BORDER 



BOROXIA 



171 



spade or fork. Tin- border is an important conception 

 in landscape irardrning (sec /.,/ inlsrajic (,'<i niotiny). 



E. O. OKPET. 



THE HARDY BORDER may be made a most attractive 

 feature of any planting. A good model to follow may 

 often be found along a country road which has not been 

 ''cleaned up" into formality and monotony. The charm 

 of the hardy border lies as much in its happy faculty 

 of change as in its beauty ; every day of the growing 

 season, and every week of the year, there appear new 

 points of interest. It is apparently nature's workshop, 

 and the changing habits of plants are of vital interest. 

 It is always crowded, never full ; the shy beauty found 

 on a ramble takes its place promptly among the older 

 friends. Witli a little care and previous observation, 

 and reasonable preparation of the soil, the hardy border 

 can be made to reflect the preferences and personality 

 of the planter. The available material is so rich and 

 plentiful that there need never be duplication. Nor is the 

 best hardy border an expensive luxury ; it requires no 

 rare exotics, and its chief members may well be the com- 

 mon plants of the neighborhood, brought together under 

 conditions which give each a chance for development. 

 A border is recalled which shows as its chief glory in 

 September an enormous boneset ; visitors who exclaim 

 at its beauty do not recognize the roadside weed. This 

 particular border is most catholic in its hospitality to 

 ^11 American plants no foreigners are allowed admis- 

 sion. In early spring the great fiddle-heads of the un- 

 curling cinnamon ferns mate with the trilliums, and the 

 moss-pink carpets the edge, alternating with the spring 

 beauty and bluet. The columbines hangj their bells 

 against a rocky point, which later is a glory of wild 

 roses. Shady corners have the laurels and the rhodo- 

 dendrons, and the warmth of early summer brings out 

 the yarrow and the rudbeckia, just before the happy 

 succession of asters and goldenrods start on their pro- 

 cession toward winter. No two days show the same 

 blooms ; often a visit in the afternoon gives a totally 

 different impression from the morning view. 



Artistically treated, and with care to keep out any of 

 the formal and comparatively artificial plants (gera- 

 niums, coleus, verbenas, and the like), the hardy border 

 may be a source of much enjoyment and edification, 

 whether it be in a city back yard or a great park. Often 

 an existing cluster of shrubs or bed of lilies in the home 

 grounds may serve as a starting for the border ; and 

 some fine examples are remembered as incidental ad- 

 juncts to the farm vegetable patch, while one which has 

 a, most distinct individuality of beauty unobtrusively 

 flanks a unique Connecticut grass garden. 



To create an individual hardy border, the planter 

 must divest himself of prejudice, and cheerfully start a 

 burdock where its richness of foliage is needed, backed 

 up with a skunk cabbage for greater breadth of green, 

 if need be. He should estimate plants for their beauty, 

 their individuality and their season of bloom, as mem- 

 bers of his general plan. He should be prepared to con- 

 sider any plant a prize in the border if it fits, and any 

 plant a weed if it is inharmonious. 



J. HORACE MCFARLAND. 



BORECOLE. See Kale. 



BORONIA (after Francis Borone, an Italian who lost 

 his life at Athens in the service of Dr. Sibthorp). 

 Hntacftt . A genus of Australian shrubs with numerous 

 rls. having a rue-like fragrance : Ivs. opposite, odd-pin- 

 nate, or simple. B. megastigma and its allies, B. elatior 

 and B. Jieterophylla, are remarkable for their very large 

 stigma (which is 4-lobed at the base), and their curious 

 stamens, 4 of which are small, yellow, pollen-bearing, 

 and hidden under the stigma, while the 4 large, conspicu- 

 ous ones are dark purple or black, and bear no pollen. 



The chief value of Boronias is their delicious fra- 

 grance. A small specimen will perfume a whole house 

 for two or three weeks. Boronias are cultivated like 

 Cape heaths in a cool greenhouse. After flowering they 

 should be cut back, in order to make compact, bushy 

 specimens. The leading shoots may be frequently 

 pinched, to prevent a straggling growth. As most of 

 them are natives of barren, sandy places, not bogs, 

 good drainage is necessary. Sour soil is very disastrous 



to them. The English florists set their young plants in 

 the open ground during summer, being careful to shade 

 them with lath frames. Plants that have flowered two 

 seasons are thrown away and replaced by younger speci- 

 mens. Robert Cameron propagates them by cuttings 

 from half -ripened wood inserted in 4-inch pots, which 

 are filled to within an inch of the top with a compost of 

 finely sifted loam, peat and sand, over which is spread 

 a layer of sharp sand. After a thorough watering, 

 they may be placed under a bell-glass in a greenhouse 

 where the temperature ranges from 45-50 F., and 

 shaded from bright sunshine. Seeds germinate readily 

 in the same temperature, and make good flowering 



247. Boronia mejjastiema (X %). 



plants in one season. Seeds can be obtained from Ger- 

 man or Australian dealers, large quantities being col- 

 lected in the wild. Boronias belong to a large class of 

 hard-wooded Australian plants that were popular along 

 with the Cape heaths in the early part of the 19th cen- 

 tury. These were largely replaced by quicker-growing, 

 soft-wooded plants. The renewed interest in Boronias 

 is largely due to the more recently introduced species, 

 of which the first three described below are the best. 

 American florists have lately grown them somewhat for 

 Easter, especially B. Jieterophylla. Many species are 

 likely to be introduced, as these shrubs are very bril- 

 liant in Australia, blooming when very young, and re- 

 maining attractive for two or three months. 



A. Stigmas large. 

 B. Lvs. less than 1 in. long : leaflets in 1 or 2 pairs, 



plus an odd one. 

 c. Fls. borne singly 



megastigma, Nees. Fig. 247. Height about 2 ft. : Ivs. 

 very sparse, %-% in. long, sessile, the upper with one 

 pair, the lower with two pairs of Ifts. beside the end 

 one ; Ifts. narrowly linear : fls. maroon-purple outside, 

 yellow within, borne less densely than in B. elatior. At 

 times some fls. are chiefly brown, others chiefly purple. 

 B.M. 6046. The best species. 



cc. Fls. borne in whorls of 4 or 6. 

 heterophylla, F. Muell. Height 5-6 ft. in Australia : 

 Ivs. 1-1% in. long, sometimes simple, usually with 1 

 pair, rarely 2 pairs of Ifts. : fls. bright scarlet, but 

 usually pictured as purplish crimson. Differs from B. 

 elatior and B. megastigma in its larger leaves, fewer 

 Ifts., more brilliant fls. and longer filaments. Cult, only 

 in its var. br6vipes, Hook, f., which differs merely in 

 the shorter peduncles. B.M. 6845. Gn. 32: 622. Of late 

 years it has been grown for Easter by florists to a con- 

 siderable extent. 



