A TRIAL GARDEN 



soni (which are, as Miss Jekyll points out, at 

 their best in spring, with the bronze-red color) 

 make a capital ground cover below certain daffo- 

 dils and tulips, and contrast well with foliage of 

 other tones which may neighbor them in the late 

 summer. These heucheras are not common enough 

 in our gardens or in simple borders. Their bril- 

 liant appearance joined to the long flowering 

 period makes them garden plants of rare quality. 

 Let me suggest placing one of the brighter varie- 

 ties before a good group of white Canterbury 

 bells with the same pink sweet-william already 

 mentioned near by. By "near by" I mean really 

 close by, no interfering spaces of earth to injure 

 the effect. I am unalterably opposed to garden- 

 ing in the thin, sparse fashion which some gardeners 

 affect, and never let an inch of soil appear. Let 

 the earth be never so good nor so carefully weeded 

 and cultivated, it is only now and again that an 

 edge of turf should be seen, "in my foolish opin- 

 ion," as the Reverend Joseph Jacob's old gardener 

 is apt to remark to his master, the delightful 

 writer on flowers. 



Sixteen peonies with grand French names graced 

 my trial garden this year, standing demurely 

 equidistant from each other in a stiff row. Their 



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