30 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



Those must to some extent be trained, although they may be allowed a 

 certain degree of abandoned grace even on a wall. In this kind of 

 border we have, as a rule, no background of shrubs, and therefore we 

 must get the choicest variety of plant life into the border itself and we 

 must try to have a constant succession of interest. In winter this kind 

 of border may have a bare look when seen from the windows, but the 

 variety of good hardy plants is so great, that we can make it almost 

 evergreen by using evergreen rock-plants. Where walls are broken 

 with pillars, a still better effect may be obtained by training Vines 

 and Wistaria along the top and over the pillars or the buttresses. 



Border against wall at Sidbury Manor. 



We have here a frequent kind of mixed border often badly made, 



but which may be excellent. A good plan is to secure from about 



eight to ten feet of rich soil on each side of the 



Flower borders in walk, and cut the borders off from the main garden 



the fruit garden, by a trellis of some kind from seven feet to nine 



feet high. This trellis may be of strong iron wire, 



or, better still, of simple rough oak branches, on which we may 



grow Climbing Roses and Clematis and all the choicer climbers. 



Moreover, we can grow them in their natural grace along the wires 



or rough branches, or up and across a rough wooden trellis, Rose and 



Jasmine showing their grace uncontrolled. We fix the main branches 



to the supports, and leave the rest to the winds, and form a fine 



type of flower border in this way, as we have the graceful climbing 



plants in contrast with the flowers in the border. 



Mixed borders may be made in various ways ; but it may be well 



to bear in mind the following points : Select only good plants ; 



throw away weedy kinds, there is no scarcity of 



Mixed borders, the best. See good collections. Put, at first, rare 



kinds in lines across four-feet nursery beds, so that 



