166 COME INTO THE GARDEN 



proper selection of shrubs, uninterrupted bloom 

 throughout the summer is practically secured, 

 with no further effort than the initial planting. 

 Let it not be understood that I am quoting this 

 in favor of shrubbery because other garden ma- 

 terial is too much trouble to care for, under the 

 usual circumstances of the all-the-year home. I 

 am not at all in sympathy with that attitude, 

 as I think I have already made plain; but there 

 are many times legitimate reasons for the gar- 

 dener's inability to spend much time in his gar- 

 den. It is this situation which is met by the 

 things requiring little care, making a garden 

 and flowers possible where otherwise all would 

 be barren. 



Obviously if flowers throughout six months 

 in summer are to be enjoyed, there must be at 

 least six different kinds included in a shrubbery 

 planting, as no kind can be expected to bloom 

 over a month. As a matter of fact, no kind will 

 bloom that long, and six shrubs would leave 

 gaps, however carefully they were chosen. 

 Eight or ten must be combined to get flowers 

 from April to September; but as the best stand- 

 ard of planting requires many of a few kinds 

 rather than a few each of many kinds, a group 

 of ten shrubs each different from the other is 

 not to be considered as a possibility for an in- 



