen shrubs and 

 those with attractive twigs and berries offer are 

 taken advantage of. There are winter days when, 

 if the garden is not an altogether comfortable 

 place to walk in, it may be a pleasant sight from 

 the window. 



A mistaken idea of the hardy garden is that it is 

 the most expensive. This is true only of the initial 

 expense, and not always then. If everything has to 

 be purchased at the outset, the creation of a large 

 hardy garden does mean considerable expense ; but 

 even then, the investment being a permanent one, 

 the cost at the end of a decade or so may be less 

 than the total amount that would have been laid 

 out for the perishable material of ten consecutive 

 summers. 



There is the economy in labor also to think of. 

 A well-made hardy garden can go for many years 

 without complete replanting at any one time ; some 

 have gone a generation or more and shown no 

 material deterioration. The changes, in other 

 words, may be made by piecemeal and, if need be, 

 at any convenient time, whereas if the foundation 

 is not hardiness everything has to be done over 

 each year. 



It is labor saved in the end to spade the beds or 

 borders fifteen or eighteen inches deep and work 

 in a fair quantity of well-rotted manure. If the 

 soil is really poor, take it out to at least the depth 

 of three feet and fill up with entirely new and 

 good soil. What with frequent stirring of the soil 



