Encyclopaedia of Gardening 1 17 



flower gardens is its herbaceous borders. They should be spacious 

 within the limits of the place varied and planted with sterling 

 things. It is easy to mismanage herbaceous borders, and then they 

 are as uninteresting as ever a bedded-out garden was. On the 

 other hand, it is not difficult to deal with them in such a way as to- 

 have them full of growth and bloom throughout the outdoor season. 

 The borders should be wide, especially if they have to accommodate 

 trees and shrubs ; and even without them there should be no stint of 

 ground. The borders may, indeed, range from 6 to 20 ft. in width. 

 The word " border " suggests a background, and wherever belts of 

 trees and shrubs are being planted, it is wise to leave a belt 6 ft. wide 

 at the front in which to put herbaceous plants. Soil : The ground 

 should be prepared as thoroughly for herbaceous plants as for veget- 

 ables, and the method of cultivation and manuring may be the sarr^ 

 (see under Kitchen Garden). With this deep tillage and liber 1 

 manuring the plants will make vigorous growth and bloom long and 

 abundantly. Division and planting : Old herbaceous plants may 

 be divided, and new ones planted, from November to April inclusive. 

 Spring planting is quite good, and suits the majority of people as 

 well as the majority of plants. But those who are forming a new 

 garden, and propose to carry on a kitchen garden as well as a flower 

 garden, will find a great rush of work in spring, and may be advised 

 to plant their herbaceous borders in autumn if they have leisure 

 during daylight. There is one disadvantage of autumn division in 

 the case of existing borders, and that is that any bulbs which may 

 have been planted in a previous year are out of sight. They are not 

 dormant, because the roots are moving, but the stems have not 

 pushed through the soil. A careless workman might do much 

 damage to the clumps of bulbs, but if he is taught to look after 

 them, and when he dislodges part of a clump to lift it, dig the soil, 

 scatter in some fresh sandy loam, remove the small offsets and 

 replant, he really does good rather than harm. The clumps of 

 herbaceous plants may be dealt with at the same time. First the 

 disfiguring dead shoots may be cut away, taking care to shorten 

 well back so as to avoid leaving long, ugly stumps, then the old 

 clumps may be vigorously cut through and the portions replanted 

 after digging the ground and manuring it if necessary. The oppor- 

 tunity may be taken of scattering ashes or coarse grit round the 

 clumps of any kinds which are of doubtful hardiness. Colour group- 

 ing : Much is heard of colour grouping in borders that is, of form- 

 ing small colonies of the different plants, the colours of which shall 

 blend, instead of dotting single plants indiscriminately. There is 

 much in favour of the system, but to carry it out thoroughly through- 

 out the gardening year demands a reserve garden, where a few 

 good plants can be grown while they are out of bloom, and whence 

 they can be shifted when their flowering period approaches, and 

 when the permanent occupants of the borders go off. As examples 

 the following plants may be mentioned: 



Antirrhinums (Snapdragons), sown under glass in January, pricked 

 out in boxes, hardened in a cool place, and planted in June. 



Asters, Annual, sown in boxes in spring, and planted out in early 

 summer. 



