134 HOW TO PLAN THE HOME GROUNDS 



The N. tazetta, or polyanthus narcissus, bears a number 

 of fragrant flowers on a stem, and is white, with a crown 

 of rich yellow. There are, in fact, scores of varieties 

 of narcissi, nearly all of which are beautiful and early- 

 blooming. The narcissi will succeed and look well in 

 beds, but are, after all, dainty, retiring flowers, that 

 would naturally seek retired places in borders of the 

 garden or shrub group. 



The humble but dainty and charming lilies-of-the- 

 valley, and the cheerful yellow crocuses, both find suit- 

 able places in corners of the garden, or nooks of the 

 shrub border. The anemone japonica is also a suitable 

 and beautiful garden plant. 



It may seem to the reader that the list of plants suit- 

 able for the garden is meager, and it must be confessed 

 that it is, in view of the richness of the list of herbaceous 

 plants which is rightly offered as beautiful in nursery- 

 men's catalogues, but it will be found that their foliage, 

 for the most part, is defective, and not suited for beds 

 in the garden. It tumbles apart, or is weedy-looking, 

 and makes an untidy appearance, especially towards fall. 



There is, on the other hand, no difficulty in finding- 

 plenty of suitable places for all the many beautiful her- 

 baceous plants we may desire, among and alongside 

 the shrubs on the lawn. Here there will be a back- 

 ground that will relieve the uninteresting character of 

 their foliage, and their weedy and irregular habit, espe- 

 cially toward fall, will be readily obscured in the general 

 effect by the more dominant character of large trees and 

 shrubs. It is, of course, evident that skill may be dis- 

 played in finding places for, and in selecting just the 

 right quantities of, such plants as will render the scene 

 brilliant and at the same time not uncouth and untidy. 



