PLANTS FOR SPECIAL SITUATIONS 271 



years from nature, from many gardens visited, and from 

 constant experimenting in my own, and while they do 

 not pretend to be exhaustive by any means, may be of 

 some assistance to those whose horticultural enigmas 

 are similar to my own. 



The problems chosen are those which seem to me most 

 often met with. 



THE PROBLEM OF SHADE 



Many times I have heard people say: "We cannot 

 have a garden; our place is too shady." Now this is not 

 at all true, for, while to many of us the word "garden" 

 signifies a sunny space, gay and sweet with Roses, Pinks, 

 Poppies, Sunflowers, and brilliant annuals, to which 

 shade is a serious menace, one may still have a garden 

 of great beauty, charm, and fragrance beneath the 

 spreading boughs of trees. 



One point the owner of the shaded gardens must keep 

 in mind that the roots of trees rob the soil of both food 

 and drink, and so nourishment in extra quantity must 

 be given the plants, and water also, for a shaded situa- 

 tion does not by any means imply a damp one. 



I know of no annuals that do really well in shade, and 

 there are not so many highly coloured flowers, but one 

 will have instead a softly charming harmony. All the 

 lavender, purple, and blue tones assume an especial 

 quality of tender loveliness in shadowy places, and 

 white is much purer than in full sunshine. 



