128 MY GROWING GARDEN 



the success of a scheme to compete with the hun- 

 gry, thirsty, energetic roots of the Norway maple 

 that marks and dominates the western border of 

 the "formal" garden. This big maple shades most 

 satisfactorily a place where visitors may sit in 

 comfort to look over the garden. (Visitors only; 

 the "boss" has never time to sit in comfort in 

 this garden!) I had tried all sorts of things that 

 might be expected to grow under this tree, but 

 none of them did it. Finally I paved the central 

 area with irregular brown-stone flags, laid with 

 wide joints to admit water. This solved the prob- 

 lem as far as it went, but those same fibrous roots 

 kept reaching out for water and fertility beyond on 

 the two sides not bounded by a stone wall. It 

 occurred to me that I might succeed with the 

 scarlet sage, backed up by African marigolds; 

 wherefore in June the larger bed to the east was 

 transplanted full of these. The return in mid- 

 August showed that the Salvia "Bonfire" was 

 kindling, and although the plants leaned well 

 toward the sun, they, and the marigolds back of 

 them, grew and blossomed most beautifully and 

 most brilliantly until frost. 



The other angle within the root influence gave 

 opportunity to try an experiment in the survival 

 of the strongest. There was reason on this south 



