HERBACEOUS PLANTS VS. BEDDING PLANTS. 71 



and delightful character. The}' can be lifted again in the fall, and 

 transferred to winter quarters ; and the}' are easily propagated by 

 cuttings or layers. Those who have once successfully cultivated 

 this race of plants, and found out their proper treatment, will 

 agree with me that the}' offset an entire garden of bedding plants. 



The cultivation of such flowers as the Carnation, Anemone, 

 Hardy Primrose, Polyanthus, Auricula, etc., is becoming better 

 understood in this country. What seemed insurmountable obsta- 

 cles to success, in Jthe way of summer heat and winter cold, are 

 overcome b}' the patience and skill of growers who give their 

 attention to what they undertake. Hardy Primroses are not easy 

 to carry through the summer in this climate, as the red spider has 

 a fondness for them during the hot weather. I have four lights of 

 them now in splendid condition, but they were wet with the hose 

 twice a day during the warm weather, and that is the sole secret 

 of success with them. 



Where there are bare spaces in our beds, we have such bright 

 and pretty, close-growing plants as the Sedumsand Phlox subulata 

 to cover them. Many of the former are hardy in this country, 

 and bloom so profusely that they dazzle the eye with their pro- 

 nounced yellow, which is the predominating tint. They thrive in 

 any well-made and not over-moist garden bed, and ought to be 

 more generallj' cultivated, which would be the case if they were 

 better known. Phlox subulata is of dense and spreading habit, 

 the rose colored flowers entirelj' hiding the plant, and forming a 

 mass of color from three to six feet across in favorable locations. 

 There are numerous other low-growing and creeping hardy plants, 

 which should be freely planted in the hardy garden. The}' serve 

 to greatly diversif}' the color of bloom and foliage, and are of 

 great practical aid in keeping the surface of the ground cool and 

 moist during the summer. 



I have outlined in a very crude way m}' ideas about the hardy 

 garden, confining myself to essential and prominent points, of use 

 to those who have little knowledge of the subject. All of the 

 plants I have named will give the grower a wealth of bloom from 

 spring to fall, and the bed can be cut from again and again with- 

 out injury, supplying flowers for the house, where, under the 

 bedding system, there would be few, if any. 



Those who desire to add to their beds of hardy plants, and are 

 willing to take the trouble of lifting or renewing each season, may 

 grow in them Gladioli, Tigridias, Asters, Dahlias, Scabious, 



