APRIL: SECOND WEEK 89 



Make Sure of Good Drainage 



The soil makes little difference, except that it must be 

 well drained. Most perennials will not live where water 

 stands at or near the surface. There are of course excep- 

 tions, such as iris and bog and semiaquatic plants, and 

 these should be used when drainage cannot be provided. 



Before work is begun the dimensions and shape of the 

 border should be carefully lined out. A quick way of doing 

 this is to fill an old watering can half full of land plaster or 

 lime and run a line round the edge of the proposed bed. 

 Usually the most pleasing and graceful effect may be 

 achieved by having the border somewhat irregular in out- 

 line. When it is put in front of shrubs it will naturally 

 follow the curve of the shrubbery. 



The bed should under ordinary conditions be excavated 

 to a depth of some two feet. In good, rich, well-drained 

 loam this may not always be necessary, but usually it is 

 advisable. Sods and the top soil should be thrown in 

 separate piles to one side of the trench; stones, gravel and 

 subsoil should be thrown to the other side. If the soil 

 below the excavation is stiff and hard it should be broken 

 up with the point of a pick. 



In refilling the bed put in first a layer of drainage ma- 

 terial, which may be clinkers, coarse gravel, broken brick, 

 crushed stone, or anything of that nature; then a layer of 

 sods with grass sides down or strawy manure or leaves that 

 have been used as a winter mulch. Unless there is an ample 

 supply of humus it will pay to keep the sod to chop up and 

 mix with the soil where the plants will get the full benefit 

 of it, as the purpose of the second layer in the trench is 

 merely to keep the soil from washing down through the 

 drainage material. 



For the next layer, which will be the feeding ground for 

 the plant roots for some years to come, mix together the 

 best of the soil, the sod chopped up into small pieces and 

 one-third to one-half as much manure or rich compost. 

 It will be well, if possible, to have a generous percentage 



