THE PERENNIAL BORDER 



215 



iFig. 74. THE HARDY PLANT BORDER. The irregular perennial border is best 

 Placed on the outskirts of the lawn, but an equally pleasing effect can be produced 

 ilong a straight walk bordered with hardy flowering plants set against a background 



of shrubs 



of these perennial plants have attractive foliage or are good to 

 ook at when out of flower. If a customer insists on having a long, 

 narrow border filled with a row of Peonies, give it to her, but call 

 attention to the fact that something else should go with the Peonies, 

 such a border a display of bulbous stock in Spring, followed by 

 ladioli, Snapdragons or other annuals might be suggested. The 

 oliage of Peonies stays good almost all Summer, but that is about 

 all that can be said about it. 



On the smaller home grounds the most satisfactory way to 

 get the most out of perennials or biennials is to plant them in an 

 rregular border, maybe with a background of shrubs. If the border 

 s six feet or so in width, you can plant them in groups and arrange 

 Mngs so as to have flowers coming along over the greater part of 

 -he season. But even here, you won't make a mistake by leaving 

 spaces for annuals between the clumps or groups. 



You cannot afford to take an acre of your own and spend a lot 

 of money preparing the soil for the planting of perennials; but if 

 there is a chance and if the owner is willing to pay for it, always 

 work the beds and borders over deeply and put enough manure in 

 them. If the soil is very poor, put good loam in its place; you will 



