22 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



Nor even yet had the abuse of the bedding- 

 out system done its worst. There were still, as 

 we have said, in many gardens, strips of border 

 which, not being in the form of rounded beds, 

 were allowed, half under protest as it were, to 

 harbour some of the old flowers. Unfortunately 

 for them, ribbon borders were invented, and the 

 last sanctuary of herbaceous plants was often 

 ruthlessly destroyed. Pelargoniums again, and 

 calceolarias, with lobelias in front, and dark- 

 leaved perillas in the background, made up the 

 new ribbon border. It was no doubt effective 

 enough in its way, but we have now seen it 

 almost everywhere, and for the last fifteen years 

 at least. Of course there are happy variations 

 of it in great places, and where the gardener is 

 a man of taste and ability ; but it sometimes 

 appears to us that such gardeners must be very 

 rare exceptions. Such a ribbon border as I 

 have described, and extremely badly grown 

 moreover, is, or was a year or two ago, sup- 

 posed to be the appropriate adornment of 

 Shakespeare's garden at New Place in Stratford. 



