72 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Antirrhinums, and any of the finer tender bulbs or annuals. 

 They will certainly give added brilliancy to garden beds and 

 repaj- all extra trouble. It is important to note that the culture 

 of tender plants is made possible under the plan I propose, while 

 the bedding sj'stem crowds out all other plants than those which 

 are necessary to form the lines and masses of color ; and this fact 

 has been demonstrated b}' the gradual disuse of the finer, hardy 

 plants. 



All hardy plants can be obtained from such growers as Woolson 

 & Co., of Passaic, N.J., who make a specialty- of them; Ellwan- 

 ger & Barrj^, of Rochester, N.Y. ; and man}' of our own local 

 nurserymen. The rarer varieties which cannot be secured here 

 are supplied by Thomas S. Ware, of Tottenham; Peter Barr, of 

 London ; and others in England. 



In this climate spring is the proper time in which to plant all 

 hard}^ herbaceous plants, as distinguished from hard}' bulbous 

 plants. The latter, which are usually at rest in the fall, should 

 be planted in October or early November. English growers 

 recommend fall planting for all hardy plants ; but there the 

 ground does not freeze hard, if at all, and no injur}- is done to 

 newly located plants. 



With this last practical hint I will bring my outline of general 

 ideas to a close. 



There are many works on Hard}' Flowers in which the inter- 

 ested reader will find at greater length the ideas I have endeavored 

 to concentrate ; especially in Robinson's "English Flower Garden" 

 he will find the best thoughts upon this subject, which should be 

 read and studied by every one interested in the culture of hardy 

 flowers. Such study must surely lead all to a sense of the poverty 

 and bareness everywhere exhibited under present methods, when 

 we have at hand the resources of this and every other continent 

 fiom which to draw together under our own eyes, and in our own 

 gardens, the very 4lUe of the floral kingdom, whose now unrecog- 

 nized claim to our appreciation, dowered as they are with all that 

 is graceful and beautiful, must and will, if we but consent to give 

 them room and care, afford us unexpected revelations of the 

 resources, the graces, the never-ceasing pleasures and joyful sur- 

 prises to be found in our hardy gardens. 



