Formation of a Flower Garden 



Next year those pieces which were left are pulled up and 

 some fresh pieces put in their place, so that it thus takes 

 two years to renew the edging. In some cases also we find 

 coloured gravel put between and some very fantastic designs 

 worked out with the box. This system is now however 

 old fashioned, and is rarely seen in up-to-date gardens, 

 Some idea is given of what is meant in Fig. 14. I certainly 

 advise that in all cases the beds be cut out in the grass, 

 and the edges kept cleanly cut. Of course it will be 

 necessary to see that the lawn is either level or slopes or 

 undulates regularly. There can be no more pitiful sight in 

 a flower garden than to see some part of the lawn, or 

 probably one or two of the beds, under water after an 

 autumnal shower. This, however, is sometimes seen where 

 better conditions are naturally looked for. Want of 

 drainage and an irregular surface is responsible for this. 



The Size of Flower Beds. 



It is clearly very difficult to say precisely how large or 

 how small a flower bed should be, but some idea can be 

 given of the size which can be conveniently worked. Of 

 course the size of the flower garden itself must depend on 

 the size of the estate or holding, and also on the tastes 

 of the occupier. It often happens that a person fond of 

 flowers will be tempted to put on his ground a large 

 number of beds when the beauty of the garden as a whole 

 could be obtained with half the space. In such cases it 

 is far better for the flowers to be grown in borders, and 

 not dotted about the lawn in beds. A simple and pretty 

 design is shown where flowers are grown in borders with 

 a plot of lawn containing but one bed (Figs. 15 and 16). 

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