INTRODUCTORY 5 



when in bloom. If two daggers be found, it means either that the plant 

 dies to the ground after blooming or that its foliage becomes unsightly; 

 in any case that the plant or the spot it occupied must be concealed by 

 something else planted in front. While those lucky ones which are free 

 from daggers may be relied upon to form presentable masses of green of 

 nearly the full flowering height throughout the season. Lastly, in some 

 cases an asterisk is placed in front of the number attached to the plant. 

 This indicates that the plant in question is not strictly a hardy perennial. 

 Thus: No. I, Althaea; No. 31 and No. 32, Anchusa; No. 40, Digitahs pur- 

 purea; No. 127, Aquilegia caerulea; No. 128, Dianthus barbatus; and No. 

 136, Papaver nudicaule, while technically all perennials rarely live or do 

 well for more than two seasons. Althaea, Digitalis, and Dianthus, how- 

 ever, self-sow so readily that, unless one is particular about the color of the 

 flowers, they may be relied upon to propagate themselves. No. 44, Cam- 

 panula Medium, is always a biennial, and must be resown each year to pro- 

 vide yearly bloom. It is the only plant included which has no technical 

 right in the list, but is so popular and valuable that an exception was made 

 in its case. No. 40, Lilium auratum, is a hardy perennial but the bulb is 

 short-lived and usually dies out in two or three years. No. 5 5, Montbretia, 

 No. 83, Tritomia, and No. 85, Alstroemeria, are hardy perennials south of 

 Philadelphia if given protection in winter, but in colder climates must be 

 treated like Dahlias, lifted and wintered indoors. 



The Latin names are the guides by which, having located a plant of 

 the desired characteristics on the charts, we may refer to the text for sup- 

 plementary information as to its habit in flower and foliage etc., with 

 notes on its culture and propagation. These text descriptions are ar- 

 ranged in the alphabetical order of the Latin names, the numbers ap- 

 pended being for reference from the text to the chart. 



DESIGNING THE GARDEN 



Having now at our fingers' ends this knowledge of our instrumental 

 possibilities, let us see what is the best way to go about buildmg up the 

 changing harmonies of our garden plan. Individual tastes and fancies 

 enter naturally into any artistic work, and probably nowhere do they 

 make themselves so strongly felt as in garden planning. This is altogether 

 as it should be, for in some ways the garden is a more intimate and personal 

 thing even than the house itself. In a great many cases it is planned, and 

 to a large extent executed and tended, by the owner himself or perhaps 

 more often by the owner herself; whereas, with the house, its con- 



