CHAPTER IV. 



BORDERS OF HARDY FLOWERS. 



WE now come to the flowers that are worthy of a place in gardens, 

 and to consider ways of arranging them. Their number and variety 

 being almost without limit, the question is, how the garden lover is 

 to enjoy as many of these treasures as his conditions allow of. As 

 during all time a simple border has been the first expression of 

 flower gardening, and as there is no arrangement of flowers more 

 graceful, varied, or capable of giving more delight, and none so easily 

 adapted to almost every kind of garden, some ideas of the various 

 kinds of borders of hardy flowers mainly deserve our first 

 consideration. 



The difference in cost of growing hardy flowers or tender should 



be thought of. The sacrifice of flower gardens to plants that perish 



every year has often left them poor of all the 



Cost and nobler plants. We must take into account the 



endurance. hothouses, the propagation of plants by thousands 



at certain seasons, the planting out at the busiest 



and fairest time of the year in June, the digging up and storing in 



autumn, the care in the winter. 



There are a number of plants which, given thorough preparation 

 at first, it would be wise to leave alone for some years at a time as, 

 for example, groups or beds of the various Tritomas, Irises, Lilies,, 

 either grouped with others or in families. When all these exhaust 

 the ground or become too crowded, by all means move them and 

 replant, but this is a very different thing from moving all the plants 

 in the flower garden twice a year. 



It would be better every way if, so far as the flower garden is 

 concerned, gardeners were to see what could be done unaided by 

 the hothouse; but meanwhile the wise man will reduce the expense 

 of glass, labour, fire, repairs, paint, pipes, and boilers. 



The true way to make gardens yield a return of beauty for the 

 labour and skill given them is the permanent one. Choose some 

 beautiful class of plants and select a place that will 

 The true way. suit them, even as to their effect in the garden land- 

 scape. Let the beds be planted as permanently and 

 25 



