CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 



PLANTS FOR SPECIAL SITUATIONS 



"All is fine that is fit." 



Old Proverb. 



ONE of the most essential points in successful 

 gardening is that the plants employed should 

 be well suited to the soil and situation, for 

 however well the garden is conceived and carried out we 

 get but a sorry effect unless there is a wholesome lux- 

 uriance of growth and an appearance of permanence and 

 peace. Besides, it is cruel to require a plant to struggle 

 for existence in an environment totally unsuited to it 

 when there are others which will do the work far better 

 because they are at peace with the surroundings. One 

 has but to observe nature to realize that for every situa- 

 tion, however unlikely or uncompromising, there is some 

 green thing which will find in it a congenial home and 

 will gratefully clothe its barren surface with bloom and 

 verdure. Constantly in garden making we are con- 

 fronted with conditions under which most of the well- 

 known hardy herbaceous perennials and gay annuals 

 may not thrive, and it often requires much expense and 

 experiment before the right plants are found. The fol- 

 lowing notes have been made over a period of many 



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