September, 1907 



THE CANADAIN HORTICULTURIST 



217 



MaKing' tKe Hardy Herbaceous Border 



E.. Byfield, Toronto 



UNLIKE the transient bed of green- 

 house plants, here to-day — gone 

 to-morrow, the border of hardy 

 perennials is a thing of permanency. 

 As its name implies, there is nothing 



other shady, do not hesitate to choose 

 the former. If the border runs east and 

 west and can be flanked by a shrubbery 

 on its north side, so much the better, as 

 the green background adds largely to 



All Kinds of Perennials Grouped for Best Effect 



ephemeral, nothing transitory about it. 

 The place it occupies is a reality, a solid 

 reality, a lasting reality. Its life goes 

 on from year to year, and its usefulness 

 and satisfying fulness increases with the 

 years. And because of this permanency, 

 this long period of living, of growing, 

 and of reaching forward to an ever fuller 

 p)erfection, it is well to begin right, to lay 

 foundations that will be sufficient to 

 satisfy this permanent character of our 

 hardy border. 



Plants, like all other living things, 

 demand the fulfilment of certain con- 

 ditions, and the success of the plant Hfe 

 is in direct proportion to the granting 

 of these conditions. Most of our plants 

 demand plenty of sunshine, fresh air, 

 soil largely made up of plant food, and 

 sufficient moisture to keep the plant at 

 all times in a condition of freshness. 

 Given these conditions, the plant is 

 likely to do well; withhold them, and it 

 will languish. These then are the 

 essential things to be considered in 

 choosing the location and in the making 

 of the hardy border. 



THE LOCATION 



Where possible, choose a location 

 offering an abundance of sunshine. If 

 there is partial shade in some parts, this 

 need not militate against the choice, as 

 such space may be utilized with plants 

 that get along well in, or require partial, 

 shade. Where there is a choice of 

 locations, however, one sunny, and the 



the effectiveness. A wall, or even a 

 rough board fence, similarly situated, 

 may, with a little ingenuity, be made to 

 do duty in the same way by covering it 

 with climbers or trailers. 



THE SOIL AND ITS PREPARATION 



Most of the perennial plants are gross 

 feeders with insatiable appetites, and 

 send their roots deep down into the 

 earth. This is a fact that has to be 

 reckoned with from the start, and the 

 more seriously it is recognized before- 

 hand the less will be the disappointment 

 afterwards. And as the largest borders 

 occupy but a comparatively small space 

 it will be wise economy to make this 

 part of the work thorough. Our plan 

 is to take out the soil bodil)'- from the 

 trench to a depth of two feet, laying the 

 top soil to one side and carting away 

 the rest. The top soil is then put into 

 the bottom of the trench, and the 

 remainder filled with equal parts of 

 vegetable mould, good clay loam, and 

 well-rotted cow manure, the whole 

 thoroughly mixed. In a stiff clay soil it 

 will be necessary to afford drains ge. A 

 good way to do this is to dig the trench 

 deeper, and before putting. in the soil 

 place several inches of loose stones in 

 the bottom, placing on these a layer of 

 straw or leaves to prevent the soil from 

 clogging the spaces between the stones. 

 If the soil is sandy or gravelly, no 

 drainage is required. 



SHAPE OF BORDER 



The border may be of any width from 

 three or four feet upwards. Avoid, if 

 possible, a straight line front. A sweep- 

 ing curved line is always more graceful 

 and pleasing. 



ARRANGEMENT OF PLANTS 



It is in the arrangement of plants in the 

 border that the real skill and taste of 



Hardy Herbaceous Perennials Growing in the Gardens of Mr. Byfield 



