HERBACEOUS PLANTS VS. BEDDING PLANTS. 75 



in leaf mould and planted Kalmias on the upper part of the bed, 

 with Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and Andromedas in the lower part, 

 and in this bed many varieties of lilies are planted, which bloom 

 later than the shrubs mentioned. This has proved a very satis- 

 factory arrangement, and is one which many might have. 



He did not think bedding plants could ever be dispensed with 

 in cemeteries, but their use can be very much modified, to the 

 advantage of all. Tlie present system of bedding has been 

 greatly overdone, and it is to be hoped that herbaceous plants, 

 which, when properly arranged, can be made to produce the finest 

 effects, will speedily be brought into more general use. 



E. W. Wood thought that the essayist could have given just as 

 beautiful a picture of annuals and bedding plants as he had of 

 hardy herbaceous plants. There are two classes of plant-growers ; 

 first, those who raise flowers for the market, and, second, the 

 amateurs, who cultivate them for their intrinsic beauty. Fashions 

 change in flowers as well as in dress, but every fashion brings 

 some really beautiful things, which outlive the fashion. A few 

 j-ears ago everything was in lines ; and the speaker mentioned a 

 border at the late Alvin Adams' place, where there were i'lve rows 

 of harmonious colors in curved lines, producing a most beautiful 

 effect. Then came solid beds, such as we have seen at Ex-Presi- 

 dent Gray's. Now the tendenc}" is to herbaceous plants ; but the 

 pendulum swings to extremes and we forget the beautiful lines. 

 Tiiere are many bedding plants which it will be hard to wipe out. 

 There are some herbaceous plants and annuals that produce good 

 effects in combination with more costly and delicate plants. Sweet 

 peas, for instance, can be used in connection with greenhouse 

 flowers ; and we could not spare the Asters. 



Mr. Beard admitted that he could do something in the direction 

 of writing an essa}- in favor of bedding plants. He did not advo- 

 cate wiping out bedding plants altogether. Herbaceous plants 

 leave room for the very plants mentioned b}'^ Mr. Wood ; bedding 

 plants leave no space for anything else, and people who spend 

 their money for them get discouraged and give up gardening 

 altogether. 



Mrs. H. L. T. Wolcott said that the speakers at these meetings 

 usually address themselves to florists, and as long as florists find 

 it profitable to sell bedding plants we shall have them. Women 

 have been held up to disgrace for making crazj' patchwork, but the 

 hideous beds of glaring colors often seen in our public squares 



