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THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



BORDERS, FLOWER. Small beds, or a continuous 

 bed, of greater length than width, skirting a wall or 

 shrubbery, and containing plants of a heterogeneous 

 character. They should be slightly raised above the sur- 

 rounding level, and thoroughly drained. In the first pre- 

 paration of the Border, it is most essential to deeply dig 

 or trench the ground, thoroughly incorporating a large 

 amount of well-bodied manure ; and if the soil is very stiff, 

 wood ashes or coarse sand should be well worked in with 

 the manure. The best time to plant such Borders is in 

 early autumn or in March. 



Where, as is frequently the case, the Borders are only 

 2ft. or 3ft. wide, not more than two rows of plants, either 

 in groups or singly, will be allowable. The tall plants or 

 shrubs should constitute the background, with dwarfer sub- 

 jects in front; but formal arrangements must be avoided. 

 The object should be to secure a continuous succession of 

 flowers. This would entail some little trouble at first, 

 which, however, would be amply repaid by results. 



No hard-and-fast rules can be laid down as to the arrange- 

 ment of the plants, which depends on individual taste and 

 means ; but the best results are obtained when the border 

 is mainly made up of hardy herbaceous perennials, as per- 

 manent occupants, assisted by liberal quantities of summer 

 bedding plants, such as Dahlias, Fuchsias, Geraniums, 

 Heliotrope, Tropseolnms, &c., as well as many hardy annuals 

 and biennials. By this means, a very varied and beautiful 

 display may be maintained, especially if bulbs are used for 

 early spring effect, such as Narcissi, Scillas, Snowdrops, 

 Tulips, &c. Of course, the herbaceous perennials should 

 be selected with much care, all weedy subjects being 

 avoided, and variety in colour and time of flowering secured. 

 Anything like a full list of these would occupy too much 

 space for repetition here, but the following will be found 

 very showy and useful : Achilleas, Aconitums, Anemones, 

 Aquilegias, Armerias, Asters, Campanulas, Carnations and 

 Picotees, Delphiniums, Dodecatheons, Doronicums, Fritil- 

 larias, Fnnkias, Gaillardias, Geraniums, Genms, Holly- 

 hocks, Iberises, Irises, Liliums, Paeonies, Papavers, Pyre- 

 thrums, double and single, Ranunculus, Trolliuses, &c. 



BORDERS, FRUIT. These should be well drained, 

 and if not naturally so, the soil should be excavated from 

 3ft. to 5ft. deep, in order to form a bottom of stones, pieces 

 of brick, clinkers, &c. Where it is convenient, draining 

 pipes should be added, if an outfall in the vicinity can 

 be secured. The base of the Border should be sloped to 

 the front, where the pipes should be laid, and the bottom 

 covered with draining material, thereby effectually pre- 

 venting the fruit trees rooting deep, which is detrimental 

 to healthy growth. Gross-feeding vegetables or flowers 

 should not be grown on the surface, but shallow-rooting 

 crops will generally do no harm. Many advocate the 

 surface being kept free from crops of any sort, simply 

 letting it be freely exposed; whilst others equally as 

 strenuously condemn this plan. Where necessary, chalk 

 or some other mineral constituent of good soil which is 

 naturally absent, may be added ; but much animal manure 

 is rarely required. The depth and width of Border may 

 vary for different fruit trees, but efficient drainage is in 

 all cases important. 



BORECOLE (Brassica oleracea fimbriata). An im- 

 portant division of the Brassica tribe, often cultivated in 

 gardens under the name of Kale. It comes in very useful 

 when hard weather has rendered cabbages, Ac., unfit for 

 use, as it endures cold better than most other green 

 vegetables. Some are also grown as ornamental foliaged 

 plants. Like all other plants of a similar description, they 

 require rich soil, and they should be put out in June or 

 early in July, as it is almost useless to plant this kind of 

 vegetable after the middle of the latter month. To 

 obtain the best results, the ground should be deeply dug 

 and well manured; but it must not be full of crude 

 manure at planting time, or it will make the plants too 

 tender and succulent in wet seasons, with the result 



Borecole continued. 



that the first sharp frost would cause them to rot. 

