in.] A COMBINATION SYSTEM 69 



CHAPTER III 

 HERBACEOUS AND ROCK BORDER COMBINED 



IT may be all very well for those possessed of large means 

 and gardens large in proportion, to partition off certain 

 parts of their grounds and devote them to separate uses, 

 and one often finds satisfaction in being conducted 

 in succession to the rose garden, the herbaceous border, 

 the fernery, and finally to the alpines. Those who 

 have money and leisure may very well find enjoyment 

 in this way. I am little qualified to help them ; they 

 can get on without hand-books. They have their 

 valuable books of reference and expert gardeners, at 

 whose feet the writer is often glad to sit. 



It occurs to me, however, that there may be many 

 others with small means and little leisure, but a true 

 vocation for gardening, who might get quite as much 

 satisfaction from their very limited plot of ground, if only 

 they could know how to lay it out to advantage, and 

 what sorts of plants to cultivate. For such people I 

 am inclined to advise a combination system. 



The one border may be made to combine everything 

 if it be only judiciously planned. It may seem a mere 

 fancy, but nothing satisfies me so well as an irregular 

 serpentine curve a border which may start with an 

 aspect facing due north, and, after frequent twists, find 

 itself in a warm southern climate. There are grounds 

 which lend themselves naturally to this suggestion. 



