THE NEW BORDERS 31 



Phloxes, Tulips, Lilies, vermilion Lychnis (Chalcedonica, 

 a most vivid flower), the large blue Dropmore Anchusa, 

 Columbines, Michaelmas Daisies, Chrysanthemums, 

 Oriental Poppies, and Pentstemons. 



A little judgment is required to get an adequate supply 

 of bloom at different seasons, and a few auxiliaries will be 

 useful, notably Wallflowers for late spring, and English 

 and Spanish Irises for early summer. These, with the 

 Tulips, will keep the border bright until July. The Wall- 

 flowers, set in vacant spaces in autumn, will come away 

 altogether in June. The Irises will remain, but I do not 

 think that they suffer from being overgrown, as they fade, 

 by taller, later blooming things. 



There is apt to be a blank after the spring flowers have 

 gone, but this can be averted by planting groups of a few 

 good early summer things. In this connection special 

 mention should be made of the beautiful yellow Globe 

 Flowers (Trollius), Columbines, Feverfews (Pyrethrums) , 

 and the magnificent Dropmore Bugloss (Anchusa), all of 

 which bloom early. 



It may be well to say that when the word " grouping " 

 is used it indicates setting several plants of the same kind 

 in a cluster, instead of mixing the different kinds indis- 

 criminately. The components of each group should be 

 set two to four feet apart, according to their size ; the 

 former distance would be appropriate for Wallflowers, 

 the latter for Phloxes. Three feet is a good average to 

 work on. 



The weak point of grouping, and the difficulty which 

 brings many people to grief, is that if a plant fails, or goes 

 out of bloom earlier than was expected, a big blank is left. 

 One sometimes sees herbaceous borders which are almost 

 bare at mid-September. Thus, there is not only a June, 

 but a September interregnum to provide for. For the 



