732 



HERBARIUM 



perianth tube. Tlie showy outer segments are about 1 

 in. long, ami obovate, the inner ones about as long as 

 the stamens. For culture, consult Bulbs and Tigridia. 

 Men, by Baker, Irideie, 1892. 



pulcWlla, Sweet. Bulb globose, 3^ in. thick or more; 

 tunics brown: Ivs. about 4, linear, plaited, 3-6 in. long: 

 spathes 1}4 in. long: outer segments lilac, with a white 

 claw spotted lilac. Chile. B.M. 38B2. 



HERB-ROBERT. Geranium Sobertiamtm. 



HERBS. An Herb is a plant which dies to the ground 

 each year. It may be annual, as bean, candytuft, pig- 

 weed; biennial, as mullein, parsnip; perennial, as bur- 

 dock, foxglove, rhubarb. To the gardener, however, 

 the word Herb is ordinarily synonymous with herba- 

 ceous perennial; and he usually has in mind those par- 

 ticular perennial Herbs which are grown for ornament, 

 and which remain where they are planted. Goldenrods, 

 bleeding heart, sweet william, hollyhock, daffodils are 

 examples. To many persons, however, the word Herb is 

 synonymous with Sweet Herb, and it suggests sage and 

 tansy. 



Herbs have two kinds of values, — their intrinsic merits 

 as individual plants, and their value in the composition 

 or the mass. It is usually passible to secure both these 

 values at one and the same time. In fact, the individual 

 beauty of Herbs is enhanced rather than diminished by 

 exercising proper care in placing them. Plrmfi'd with 



other things, they have a background, himI ih.^ i.. - 



are brought out the stronger by contra-t . i : ; u 

 son. It is quite as important, thereforr. I i' r I , , ii,,. 

 place for planting as to choose the paiii'iiln 1 )ii<l^ ,.f 

 plants. The appreciation of artistic etTects in plants is 

 a mark of highly developed sensibilities. Happily, this 

 appreciation is rapidly growing; and this fact contrib- 

 utes to the increasing popularity of landscape gardening 

 and ornamental gardening. Some of the best effects in 

 Herb planting are to be seen in the wild, particularly 

 along fences, roads and streams. In interpreting these 

 native effects, the planter must remember that Herbs 

 are likely to grow larger and more bushy in cultivation 



than in the wild. He should 

 seemly places about the borders 

 of his place (Fig 1042) He may 

 utilize a rock or a wall as a back 

 ground (Fig 1043) He may hide 

 the ground line aboutapost (Fig 



the bare and 



1042 An intormal Herb borde 



1044) or along a fence. Some i 



are handsome wb 



Fig. 1045.) Always plant where the Herbs 



relation to something else.— to the general design or 



handling of the place. This will usually be about the 



: pHnt 



HERBS 



boundaries The hardy boidei is the uni 



ing of heibs Nee FiKs 1042, 1040 A 



border (Fig 1047) is often useful in then u oi it one 



side of the premises. Fill some of thecoincis li\ the 



house(Fig 1048) In remote paits of the grounds, half 



wild effects maj be allowed, as m Fig 1049. A pond or 



1043. Plant: 



rock back-eround 



pool, even if stagnant, often may be utilized to advan- 

 tage (Fig.1050). A good Herb out of place may be worse 

 than a poor Herb in place. But when Herbs are grown 

 for their individual effects, give plenty of room and 

 good care: aim at a perfect specimen (Figs. IO.tI, 10.52). 

 For further hints on related subjects, see Limdscape 

 Gardening; a\so Border. ^ H. B. 



Herbaceous Pekensials from the LAXPsrAi'i: Ar- 

 chitect's Point of View. — No ck-ar il.iiiiiti..Ti I'nii be 

 drawn between herbaceous perennial . !> i ■ N ■ ml an- 

 nuals, betweenHerbsand woody plai '.ten- 

 der Herbs that would in a warn. . me 



shrubs or even trees, biennials that ).i...iii. i.j.nnials 

 from stolons or offsets, and annuals that brooiiie bien- 

 nials from seed germinating late in the season. Strictly 

 speaking, however, herbaceous perennials are plants 

 having perennial roots with tops that die to the ground 

 annually, such as the columbines, larkspurs, day-lilies, 

 peonies, and most sedges, grasses and ferns. It is cus- 

 tomary, however, in publications relating to this class of 

 plants as well as in actual use, to include closely allied 

 species with evergreen foliage, such as statice, yucca, 

 sempervivums and certain pentstemons, together with 

 plants having more or less woody and persistent above- 

 ground stems, such as the suffruticose artemisias and 

 the evergreen creeping species of phlox, veronica, 

 vinca, the iberis, the helianthemums, and many alpine 

 plants, while most bulbous-rooted plants which are true 

 herbaceous perennials are separately classified and 

 grown as bulbs. 



Herbaceous perennials are an exceedingly important 

 element of landscape, for they predominate in the mat 

 of grassy or sedgy plants, covering dry or wet open 

 fields and in the surface vegetation under woods and 

 shrubby thickets, either as a grass rnip, cnrnposfil of a 

 comparatively few species cultivati'd for fc.noinic pur- 

 poses, or as a wild growth made up of mrniy s|m ,.ji-s. 

 The most attractive of these nati\i- (.lanis ar.- I. .-ing 



of 



lifter. 



tained a flower garden, in wliieh there were from 50 to 

 I.")0 s])eeies and varieties of herbaceous perennials, and 

 there were few of the humbler families that did not 

 have a dozen or more species established about their 

 homes. Such plants were distributed by exchange 

 among neighbors and were propagated and offered at 

 retail by dealers, who, however, gradually allowed their 

 stock of plants to run low or abandoned them altogether, 

 until many kinds dropped out of cultivation or were 

 neglected in favor of the tender "bedding out "plants 

 that were brought suddenly into favor by the displays 

 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. 



There has been, particularly during the last I.t years, 

 such an increasing interest in herhaceoun perennials 

 that there are now offered in the catalogues of American 