 Good hard-stemmed plants are the kinds most needed, 

 especially for crops required in spring, when green vege- 

 tables are scarce. Cultivation : Early in April, and again 

 a month later for succession, the seeds should be sown 

 thinly in nursery beds, not covering them too deeply. The 

 soil should be in a friable condition, and it is an advantage 

 if the first beds be made under a south wall. As soon as 

 the seedlings appear, if they are too thick, they should be 

 thinned, as those which are drawn up weak and spindly 

 are useless. When large enough, they should be carefully 

 planted out, choosing showery weather, if possible, for the 

 operation. If it is necessary to plant them in dry weather, 

 they must be well watered-in. The rows should be from 

 2ft. to 3ft. apart, according to the variety, and the plants 

 2ft. apart in the rows ; or, if potatoes are planted wide 

 apart, the Borecole may be arranged between them. Dead 

 leaves must be cleared away from time to time, but no 

 green ones should be broken off. When the tops are cut 

 for use, the stems should not be denuded of foliage, as 

 they will soon break again and form successional crops. 

 The plants must be kept free from weeds. After April, 

 the Kales are of little use; the stems may therefore be 

 pulled up, and the ground planted with some other crop. 

 They all require the same treatment, and at their various 

 seasons come in equally useful. 



Sorts. The distinct forms are somewhat limited, but 

 being largely cultivated on the Continent as well as all parts 

 of Britain on account of its hardy nature, the varieties of 

 Borecole receive a large number of names that are either 

 synonymous with, or indistinct from, a few well-known 

 types. Dwarf Green Curled or Scotch is probably the best 

 and most grown ; other good hardy sorts are Asparagus 

 Kale (this name is applied to several different kinds, the 

 best one being in use very late in spring), Bnda, Cottagers', 

 Dwarf Purple, Imperial Hearting, Kagged Jack, and Tall 

 Green Curled. Melville's Variegated and Variegated Bore- 

 cole, amongst others, have fine ornamental foliage. 



BOROXIA (named after Francis Boroni, an Italian 

 servant of Dr. Sibthorp, who perished from an accident 

 at Athens ; he collected specimens of many of those plants 

 which are figured in the "Flora Grseca"). ORD. Rutacece. 

 Very elegant and useful shrubs, requiring similar treatment 

 to ordinary greenhouse hard-wooded subjects, and much 

 aided with a little extra heat in spring, when breaking into 

 growth. Flowers pretty, pink-purplish or white ; peduncles 

 terminal, but usually axillary on the extreme branches, 

 one to many-flowered ; pedicels furnished at the base and 

 middle with two opposite, short bracts, jointed, commonly 

 dilated under the calyx. Leaves opposite, simple, or im- 

 pari-pinnate, entire, or a little serrulated, full of pellucid 

 dots. They should be placed out of doors from July to 

 the middle of September; the most convenient place for 

 them is in pits, as there are then greater facilities for pro- 

 tecting them from heavy rains and thunderstorms. When 

 first put out, Boronias should not be fully exposed, but in 

 the course of a week they may remain open to the full 

 influence of both sun and air. Potting should be per- 

 formed once a year, as soon as the top growth ceases, as 

 the roots then extend themselves in preparation for their 

 next year's functions. The best compost for them is one 

 of peat and maiden loam in equal parts, and about one- 

 sixth sharp silver sand. Many cultivators, however, prefer 

 a compost consisting of good fibry peat and silver sand, 

 together with some pieces of charcoal, smaller or larger, 

 according to the size of the pots used. The soil should 

 be rammed firmly in the pots, which must be well drained. 

 The leading shoots should be pinched, to ensure good 

 bushy specimens. Propagation may be effected by young 

 cuttings, or those made from the half-ripened wood ; these 

 should be put into a thoroughly drained pot of sandy soil, 

 with lin. of sand on the surface, and covered with a bell 

 glass, which must be frequently taken off and wiped dry. 



