INTRODUCTION. xxi 



number of what we have previously considered tender 

 kinds will survive, and the heretofore entirely hardy one 

 will go. In judging and determining the value and pe- 

 culiarities of a variety in any given locality we must be 

 governed by the conclusions of a very considerable experi- 

 ence and then be prepared for occasional and startling 

 surprises. 



In the discussion of foliage bedding and the use of hardy 

 herbaceous perennials, I have endeavored to give a dis- 

 tinctly formulated system based on the fundamental and 

 general principles of landscape gardening ; and to simplify 

 their treatment and make it as definite and precise as pos- 

 sible. The illustration of the herbaceous bedding treat- 

 ment is to be found in the chapter on " Grandmother's Gar- 

 den." I should like very much to recommend more highly 

 the use of hardy herbaceous plants in rockwork, on edges 

 of lawns, in the long grass, and especially in shady woods. 

 They are veiy charming in such places, but it is not easy to 

 manage them, and they will require much renewing. And 

 that reminds me to say that the reason why many planta- 

 tions of hardy herbaceous perennials grow beautifully less 

 in flower and foliage year by year is that they need renew- 

 ing. Once in three or four years many of the plants of 

 herbaceous borders should be taken up, divided and set out 

 again, and in spots where any of them have died, new ones 

 planted. 



After discussing trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennial 

 plants, and bedding plants, which constitute the material 

 of landscape gardening, I have undertaken to set forth in a 

 few sketches drawn from the resources of personal experi- 



