PERENNIAL BORDERS 



103 



If you are not entirely successful in keeping the 

 ground covered with perennials, plant annuals to fill 

 the vacant places ; they may also be used while the 

 perennials are too small to fill their allotted spaces. 



Keep the ground 

 covered ; if you do not 

 succeed, nature will do 

 it for you. In fact, the 

 best way to learn how 

 to make a border is 

 to observe how nature 

 does it along any coun- 

 try roadside. 



Begin planting as 

 soon as the frost is out 

 of the ground in the 

 spring, and continue 

 during the whole sea- 

 son, until the ground 

 is frozen in the fall. 



Culture. Remove all 

 weeds from the border 



while they are young ; pulling large weeds will loosen 

 bulbs and roots. Keep a loose layer of soil on the surface 

 to retain the moisture ; lawn clippings or coarse manure 

 will sometimes answer the purpose. When manure is 

 used it must be free from weed seeds. In the fall, after 

 the ground has frozen, rake off all the tops that have 

 died down and cover the border with a heavy layer of 



FIG. 51. A Perennial Border 

 Botanic Garden, Harvard University 



