XIII 



HERBACEOUS PLANTS, GIVING 

 SPECIAL ATTENTION TO PEONIES 

 AND MICHAELMAS DAISIES 



Nothing can be confected, either delicate for taste, 

 dainty for smell, pleasant for sight, wholesome for body, 

 conservative or restorative for health, but it borroweth 

 the relish of a herb, the savour of a flower, the colour 

 of a leaf, the juice of a plant, or the decoction of a 

 root. 



JOHN GERARD, 1597. 



1 ONCE knew a herb-lover who prided himself on 

 the fact that he picked flowers from his own garden 

 every day in the year, although he had only a narrow 

 strip of lawn with a border down each side and 

 a rockery at the bottom, and often when I have 

 visited him the little borders were a perfect blaze 

 of colour. Bearing this in mind it seems to me 

 remarkable that herbaceous plants are not more 

 generally grown. 



Although of course it is impossible to cut many 



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